 WATCHING | READING | EATING |
|||
|
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Disgrace to my race
Comments: (15)
So I'm sure no one outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been following the case (or outside of Manila, Philippines), but the Calimlims, a Filipino family I grew up, with has been on trial for something, as a fellow Filipino, I find completely dispicable: they kept a Filipina woman, Irma Martinez, as more or less a maid, but more like a prisoner, for almost 20 years. The woman came over as an illegal in 1985 and worked for them as a maid until 2004 when the feds found out about the situation. The details are what make the case stunning: no one, not even their close friends, knew they had a maid living with them for 19 years. They essentially kept her as an indentured servant, paying her, at the most, $4,800 a year, and not allowing her to leave the house without permission, nor to be seen in public with them. That's not even the worst of it. According to the trial coverage, Elnora Calimlim would not let Irma see a doctor even when she was doubled over in pain from irregular menstruation, saying that without a social security number she could not go to the doctor. Say what? And then, when they had parties (a couple of which I had actually been at!) she would have to stay in her basement room, which did not have a bathroom, for up to 8 hours at a time. Milwaukee has a small, affluent community of Filipinos, most of whom are physicians. The Calimlims were both physicians and wealthy; in fact, they lived in a million-dollar home. These are Filipinos who have definitely made it. So for their friends, this case has been that much more shocking. How can they have done this to a fellow Filipina? How were they able to keep her secret from everyone? When I look back, I know of instances that we just dismissed as weird behavior. My siblings and I once in a while hung around with Jeff (the son who has also been on trial for harboring, as well as lying to a federal agent when they came to get Irma out). The guy would never, ever let us in the house-- he would just run in and close the door behind him. We would joke around sometimes like "oh, one of us needs to pretend to need to use the bathroom" so we could get into the house, but even with that, no dice: he would just open the door and say "I'll be out in a minute." Ridiculous! But now all of this explains that, and it's actually kind of sad. In a way, the kids were victims of their parents' behavior-- because of their parents, they too, had to keep this secret that their parents convinced them was crucial. That said, it's difficult to feel any sympathy anymore. The kids are now grown, yet continued with this crazy secrecy that has now gotten the whole family into a boatload of trouble. In fact, this only became public because the son Jack's ex-wife, Sherry, felt that Irma was essentially being imprisoned by the family and notified the authorities. Any normal and scrupulous person would have to agree with her. My mom said that her friends in the Filipino community have been shocked and disgusted by the Calimlim's behavior. They wonder how they could have done this to any human being, and to them, it's twice as bad because it was a fellow Filipino. To them, forgetting your people and the place where you came from is a crime in itself. The couple, Jefferson and Elnora Calimlim, and their son Jeff were just found guilty yesterday. The couple will do prison time and ultimately face deportation. The irony is that they will now learn what it's like to be a prisoner. JSOnline: Trial begins in servant case, Couple accused of threatening maid with deportation JSOnline: Servant was called an aunt, witness testifies, Son's ex-wife says she notified federal authorities over woman kept in secret JSOnline: Couple convicted of harboring maid, They face up to 45 years in prison, deportation posted by sheryl | 11:34 AM | Oh. My. God.
Very sad indeed. I head out next week to Honolulu for the FANHS Conference. (Filipino American Historical Society) My cousin Emily is presenting and I'm a member and visiting with her and the new baby. Get off your high horse. What gives you the right to judge other people? As if you've lived a perfect life? None of this would have even been public knowledge if not for Sherry Bantug wanting to get revenge on the family because of her divorce to Jack. Talk about a whacked-out bi#@h. If anyone should be deported, it should be Sherry. Talk about going against your own people...
Wow, interesting comment from someone who chooses to remain anonymous. How about standing up for your opinion and posting with your actual NAME? It's clear you are someone who is personally familiar with all of this. You're right...I'm close enough to know what's going on. But then again, it doesn't matter who I am since all I'm saying is what everyone should know...the truth.
