Humanity??

It has been ages since I wrote in my blog. Been really busy, and doing quite a bit of travelling. But all that is really no excuse. Hopefully things will change from now.

Something happened last Monday, and it really bothered me. Rather than write about it in a rage of temper and emotion, I thought I would give myself time to cool down, so that I can write succinctly.

We hired Rommel as our Accountant recently. Rommel was stricken with polio before he turned 2 (he is now 38), and has been in a wheelchair since. He is one of more than a dozen persons with disabilities (PWDs) who work for us. Like everyone else, he works from home. But last Monday, I asked him to come to the office, to meet a few people, and look at some of the things we do in the office.

Just before 8:30 am, when I got to the office, I checked with my Executive Assistant Ryan (who is also in a wheelchair and works from home), if Rommel is on his way. I was then told that he had been waiting by the roadside since 6:30 am. Whilst many empty taxis passed by, no one would stop for him. I could not believe my ears, and immediately sent my driver to pick him up. Rommel lives more than an hour away from my office.

Until now, I still feel so bad for not having been aware that something like that could happen, and according to Ryan, it often happens. Taxi drivers just do not want to be bothered with having to help people like Rommel into their taxi, and to deal with the wheelchair.

That evening, when I was in my car with Rommel, heading home, we chatted about his life. I asked him how he would survive during the times when he did not have a job. I knew that he was out of work for some time in 2004 to 2005, from his resume. He told me that he had borrowed from Ryan before. “Ryan?”, I said, but prior to Ryan working for me, he only had a part time job, and barely made enough to survive.

In 2004-2005, Ryan operated a little computer business from his home. He had 3 PCs which he would rent out to kids to play games for 15 peso an hour. And he also did a bit of printing for some clients. The business was doing well....which meant that he made almost 10,000 pesos a month.

His home was one of 3 small “shacks”, belonging to one landlord, who also had other properties. The shack beside him was empty. The landlord, upon seeing that Ryan’s business was doing well, bought 10 PCs, set up shop right next door to Ryan, and undercut Ryan’s price. This effectively killed Ryan’s business. Apart from being confined to a wheelchair himself, Ryan’s wife has only one arm.

I hope the Good Lord will forgive me for my rather jaded view of humanity as a result of this.