Finders - Keepers, even Babies.

Living in The Philippines for long time now, I am still amazed at The Shocks,, that i get sometimes. You would think I would have seen it all and experienced it all. Well, last Monday night I was to find out that I still have lots to learn and experience in The Pearl of The Orient.

Coming from a get together with some friends, were walking in Cebu City. It was a decent part of town, quite, no one out much. We had decided to walk down to a local club where my wife has some friends and say hello before heading home. It was about 2 am in the morning and taxi's were not so many at this time. It was only a short distance so we walked. While walking I noticed something coming down the sidewalk, in which I thought was a dog. The closer we approached, I said Oh My God. My wife said what, what is it. I said look, and to our amazement there was a baby of no more than 7 to 8 months old. Just at the stage of crawling ( Not for sure the actual age of the child, but it was only able to crawl, not walk yet. )

Now at first i will have to say that I was not totally in shock, because lot of street people will sleep on cardboard boxes with children in The City. ( Only in certain areas.) But, as I looked up the road, and back behind me, and then across the road, they was no one in sight. I told my wife, oh look at that. Where is the mother ? How did it get here? It could not have come from a long way... So as we stood there in shock, looking at the naked little child, I said to my wife, what shall we do. Of course my wife being a Filipina, and understanding and more accustom to the way of life here, said ,,, " Just leave it alone, do not bother it, someone is close here, we just can not see them." Of course my Western Culture kicked in and I told her to stay with the child and I walked for a good distance up the road from which way the baby was crawling from. Looking for alley way, home, people... Nothing, only store front after store front. No homes, no alley someone might live, no people sleeping on the street.

I came and asked my wife, what shall we do.. Reluctantly, she said we should not involve ourselves with it. But even with her cultural hardness, she still would not say to leave it. So I said ok, lets call the police and they can take care of it. I can not just leave it crawling up the streets or maybe fall off the elevated sidewalk into a drain, or even dogs to attack it.

So we called the police, the officers arrived and we told the story. Now this is where things are going to get interesting. The officer was talking to me, and just general chit chat. The normal Filipino conversation. How long you been here ? Are you married ? Do you have Children? Of course i answered all the questions, one of which being my wife and I do not have children.

So the officers were talking, I was thinking we would be going now, and things would be taken care of. The officer returned and said, well sir, the DSWD has no one in at this time, and we are on our way to another call. Since you and you wife do not have children, just keep it.. WHAT!!!!!! Yes , he said just keep it, you and your wife have no children so you can raise it and give it good life. We can prepare the papers for you later.. I can only say I was speechless.. The next words that come out of my mouth is , I do not want it , ( not meaning It as bad, but i was sure it belonged to someone.) The officer still insisted we should take it, saying its good for a Filipina woman to have a baby in their culture. It would be good for my wife, and would also be good for the child.

By this time I am at the point I do not know what to say, or do. My wife was even talking with the other officer and getting the same speech.. At this time a small crowd, that i have no idea where come from, started forming. Well needless to say, I said how can finding a baby and trying to help it, turn into all this. I am sure these people are thinking what in the world My wife and I have done. What could be going through their minds. Plus, I know how here in The Philippines some local people will see a situation, and just make up a story that best suits the circumstances as what they see. Not knowing the real facts about anything.

So here I am standing and thinking of how somewhere tomorrow you will see a article in the Paper of Foreigner and wife trying to steal a baby in Cebu City.. lol ha ha ha ha ha. Its funny now, but at the time it was not so funny. So anyways, I had finally come to the decision that i was going to just strongly say NO and we had to go, it was a police matter for them to handle now. By this time another street lady had wondered in to see what was going on. The police officers talked to her and she said, She had no idea or had never seen the child before. So next thing i know one of the officers hands the child to the lady, and say its ok sir, everything is taken care of. The woman began walking up the street with the child and that was it. Not for sure if the child was actually her's, or she just also just took it.

The next morning, I began to tell my story to some of my employee's and to my amazement, come to find out, that is a common practice here. Not so much the finding and keeping a child, but that friends, and really poor people will give their children to richer people, or even not rich people. They maybe can not feed them, or have to go away, or i guess they are many reasons. I was shocked to find that many of my employees were the same situation. Lot of parents I had met, were not actually there parents. One young lady said her parents lived somewhere in Mindanao and had given her to her ( Father ) now when he was working there on a ship. So he brought her home and been with them ever since. You will find this with Aunts, Uncles, and many family members taking children from other family members and raising them their entire life. Also many with just strangers, politicians, and just in general a lot of people.

So i guess the old attache of " Finders, Keepers." really hold true here in Philippines, even for Children. LOL ha ha ha ha ha. Thought i would just share just another Great Cultural Experience of mine while Living here in Philippines.