For this interview I spoke to Jaja who I met in the hostel where I stayed. She is Filipino and spent the last two years travelling. She went to India, Nepal and Bali, but also European countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Spain, etc. Now she stays in Manila for a while to set up a company concerning herbs. But she doesn’t want to stay in Manila, because the city gives her stress. It’s so crowded and also not healthy with all the air pollution of the traffic.
She told me that before she went traveling, she had a good job at an international company. But she didn’t like the fact that she had to pay 32% to taxes, but the government did nothing for her with that money. Because she felt she was not happy with the way she lived her life back then, just working, she decided to quit her job. They offered her a better job to keep her, but eventually she quitted that too and she went travelling from her savings.
She loves to meet new people and to experience the backpack culture that is present between travelers. One time, when she went to India she broad along a little printer. Then she would take pictures of the people in the mountains and print them and give them to the people there. Such a creative solution to give pictures to people who would not otherwise have pictures of themselves.
We talked about the Philippines and about cultural differences with the Netherlands. People in the Netherlands tend to be very direct, while Filipinos aren’t. Filipino people are also quite lazy is her opinion. They adapt easily to their situation, but also passively accept their situation. According to Jaja, most Filipinos could complete a study. It’s not an excuse if you are poor, because you can work to finance it. The problem is; people will say ‘I cannot study because I am poor’. And if you work for your study, people will know you are poor and that’s a shame. So either way some people will reason that studying is not for them. Such an incomplete reasoning. I think people who work hard to achieve their goals should get respect. Jaja herself did also work for her study. Her family was able to afford it, but they had a disagreement and then she had to finance herself. That was hard for people to understand, because she fitted in neither of the two common boxes. She didn’t fit in the box of rich people whose parents could afford the study of their children. On the other hand, she also didn’t fit in the box of people who worked for their study because they were poor. By the way, Jaja says that ‘on the other hand’ is a typical Dutch way of saying.
We talked about the extreme differences in the Philippines between poor and rich. That day I had been to the slums with Smokey Tours and after that we went to a rich part of town with many big, shiny cars. And I could drive home with one of the girls that also had joined the tour in her car with driver. We concluded multiple things. According to Jaja the government is corrupt so there is much money that goes to the wrong places. Also, poor people should do more about their situation themselves. Most people accept their situations too easily. This reminds me of the protests of the working class in the time of the industrial revolution in Holland. Finally the mass demonstrated against the big bosses of the factories that made them work long days under poor conditions. Maybe Filipinos should 'fight' for their rights too. I think of 2 taxi drivers we spoke with. One made a shift of 12 hours a day from 7 am to 7 pm. The other one rented a taxi and made shifts of 24 hours. He had no house anymore. When he was free, he slept on the street.
Jaja's plans for the future are to build up her company and live somewhere outside of Manila. But recently there came an option along to work in Australia on a position similar to her former job. So maybe she will emigrate to Australia.
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