Mary Jane Veloso’s advice to Pinays: Don’t end up like me


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A couple of days before the Indonesian government ordered her execution, former OFW Mary Jane Veloso wrote some letters. Aside from her letters to her family, one letter that grabbed people’s attention was addressed to Filipino women.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) posted images of Veloso’s letter on Facebook, which is written in Filipino. In it, she appeals to women not to leave the country anymore even if life gets tough. In her letter, Veloso also admits that her desire to provide for her kids made her vulnerable and led her to make bad decisions such as trusting her recruiter too much and not taking the legal route to get out of the country.

We’re reposting the translation of a part of Veloso’s letter below:

My fellow countrywomen, I don’t want what happened to me to happen to you. So, it’s better if you don’t leave our country anymore. Even if life is hard, we’re with the ones we love.

For my beloved countrywomen in the Philippines, I want you to know that if you want to work abroad, go through the legal way so you’ll avoid being harmed and you won’t end up like me.

Original text in Filipino:

Mga kababayan kong babae, ayokong mangyari sa inyo ang nangyari sa akin. Kaya kung mas mabuti, huwag na kayong umalis sa ating bansa. Kahit na mahirap ang ating buhay, kasama naman nating an gating mga mahal sa buhay.

Para sa mga mahal kong kababayang babae sa Pilipinas, gusto kong ipaabot sa inyong lahat na kung gusto ninyong magtrabaho o pumunta sa ibang bansa, huwag kayong papaya kung hindi kayo gagamit nang agency o legal na paraan para maiwas kayo sa kapahamakan at nang hindi ninyo abutin ang sinapit ko.”

 

04.25.15.Letters of Mary Jane Veloso from Nusa Kambangan Island-page-005

Posted by Department of Foreign Affairs Republic of the Philippines on Saturday, April 25, 2015

Photo: News clip



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