Life (and death) in the Philippines

[smb]

Well. OK... It's not only in the Philippines that you have to pay for justice, I know.

Same as it's not only in the Philippines where you have to pay for basic health care...

Yesterday, someone came knocking at my door with a letter from the local Barangay (local government) Chairman, giving him permission to solicit for funds.

I was just about to send the guy away when he mentioned something about a rape. Now the name Vic Rolfe stands for FREEDOM and one thing I can not stand is when one person forces his will on and abuses another... So I started to look at the bunch of papers this guy was holding. Medical certificates to prove that rape had indeed taken place. Court papers etc., etc...

But wait. The girl that had been raped - by one of her neighbors - was only 5 years old

Fill in the rest.

p.s. I am not stupid and I have been in the Philippines long enough to know the lengths some, (it has to be said - a VERY SMALL FRACTION of the people here... but they do exist,) people will go to here to con you out of your money. You never can tell. Filipinos don't trust Filipinos that they don't even know - so why should I?

It was this thought alone that prevented me from giving ALL my available cash. (I gave some and I'll happily give more if I find out that this is a genuine case...)

p.p.s. This sort of case is very close to my heart... I found out, after 7 years of a living Hell on Earth that someone I had been very closely associated with had been raped as a child. By a neighbor. And this, as far as I am concerned, was THE cause of her schizophrenia and other personality disorders that I had to live with. I was eventually able to more-or-less get away from it - (bar the odd court case).

But she will have to live with the damage for the rest of her life.