Columnist draws ire of OFWs in Dubai, elsewhere

When columnist Malu Fernandez’s travelogue was published in the June issue of People Asia Magazine, not a few were incensed about how she shared her Mediterranean excursion. Especially after this self-proclaimed diva confessed, in her homeward flight from Dubai, that she would rather “slash" her wrists than be “trapped in a plane" with any Filipino overseas worker. Her article, “From Boracay to Greece," has been drawing a slew of heated word-wars from all over the blogosphere, particularly from a group of overseas Filipino journalists in Dubai, who demanded a public apology from her and her resignation from the Manila-based newspaper and magazine she was writing for. The Filipino Press Club-Dubai has posted a statement at the website Tingog.com demanding the Manila Standard Today columnist to apologize to the more than 200,000 Filipino migrant workers there who felt “insulted" by her story. “The incident recounted in her flight via Dubai to Manila in which she berated fellow Filipinos (who had already endured the misfortune of working away from their families) on board Emirates for wearing “cheap" perfumes had no significant bearing to her story," the group said. The Filipino Press Club-Dubai is composed of professional journalists from the print, broadcast and web-based media in the United Arab Emirates. It particularly reacted to a paragraph in Fernadez’s article where she narrated her horrid ordeal with the Filipino migrant workers during her flight home at the airline's economy section. Cheap perfume “On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more," Fernandez wrote. “This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while Jo Malone evaporated into thin air," she said, referring to her expensive perfume brand. The Dubai-based group came out in defense of the overseas Filipino migrant workers. “To suggest all Dubai-based OFWs smell awful because they are unable to afford expensive perfumes like the one she’s wearing is high-brow snobbery," their statement read, adding that this attitude further widens the gap between the country’s rich and poor. Aside from the “cheap smell," the lifestyle writer also complained about the cramped plane seats which bruised her legs, the busted small flat screen in front of her and how she failed to sleep in during the flight because of the noisy chattering of the migrant workers. “I heaved a sigh, popped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sounds of gum chewing and endless yelling of ‘HOY! Kumusta ka na? At taga san ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?’" she said. “I thought I had died and God had sent me to my very own private hell," Fernandez added. To “enlighten Ms Fernandez and her editors," the overseas-based group cited data from UAE Consul General Maria Theresa Taguiang showing that a majority of the 250,000 Filipino workers there are not domestic helpers. According to their statement, “24 percent [of that figure] are professional workers, 35 percent are skilled, 24 percent unskilled and 16.89 percent household workers (housemaids, personal drivers, nannies, cooks, tutors, gardeners, among other household staff)." The group is also reminding the media that insulting other people is not part of their right to free speech. “One’s freedom to poke her fingers begins where someone else’s nose begins," they said. "We strongly demand that the publishers of People Asia and Manila Standard Today take full responsibility and do the right thing: give Ms Fernandez and her editors a disciplinary action and apologize to the people insulted by these articles," the group said. Fanning the flames A month after the magazine article was published, Fernandez wrote another column, titled, “Am I being a diva? Or do you lack common sense?" in the Manila Standard Today to answer the negative feedback generated by her first opinion piece. “Just recently, I wrote a funny article in my magazine column and my friends thought it was hilarious. It was humorous and quite tongue-in-cheek, or at least I thought so, until the magazine got a few e-mails from people who didn’t get the meaning of my acerbic wit," she said. “The bottom line was just that I had offended the reader’s socioeconomic background. If any of these people actually read anything thicker then a magazine they would find it very funny…I obviously write for the certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading," she explained. But instead of pacifying the public, her response further irked the OFW and other sectors. In the last two weeks, GMANews.TV has been receiving e-mails from readers all over the globe who were outraged by Fernandez’s recent statements. “OFW ako at nasisiguro ko na marami kaming mga OFW na nakapagbasa na ng mga libro at babasahing ni hindi man lang nasayaran ng mga mata at palad ng manunulat na ito ngunit hindi ako natawa sa kanyang isinulat," Frederick Perito wrote. “Dahil kung kasing talino naming mga OFW ang Malu Fernandez na ito, dapat ay naiintindihan niya na walang kuwenta at walang kawawaan ang nilalaman ng kanyang mga artikulo maliban sa harapang panunuya at pang-aaglahi sa kanyang kapwa Pilipino," he added. The Filipino Press Club-Dubai also reacted to her recent response. “Ms Fernandez’s unrepentant response to the barrage of angry reactions from OFWs and their loved ones (“I obviously write for a certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading"), simply adds fuel to the fire," they said. Blog war The OFWs also found a staunch ally among vocal bloggers enraged by her latest statements. Through word of mouth and e-mails, Fernandez became the center of blog-bashing frenzy from several sites, calling her names like the “abominable snob-woman," and “hullabaloo Malu" among others. Bloggers were sending links and excerpts of the infamous articles, even taking pictures of the magazine spread where Fernandez’s article and travel pictures were placed. Now, the more ‘aggressive’ of this lot went on to grill Fernandez’s physical appearance. “She has been called a pig, swine, and an elephant and many have disowned her as a Filipino," wrote Prudence in her blog. Others turned to a more unified move in response to Fernandez’s article. ‘Nick’ from Tingog.com also launched an on-line signature campaign for the firing of Fernandez as well as the boycott of the two publications until the writer responds to their demand. “Email your friends, leave a comment in this section, tell family members, write a blog post, and spread the word, that this boycott is to be nationwide, and that no one should buy The Manila Standard Today until they fire Malu Fernandez and make a proper statement of apology," he wrote. Inquirer columnist and fellow blogger, Manolo Quezon III picked up on the current cyberspace war but refused to call for Fernandez’s resignation. “I’m not for firing people on the basis of what they write. So boycott as you please, but I don’t support having anyone fired," he wrote. He then suggested an alternative form of retaliation. “Why not take her travel photos and run a Mala Malu photo caption contest instead? Loads of fun and extremely educational," Quezon said in his website, while featuring the magazine pictures of Fernandez in Boracay and Greece. - Mark J. Ubalde, GMANews.TV