⌛ Did somebody get shot?

Chi Town, My son and I will be comming down. I hope I can get things done and ready for a trip in mid july...

 

Last year when I went home there seemed to be very many Iranians going to Silliman. Not like before, where it was just a couple of Indonesians (sons of Indonesian senators on an exchange program), a couple of Koreans and a couple of Jordanians. During my short stay it seemed that the Iranians kept to themselves and were polite. But what would you expect when you're living in a country that's not your own? I know from past experience how difficult it can be to be a young adult living in a foreign land without family.

There was an incident once when I was studying at SU. My best friend was waiting in the enrollment line with his mom and there was a Jordanian guy infront of him. Unfortunately the Iranian made some rude remarks about "the old b*tch in the line who doesn't belong there" and my best friend got really pissed off. When it was the Jordanian's turn to bend forward and speak through the little window at the Admin building, my best friend kicked his @ss so hard that the Jordanian's head went through the window. Everybody thought it was quite funny and started jeering at him. My best friend beat the crap out of him that day, with his mom beside him in hysterics. From then on, the Jordanian and his friends steered clear of my best friend and our "barkada", and way back during that time everybody knew everybody so everybody knew what happened to who and where and never forgot about it. But during these times, life in Dumaguete is not so simple. These days people are using guns and knives and retaliating with gangs, and solving a fight is not that simple. Not to mention that there are so many new faces and so many sides to choose that life in Dumaguete is no longer uncomplicated.

I agree that Dumaguete is still a beautiful and relatively peaceful place to live, much better than a lot of other places, but I'm sure that native Dumaguetenos would agree with me that times have changed, and nothing compares to the ultra peaceful life in Dumaguete in the 80s, 90s and a couple years past 2000. But somehow it ended there. Violence back then was mostly domestic and thefts were petty. Crimes of higher magnitude were only seen in movies or heard of from bigger places.

More people, more violence. New faces, new attitudes and new crimes. It happens everywhere, but it's such a shame to see it happen to a place that you knew so well and remember so well how pleasant and simple it used to be. I wish things would go back to the way it used to be, everybody knowing everybody and everybody minding their own business and living their own lives. But I will still come back there to live one day and take care of our family properties because everybody still knows me and I still feel comfortable there and not an outsider. When I lived there, I was one of the handful of "foreigners from the States" that people labelled me as, but back then people accepted this handful of foreigners because they were just that - a handful. I eventually became one of them (again) and learned the dialect and earned respect and made a whole LOAD of new friends, some of whom are still there. In essence, a typical life of a Dumagueteno teen back then was hanging out with friends or "standby" and having "kilig" and the biggest problem you could encounter in a year was your motorcycle having a flat tire. What's the typical life of a Dumaguete teen now?? Having your cellphone stolen and your best friend's cousin shot at or your new motorcycle gets motornapped? Stuff like this never happened way back when. I'm just glad and proud to have experienced such a truly peaceful and beautiful way of growing up before all the really awful stuff started happening. I don't think it's only because of foreigners; I'm pretty convinced that big changes are a result of many factors, including the simple fact that Filipinos want a better way of life and are actively seeking multiple aggressive solutions to get it once and for all.

 

Sorry i disagree

Why would you even think its "not only because of foreigners?" What do foreigners have to do with the increasing level of violence? Usually, when foreigners cause problems to a particular society, its because they are often refugees (political, economic, whatever). The foreigners in Duma are certainly not refugees; they are students of higher education and retirees looking for peace and vacationers looking for paradise. They would be the last of the population to cause any violence. If what you mean is that foreigners generally have more money, so they represent themselves as potential VICTIMS/TARGETS, so thus they are part of the original cause of criminal activity, that's simply the wrong way to look at it. Its like saying maganda girls are the part of the original cause of sexual harassment and crimes simply because they are maganda. And its like people with cellfones and motor are the part of original cause of cellfone and motor snatchers. Maybe you meant something different. But I certainly dont think the foreigners are the part cause of rising criminal activity. In fact, foreigners do their part in reducing poverty in Duma by coming as tourists, establishing business establishment and hiring employees.
And about your incident way back when, the jordinian or iranian you mentioned is an *sshole. If a filipino said that, hes an *sshole. If a filipina said that, shes a b*tch. An *sshole is an *sshole regardless of the citizenship, gender or age (economic or social status for that matter). Your best friend beat up an *sshole, pure and simple, with his mother laughing hystrically (she wasnt concerned at all?? at least for her son in a fight right in front of her??). And that's that. It has nothing to do with that guy being a foreigner. Sorry, but i simply disagree with you using this example to discuss the rise in criminal activity.

