I am Belen. I grew up in the northern part of Cebu with my father and mother, together with my other siblings, two boys and two girls. I was the third-born child.
My father was a construction worker. I cannot remember well about my mother’s work; however, I remember that she gambled and most of the time she was out of the house. I think she used to bake also. I observed that my parents always quarrelled but I did not know the reasons for their quarrels.
When I was young I used to help my aunty in her sari-sari store [a small convenience outlet] as well as cleaning our house and looking after my little brothers and sister.
At age eight, my mother took me to another island far from our home. This was after a big fight with my father. All I remember from that time is that my mother sold me to a bar owner in that place.
At the age of nine, I was rescued from that bar by some government workers. I stayed at the government centre for young girls for a year. After the incident when I was eight, I never saw my parents again. I only saw my older sister, who was also prostituted. She was tough and has left prostitution.
At 10, I was transferred to a non-government organisation located in Cebu City. While at the centre I finished grade three and went on to take a government examination. I was accelerated to grade six but I did not enrol for a higher level because I ran away from the centre. I was 14 at that time. I was staying in one of the main streets in the city when someone recruited me to go to the red light district.
Until now I am still very angry at my mother for what she did to me. I remember I told her when she left me at the bar that it would have been better for me if she had killed me when I was young. I did not have a good childhood experience; I just grew up without knowing it.
If I could rewrite my story, I just wish that my mother would say sorry for what she did to me when I was young and then I would also ask her to forgive me.
As told to Our Community
