Malu Fernandez on OFWs

Malu Fernandez, an irresponsible, elitist, bigoted and discriminating columnist of People Asia and Manila Standard Today (& definitely not a relative of mine), is one of the favorite topics of Filipino bloggers recently. Why? Because of her infamous article that was published in People Asia Magazine that received thousands of comments. If you still don't know her then you have to read part of her article:

"However I forgot that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) were stationed there. The duty-free shop was overrun with Filipino workers selling cell phones and perfume. Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrists at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them."

"While I was on the plane (where the seats were too small I had bruises on my legs), my only consolation was the entertainment on the small flat screen in front of me. But it was busted, so I heaved a sigh, popped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sounds of gum chewing and endless yelling of "HOY! Kumusta ka na? At taga saan ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?" I thought I had died and God had sent me to my very own private hell."

"On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more. This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air."

"Just recently, I wrote a funny article in my magazine column and my friends thought it was hilarious. It was humorous and quite tongue-in-cheek, or at least I thought so, until the magazine got a few e-mails from people who didn’t get the meaning of my acerbic wit. The bottom line was just that I had offended the reader’s socioeconomic background. If any of these people actually read anything thicker then a magazine they would find it very funny. Most people don’t get the fact that they need bitches like me to shake up their world, otherwise their lives would be boring and mediocre. I obviously write for the a certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading.

Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabes. One group will never get the culture of the other. Although I could mention that it is easier to understand someone who has a lower socioeconomic background that would entail a whole other page and frankly I don’t want to be someone to bridge the gap between socioeconomic classes. I leave that to the politicians in my family who believe they can actually help. Now I seriously ask you, am I being a diva or are people around me just lacking in common sense? Perhaps it’s a little of both!"

Unlike my family, I think Ms. Fernandez is fortunate to belong to the elite group, but I don't think she has the privileged to discriminate those OFWs.

Malu Fernandez and the POLITICIANS in her family should be thankful to those OFWs who sacrificed a lot of things not only to help their family but also this country. OFWs in the Middle East alone brings more than $10 Million dollars to this country, that's why I'm proud to be a son of an OFW who works in Israel.

I really think that she is not the only person to blame for this article. Her editors should also be blame for this. I don't think it's freedom of speech, you have to be responsible with what you are writing. And if the Filipino owes an apology, this should not only come from Malu but also from the magazine and newspapers she belong to. Their editors shows lack of responsiblity to their readers.

There are other lifestyle columnist out there like Maurice Archache and Tessa Prieto-Valdez who never insulted OFWs in their columns. This people have good breeding and don't boast they're riches.

Anyway, an article from abs-cbn news website said that she resigned from her job after several complaints sent via the Internet and other types of media.

Malu Fernandez is another reason why Filipinos are not progressing because of being a racist. The sad news: it's against ourselves.