March 16, 2000
on LocalVibe.com
It's taken
me quite some time to come up with this column. Partly because I have
a tendency to take on more than I can handle, and partly because of the
topic. It's not funny. It's not a load of laughs. It's doesn't have any
simple solution either. I know. No
surprise there. Maniacs lurk everywhere, waiting for the chance to get
away with some sick sexual attack. Problem is, most of the time you can't
even tell who they are until they strike. One can only be wary. Especially
during night-time commutes. The following,
sadly, are true stories from the mouths of fellow urban commuters. Read
on and promise me you won't stand idly by when something like this happens
near you or TO you.
MANYAK
See, there are sick people in this city.
THE SQUEEZER
From the depths of Mandaluyong comes this report, a mere 2 weeks ago:
A petite mid-20's woman, barely 5 feet tall, on the pedestrian overpass
above EDSA coming from Megamall and heading to Shaw. Rush hour. Dense
crowd. The woman walks with head bowed, concentrating on the path ahead
of her. A man comes head-on, bumps into her, squeezes her breasts so hard
it hurts an hour afterwards, and departs. Woman is too shocked to react.
The manyak is swallowed by the crowd.
THE WANKER
A few years back. Sunny afternoon. A friend of mine (18 year old girl)
rides a jeep into the nether-regions of Fairview. She sits behind the
jeep driver. There are no other passengers at the back. A man gets on
and sees the girl. Unzips his pants and starts masturbating in front of
her. Girl freaks out... silently. Driver doesn't notice. The masturbating
man delights in the girl's disgust/fear/outrage. She stops the jeep and
decides to disembark early, but not before telling the driver what the
manyak is doing.
THE HANDY
MAN
An officemate's cousin is going home to Los Banos on the last bus trip
of the night. 11 pm. Only 5 other passengers. She is at the back of the
bus because she wants to sleep. Somewhere along the South Superhighway,
the bus picks up a man who decides --of all places-- to sit near the woman.
She decides to ignore him. A few minutes later... She is startled awake
by something warm on her inner thigh. The man's hand is just about to
reach her groin. She smashes his face with her bag, goes up front and
tells the bus conductor about the incident. The manyak is made to disembark
along the highway, in the middle of nowhere.
THE PIMP
CABBY
A friend of a friend was going home one night from a party. Very pretty
woman, 2 or 3 months pregnant-- but not enough to show overtly. She takes
a cab home to Paranaque, and is quite pleased the driver hasn't tried
to make "kontrata" the fare.
When the route the cabby takes starts looking suspiciously diffferent, she asks where they're heading. The cabby says: "Wag kang mag-alala, hindi naman kita aanuhin. Siguro mga isang libo pwede na sa iyo, ano? Mga 'Kano naman iyon, hindi sila nananakit. (Don't worry, I won't harm you. One thousand pesos is probably your rate? Don't worry, these are Americans I'm taking you to to, they're harmless.)"
She protests that she's not "that kind" of gal, but the driver is mute. At which point she grabs her celphone (which is low on battery power) and fakes a call to a military boyfriend. Driver panics but doesn't stop. She demands point blank: "Iuuwi mo ba ako o hindi? (Are you taking me home or not?)" The driver still isn't swerving from his path. She opens the door and tumbles out into the night. She survives with bruises and broken bones. The child however is lost.
There are many more stories. But few have happy endings.
All I know is this: you are NOT helpless.
Don't let
those fuckers get away with it.
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