An article about an American man residing in Madridejos, Bantayan Island reminded me of how much or how little we often know about our community. The American (Gary Lee Rohn) was arrested in June 2009 for allegedly “intimately touching” children. While this case exemplifies alleged child abuse, the fact is that the Philippines is somewhat of a hub for western, often middle-aged men, who visit the country in quest for Filipina’s (whom are mostly many years their junior). The Filipinas generally seem to be in search for a ticket out of poverty (note that poverty should be broadly defined in terms of economics, education, employment and opportunity). As the case of Gary Lee Rohn and the case of a certain Josef Fritzl from Austria suggest, such visitors to the Philippines (or other South-East Asian nations) can be labeled as sex tourists and can therefore pose a threat to the health of a community.
Article on the American Gary Lee Rohn, resident of Madridejos, Bantayan Island Philippines. - Source: Cebu Daily News
A community’s culture is defined by whatever it does and whatever it thinks. The threat posed by the lingering phenomenon of sex tourists is that people in general grow accustomed to their existence in the community while the opposite should be the case. Reports of abuse are rare. Generally, the Philippines has become a host to a somewhat jaded group of people who allow things, such as sex tourism, to occur. Thus, aside from the threat posed to individuals (the women) who get involved with what are essentially strangers (the sex tourists) it is a threat to a healthy state of mind.
What is the threat?
The women who seemingly are desperate to hook-up with foreign men are blinded by their own desires. Often confined to a situation of poverty, they generally play on their femininity or sexuality in order to attract men, hoping to find one who can provide them with a life of “luxury”. Therefore they place themselves in a potentially harmful position by trusting men who might not be trustworthy (hence the reference to the American and the Austrian). The men seemingly are attracted to women in countries like the Philippines, where desperation is a result of rampant poverty. Their character is satisfied by Filipina’s who feed their need to have a dominant position in relationships and therefore need to be acknowledged as strong, powerful, wise et cetera.
Aside from the bars (found in the cities and in the province) and unofficial red light districts, the increasing availability of the internet in the rural areas of the Philippines has made it a virtual market place for speed dating. Western men find the women by browsing through suggestive profile photos that lead to camera chatting. I was surprised to learn a few years ago (while in an internet café) that Filipinas cam(era)-chat with multiple masturbating men simultaneously. I can only assume that men visit the Philippines as a result of these online “adventures”.
Article on Josef Fritzl from Austria - Source: cnn.com
Social responsibility
The existence of questionable relationships between middle-aged western men and young Filipina’s in (especially rural) communities, often merely raise eyebrows or at least result in often humorous sessions of jokes and gossip amongst locals. This general lackluster response raises many questions of which the following seem to bother me particularly as of late: What do we know and what do we not know about our own community? Do people neglect their responsibilities as a community?
Based on experiences in the province, it has come to my attention that due to many reasons (like poverty in its broadest sense) people allow many unnecessary and unacceptable things to happen. The phenomenon of sex tourists is one. Although, the relationships are generally legal as it is a consensual relationship between two adults, I find that the community has a responsibility to acknowledge their role in influencing one another on a (dare I say it) moral level. Furthermore, there have always been many unreported yet well-known local cases of promiscuous middle-aged men with (alleged) under-aged lovers.
Therefore, the situation can be viewed from two perspectives. The perspectives are from the point of view of the women and the community. With a focus on the women in such relationships, the dangers range from the heightened risks of sexually transmitted diseases, abuse to a general failure to develop as an individual. From the perspective of a community contributing to a community culture, the danger lies in a deeply rooted fundamental problem in the Filipino mind set of passiveness simply by accepting this phenomenon.
To my observation, such phenomenon as exemplified in this piece is a mere result or perhaps a symptom that has been allowed to persist due to negligence and a lack of community participation. The best method to fight such phenomenon is tackling ignorance with education, non-involvement with empowerment and in a span of decades, the best we can hope for is for the Philippine people to eventually take responsibility and no longer lend themselves as a play toy for the outside community and their own neighbors.
NOTE: It is important to understand that there is no clear divide between victim and persecutor. Both the foreign men and the Filipina women can be labeled as such because they part-take in a mutual beneficial and consensual relationship. The responsibility lies with the community to create a voluntary response to wrong-doings in their community. This is the true definition of change.
- Scenes & Angles -
(C) Anthony Jake H. Atienza
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