Month: november 2009

Philipino household workers
Philipino migrant workers' shelter, AmmanAmman, Jordan. November 17th, 2009The living condition for Philipino migrant workers in Jordan is so bad that the embassy had to put up a shelter for them.

We support some Philipino migrant workers with their medication.


NameEmbassy of the Philippines to Jordan / support and shelter for distressed ...
November 13. Friday the 13th.


I will cross the border to Israel/Palestine today. Friday the thirteenth is the right day to try my luck. So I say goodbye to Jeff and take a taxi to the bridge. After some uncomplicated steps at the Jordanian side involving exit tax, a slow bus takes me across the actual Allenby bridge, ...
November 12. Lagging behind.
A day of writing and administration. I stay in almost all day, except for a short visit to the supermarket where I buy the ingredients for a salad, that will be my contribution to the party at night.



And that party is really nice. There is plenty of delicious food and karaoke. ...
November 11. Amman hot sun.
Let's skip our discussion about the Israelis. It's a very intense and sensitive issue. Breakfast is plenty and I get at least some writing done, before we go do some sightseeing with Tönis and Basil, a publicity guy working at the US embassy. The citadel of Amman is as interesting as a pile of stones ...
November 10. Filipino household workers.
This is another rewarding day at work. I visit the Philippine embassy, because this is my cause in Jordan: helping distressed Filipino household workers that had fled their mentally and physically abusive employers. I have made myself ready to visit the shelter and as I go out the door I bump into Tönis from Estonia, ...
November 9. Driving around in circles, then to Amman.


Taking a taxi to Amman requires some patience if you are on a budget. The driver will drive seven times around the block to pick up more passengers, sticking his head out of the window and shouting to the yellow city limit cabs "Amman! Amman!". He offers me a more timely departure for ...
November 8. Three good brothers.
Do you like my tone? Or does it sound too much like atonement? Well, you can switch me off, just like a television, you know, the old ones, that still had a big button on them. I wake up today in a four people dormitory and decide to walk around Damascus.

The National Museum ...
November 7: Those little treasures

A bright sun wakes me at 8:30, I do some dishes, play some music on my little computer and continue writing about my beautiful experience. I look at the pharmacy receipts they gave me yesterday and they are so valuable for me. My little treasures. Not that I need proof of my being good ...
November 6. A memorable day.

This is a memorable day. I wake up on the couch of Mona's apartment, and we have a short breakfast together. She explains me how to get to the Al-Manar television - the Hezbollah news station. I walk out that sunny morning and ask for the way a couple of times. A billboard is ...