Would you help a total stranger?
By Irene Arsenia, Staff Reporter
DUBAI – Would you help a total stranger? This was the question that a popular Dubai-based Filipina radio presenter posted on her Facebook page on Sunday after being stranded at a mall in Dubai.
“Got turned away even by fellow #Pinoys tonight when my #car died at #IbnBattutaMall. It hurt but I understand [sic],” she wrote, posting a photo of her car engine and a set of jumper cables.
“I called Dial a Battery but they said it'll take them more than an hour, I had my kids with me and mainit (it was hot) so I took a chance na lang to get help [sic],” she said.
She managed to get home, “thank God to the lovely Indian couple who came to our rescue”.
Her post stirred an online debate on what some say was dying Filipino camaraderie abroad.
“Pinoy hospitality for export only,” Jeper Parde wrote in reply, adding that Filipinos seem to have forgetten the “bayanihan culture” of helping others.
Expats Bernal Rizel and Jovy Aballa Mamerto said they had a similar experience, and in both instances, Filipinos did not offer help. “It was Indians who helped us,” Mamerto said*.
Others lashed at what they describe as Filipinos’ indifference to other Filipinos. “Sometimes other nationalities are more sympathetic and helpful. Unfortunately for Filipinos it seems more about curiosity with no intention to assist,” MJ Tanajura Uy commented*.
Dundun de los Reyes shared an incident on the bus with his wife. De los Reyes said his wife was pregnant at the time when another Filipina beat her to the only available seat. “Only an Indian woman gave up her seat,” de los Reyes said*.
Have you experienced asking help from strangers in the UAE? Do you believe that Filipino expats in the UAE are indifferent when it comes to helping other Filipinos? Share your views with us.
* comments translated to English
