Politics

Poor grandmas forced to care for [Duterte] drug war orphans

Ronald was responsible for providing money and food for the family, and with his absence, the weight of such responsibility is now placed on the shoulders of 69-year-old Lola Kyla who can barely even stand upright. ​

“Nang buhay pa siya, wala talaga kaming problema (When he was still alive, we really didn’t have any problems),” said Lola Kyla, the grandmother of the children Henry and Joyce whose parents were supposed to marry after living together for many years. The wedding never took place because their father, Ronald, was shot dead in government’s war against drugs … “Bakit kinuha si Papa (Why was Papa taken from us)?” Laura asked her grandmother Lola Susan who lost her son to the drug war. “Wala na akong Papa (I don’t have a Papa anymore).” In an interview with Project SOW, Lola Susan said that words like these from her grandchild would often just stun her to silence … What became common, however, in the aftermath of their fathers’ death is their aggressive behavior. “Sana di na lang namatay si Papa; sana yung pumatay sa kanya mamatay na din (I wish Papa didn’t have to die; I wish his killer would die too),” said Yana in one of the processing sessions the children had. “Galit sila na wala silang magawa, hanggang mura na lang. Minsan napapanuod nila sa TV, nagmumura lang sila. Minumura nila yung mga kapulisan, minumura nila si Pangulo (They’re angry that they can’t do anything, so they just curse. Sometimes when they watch TV, they curse at the police, they curse at the President),” Nanay Jane said in a group sharing about her two young boys’ reaction to the death of their father and brother.

Original Article (Abs Cbn):
Poor grandmas forced to care for [Duterte] drug war orphans
Artwork Fair Use: Phillipine Govt

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