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Monday, October 31, 2005
Family makes a home and a living within walls of Carreta cemetery
By Tisha Shayne Pingkian
St. Theresa’s College
Home, as the cliché goes, is where the heart is. For the Caritero family, that’s the cemetery.
Edgar Caritero, 37, has been married to Flor Caritero, 40, for nine years now. They have been blessed with three children.
Fifteen years ago, they met at the Carreta Roman Catholic Cemetery during one of Flor’s frequent visits to her relative, a resident at the memorial park. Not long after Edgar was introduced to her, the two became sweethearts and decided to marry.
Their children were born in the cemetery, where they now live.
Like any other couple, Edgar and Flor argue over things. Surprisingly, however, they seldom argue about money, even though the family income is derived mainly from Edgar’s lapida (tombstone) making.
According to Edgar, competition is tough in the lapida making business. To augment their income, the couple cleans tombs and graveyards for P50 a month. Some clients even haggle to try to bring the price down to P10 a month, making life even more difficult for the Cariteros.
In times of emergency, as when the children get sick, “Moadto mi sa among binantayan og mo-advance og duha ka buwan,” said Flor. (We ask for two months’ worth of advance payment from our clients.)
Despite everything, the Cariteros have been able to send their children to the Hipodromo Elementary School.
Their eldest child, 6, is now in Grade 1 while their second child, 4, is in Kindergarten 1. The youngest child is almost two years old. These children have never tried scavenging even if money is scarce most of the time.
In fact, even in poverty, the Caritero family still manages to have some creature comforts. They have a television set in their house beside a tomb. Flor said the TV keeps her children at home and prevents them from wandering in the streets.
During the TV breaks, when the children get thirsty, they drink mineral water.
Flor said they buy water at P6 per container. The family consumes seven containers a day. She does not allow her children to drink tap water because of the fear that they will contract diseases from the dirty water.
“Mas dako ug gasto ang masakit,” Flor explains. (Spending for mineral water is worth it because getting sick is more expensive.)
The Caritero couple has paid a high price for sickness in the family.
In the year 2000, when their second child, Dexter, ran a fever, Flor rushed him to a government hospital.
“My baby was still four months old then. Lahi ra gyud basta government hospital. Agi-agian lang ka.” (In government hospitals, the doctors and nurses will not attend to you).
She said she had to beg a doctor to attend to her baby. Her husband immediately bought what the doctors prescribed. But she claims the medicine was not given to her son on the same day.
On the second day, her son died. The doctors were never able to determine what the baby’s ailment was. Because of that tragedy, “dili na gyud ko motuo og doctor,” Flor said. (I don’t believe in doctors anymore.)
Despite their difficult life, Edgar and Flor have managed to stay together.
They share the secrets of their successful partnership: Be sensitive to each other’s needs. Never argue in front of the children. And be good to others because the Lord gives to His people who are good to their neighbors.
The Cariteros also believe in the Beatitude “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Indeed, they found love and life among the tombs, so it is a kind of heaven.
(October 31, 2005 issue)
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