Mr/Ms. Anonymous, It isn't a "high horse", after all. Their sentencing - through our system of *justice* - will come soon enough (November 2006). There are *laws* in this country for good reason: for the protection of human rights and the preservation of human dignity. You are entitled to your own opinion, but IMHO, one thing that ought to be deported is the IGNORANCE and ARROGANCE you have exemplified.
Mr/Ms. Anonymous, It doesn't matter what S Bantug said, what matter is what is the right thing to do. Do you think those couple that you are closed with did the right thing ? protection of human rights, fine, of course that should be protected. but when the maid chooses to come over here because her life will be better than if she stayed in the philippines, then that's her choice! she chose to work as a maid in the US because the alternative would have been living in poverty back home. now, i'm not saying the calimlim's treated her properly, because they could have done a better job with that, but that's not the main issue here. bottom line, if she didn't choose to come over to the US, then all this would never have happened. she knew what she was getting into, and yet she is classified as the victim. please. it just seems a little too coincidental that the maid is reported shortly after the b!t@h gets divorced. if the maid was really being held against her will, why wouldn't the maid just call the authorities herself a lot sooner? if she was really unhappy, why wait this long? oh, that's right...because the b!t@h wants revenge for ruining her marriage and her reputation. she didn't have to do this...she had a bad rep a long time ago.
Ummm, yeah. It seems you have some deep-seeded resentment for Ms. Bantug. It's clearly getting in the way of your sense of reason. You need to get past that. The facts of the case are this: laws were violated and the guilty should be/will be punished. In all your rambling, you *still* haven't proposed anything to right the wrongs of the case (slander of Ms Bantug doesn't really count as appropriate action).
I agree with Sheryl 100%. I also believe that the Filipino community needs to stick together. In this case, however, Sherry did the RIGHT thing. In no way do I believe that she went against her "own people." If anything the Calimlims were the ones who did. They denied an innocent woman freedom - simply put! you all here...you're still not getting my point. i understand that laws were broken, that's not my point. righting the wrongs isn't my point either. the calimlim's will serve their time. sure, fine, whatever. the point i'm trying to make, which is two-fold, is this: if the maid really wanted to get away, she could have found a way. if she really thought she was in danger, she could have left. the family left her in the house alone at times. there are ways to get word out if you're in trouble. that is, if she really wanted to. c'mon, she wasn't tied up in the basement like someone who was kidnapped. get real, people. the other main point i'm trying to make is this: if sherry is such the "do-gooder" like you're all trying to portray her, why did she wait until AFTER the divorce to report this to the authorities? she was dating chris for however long, and then the engagement for who knows how long...and then they're married for a year BEFORE she reports this to law enforcement? why wait that long??? because after the divorce, she had no reason to keep it quiet anymore. she wanted revenge on chris and his family. yeah, i'm sure she must have felt SOOOO compelled to help out the maid right away when she met her that she WAITED what must have been a couple years before reporting this crime. yeah, she's a real hero. if not for the divorce, this crime may still be going on. think about it, people.
Whoa, just stumbled on this thread. Even though this case is a couple of years old I thought I'd pipe in. uhh, mr/ms "right?" ... mr/ms. "still anonymous"??? you're the one who doesn't get it. go do your homework. retard.
that's a great comeback reply, Anonymous 7:15 AM. i've obviously done a lot of homework and know a lot of information about the subject...what do you know? not very much by your reply.
whoa, people ... c'mon now, mga kababayan tayo. if you really cared about integrity, sir or maam anonymous, you wouldn't be throwing stones and you just might be checking yourself for a flaw here or there. it seems like, among those who have posted here, the majority of us know the calimlims, and feel badly for what happened to them. but, first and foremost, let's be civil to one another. there's enough hate in the world as it is. let us stand together and remember our common ancestry forever unites us thru thick and thin. Mabuhay!
|
|
Welcome to Sheryl's website, where I talk about my family's travels and the joys (and ordeals) of living as an expat. Oh, and to read more about my obsession with food, check out my food blog, Crispy Waffle. ARCHIVES FRIENDS NETHERLANDS/EXPAT DAILY READS FOOD OBSESSED
|
|
| © Sheryl Cababa 2004. Powered by BLOGGER | |||
