The Scavengers

The Scavengers ( Basureros)

Ever since He was diagnosed that he was having a possible heart enlargement in the last APE, he had exerted more effort to do physical exercises. He do jogging during week days and do long - ride mountain biking every Sunday. But this Sunday is a special Sunday to him. While he was on his way to the mountains of Busay (Cebu) hoping to strengthen his heart by this exercise, instead, he personally encountered a heart-breaking scene that changed him. He already passed the Marco Polo Plaza (formerly Cebu Plaza Hotel) when he decided to stop to buy bananas at a small Eatery located along the road. He haven't taken any solid food that morning so he need fruits to have the needed energy to get him to his destination - the mountain top. He was almost done eating with the second banana when he noticed two children across the street busily searching the garbage area.  Scavengers!   he said to himself and quickly turn his attention away from them to sip a small amount of water. He cared less for these kind of children actually; to make it straight, he do not like them, and don’t  trust them even more. You see, several times we have been a victim to these kind of children who are pretending to be scavengers ( basureros) looking for empty bottles and cans when in fact the 'plastic pails, 'kettles', and 'clothes' are their favorites. He remembered one afternoon while he was watching a Mike Tyson fight when he noticed that the TV screen suddenly became blurred. He checked outside and saw two young scavengers (basureros) running away with his newly installed antenna. Hatred may be a little bit stronger word to describe his feelings toward them, but he do not like them honestly not till he met these three children. He was about to embark on his bike again when he heard one of the two children, a girl of about 7 or 8 of age saying aloud to the other, a 12-yr old boy, ("kuya si dodong kuha-a kay nag-sige'g tan-aw sa mga nagkaon, mauwaw ta") older brother please pull out younger brother staring the customers while eating it’s very shameful, only then that he noticed a small boy standing near to him biting slightly his finger. He's a few inches shorter if compared to his 5 year old son (but he knew later that he's also 5 yrs. Old). Though he did not asked for food to anyone in the small eatery, the way he looked at the customers who were eating, enough to convince me that he intensely craving for it. The older boy then quickly crossed the street and gently pulled out the little one who politely obeyed. As he watched the two crossing back the street to the garbage area, he heard the owner saying ("Lo-oy kaayo nang mga bataa uy, mga buotan ra ba na") I pity for those children for they are polite and kind. He learned further from  the eatery owner that the children are from a good family , both parents were working before, and that their father got a stroke 3 years ago and became partially disable and their mother died of heart attack while their father was still confined at the hospital. The parents were still in their early forties when the catastrophe happened, and the children became scavengers since then to meet their daily needs and for their father's medication. Deeply moved by what he heard, he went to a nearby bakery and bought 20 pesos worth of bread and gave it to the children who initially refused including the little boy.( "Sige lang noy, salamat na lang, magpalit lang nya mi kung mahalinan na mi") No thanks sir, we will just buy later once we will sell all this garbage , the young girl exclaimed . He explained that they need to go home because it started to rain. ("Naanad naman mi ani") we used to this the girl answered again. Again, he explained that the rain can make them sick and if they'll become sick there's no one to take care of their father. Upon mentioning their father, they nodded and accept the bread but he noticed that the older boy did not eat. When he asked him if he does not like the kind of bread he bought for them he smiled but as he's about to explain, the little girl, who is the more talker of them interrupted, ("Domingo man gud ron ,noy, basta Sabado ug Domingo hapon ra siya mokaon kami ra ang mokaon ug pamahaw pero dili na pod mi mokaon inig hapon,si kuya ra. Pero basta Lunes ngadto sa Biyernes, kay klase man, si kuya ra sad ang seguro-on ug papamahaw, kami hapon na sad mi moka-on Pero kung daghan mi ug halin mokaon mi tanan.") Because today is Sunday and during weekend older brother will sacrifice his breakfast in our favor and only during afternoon that he will have his meals and we sacrificed ours for him, however, during weekdays since he has to attend his classes we see to it that he will have his breakfast and we sacrificed ours, she continued. ("Ngano man diay ug mokaon mong tanan, bahinon ninyo bisan ug unsa ka gamay?") Why don’t you divide and share it among yourselves no matter how little it is at least all of you will eat? he countered. The young girl reasoned out that their father wanted that her older brother to come to school with full stomachs so he can easily catch up the teacher's lessons. ("Inig katrabaho ni kuya mo undang na man mi ug pamasura, first honor baya na siya ) After older brother will graduate and will land a good job because he is first honor in his class, we will stop being scavengers, the little boy added proudly.

Maybe he was caught by surprised or he was just overly emotional that his tears started to fall.
He then quickly turned his back from them to hide his tears and pretended to pick up his
bike from the small Eatery where he left it. He didn't know how many seconds or minutes he spent just to compose himself; pretending again this time that he was mending by bike. Finally he got on to his bike and approached the three children to bid goodbye  who in turn casted their grateful smiles at him. He then took a good look to all of them especially to the small boy and pat his head with a pinch in his heart. Though he believed that their positive look in life can easily changed their present situation, there is one thing that they can never changed; that is , their being motherless. That little boy can no longer taste the sweet embrace, care, and most of all , the love of his mother forever. Nobody can refill the empty gap created by that sudden and untimely death of their mother. Every big and important event that will happen to their lives will only remind them and make them wish of their mother's presence. He reached to his pocket and handed to them his last 100 peso bill which he reserved for his department's bowling tournament. This time they refused strongly but he jokingly said to the girl that he will box her if she will refuse. (" sumbagon teka ron kung di nimo dawaton"). She smiled as she extended her hand to take the money. Thank you very much sir, at least we can buy now father’s medicine, ( "Salamat noy makapalit gyud me ron ug tambal ni papa") she uttered. He then turned to the small boy and though he's a few feet away from him, he still noticed that while his right hand was holding the half - filled sack , his left hand was holding a toy , a worn out toy car. He waved his hands and said goodbye to him as he drove towards the mountain again. Did he just find the toy in the garbage area or the toy was originally his - when the misfortune did not take place yet? - He did not bother asking, but one thing is crystal clear to him, that despite of the boy's abnormal life he did not give up his childhood completely. He can sense it the way he hold and stared at his toy.

His meeting with those young scavengers has changed and made him richer as to the lessons in life were concerned. In them, he’d learned that life can change suddenly and caught him flat footed.  In them, he had learned that even the darkest side of life, cannot change the beauty of one's heart. Those three children, who sometimes cannot eat three times a day, still able to hold on to what they believed is right. And contrary to most of us who are quick to point out to our misfortunes when caught with our mistakes. In them, we've learned to hope for things when things seem to go the other way.

Lastly, we know that God cares for them far more than we do. That though He allowed them to experience such unfortunate life which our finite minds cannot comprehend, His unquestionable 

Love will surely follow them through.

And in God's own time they will win.