 

Hi jss. Nope that's not what I meant at all. If you have seen other posts in this forum regarding violence in Dumaguete, several are mentioning that unfamiliar faces are part of the cause of an upsurge in crime. Sorry, I should have specified that I meant foreigners to Dumaguete City itself. Some of the natives I know are convinced that most criminals there are not from Dgte, but are from Cebu, Bacolod, and other neighboring places. You see, "way back when" like I said, everybody knew everybody, and when there were new faces, everybody knew that they were new faces. Maybe this seems like a dumb theory to you, but I'm sure you would be more agreeable if you had lived there way back when and understood the ways of the natives. It was pretty difficult back then to do a violent or harsh crime surrounded by your close friends and relatives and expect to get away with it.

Regarding my best friend's mother, I said she was "in hysterics" which generally means that she was freaking out. She was crying a lot and yelling, therefore she was in hysterics, not laughing hysterically.

 

Got it

Ah, ok, you meant foreigners as in those foreign to dumaguete, not those from other countries. The term you used was kind of confusing, considering this site is generally for "foreigners" from other countries. I agree with your opinion on this, as the rise in crime in puerto princesa, palawan is also attributed by the locals to people not originally from Puerto.

And i thought you meant laughing hysterically, based on what you said above about how everybody thought it was quite funny (I assumed "everybody" included his mom). Yeah, i would certainly kick anyone's @ss who would make fun of my mom!

Ingatz.

 

I agree with Caymimi. When I was studying in Dumaguete (SU) way back 1987-1992, it was such a peaceful place and the way of life is simple. I can remember walking from silliman campus to downtown area with my boardmates at the middle of the night without thingking of being harmed on the street.

 

It's very sad when you hear of criminal incidents like this. Even sadder, not just because we are from Dumaguete, but more so when we are directly related to the poor victims. I brought home my 2 daughters from the US last 2004 to study in SPUD. They are now in their 4th year of studies and the eldest is graduating HS this year (late na galing ni sila kay naa pa mi sa US).

I have set up residence in Daro and the saddest thing happened last year when a graduating nursing student was brutally murdered across the street at the back of our house! The criminal was in my property a week or so before the incident. He apparently jumped over my gate, but fortunately he was seen by my helper while he was peeping through the jalousy and he ran away.

My wife is from OzamisCity and her cousin is the Mayor there (kuno the head of the Kuratong Baleleng). Everytime we go there for a visit iya ko bugalbugalan, 'gaw, ngano nga sa Dumaguete man nimo gi uli ang imo pamilya nga kuyaw na man didto!' He is bragging, I'm sure, because Ozamis now is like the Dumaguete of before, and sad to say, Dumaguete is now what Ozamis was then!

All is not lost for us Dumaguetenos. It is just a matter of time that we will be able to drive away these undesirables. We just have to demand for political will to make necessary changes, Here is a post I lifted from another thread today...

There are some criminal activities happening that mostly go unsolved. Rest assured, with political will to implement changes ( we have so many ordinances that are either antiquated , hence useless, and relevant ones which are not implemented), a police force with a bigger budget and reinforcement (imagine the city with only 80 policemen devided into 3 shifts!),and most of all, we need a concerted and concerned effort from the community to get involve in any capacity to improve the state and well being of the city and the citizenry.

It's sad that most just sit idly by, like fence sitters, only reacting when directly involved or just waiting for good things to happen. Dumaguete is very lucky to have dedicated people like you who have endless hopes and dreams for a better Dumaguete. Let us make this tribe grow and help the city be what we expect of it. Take care and God bless...

Bason mag kita ta pohon. Look me up on your next trip to Dumaguete. Keep up the good that you have been doing and let's keep the fire of our love for Dumaguete burn fiercely and immensely.