“To be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one.”—Elie Wiesel.
“Evil is unspectacular, and always human.”—W. H. Auden.
A festive night, for sure; the glitters of the occasion are overtly evident. The rich and famous start to arrive in their chauffeured-driven limousines. It is one of many events in the city when they gather to outbid one another in their generosity to a moral cause. It’s their way of giving back to the community a little portion of their wealth for public relations. They feel good about themselves and the redemptive effect of this particular charity to their conscience. It’s the night when The House of Good Mercy (THGM) is hosting a fundraising event.
THGM is a non-profit orphanage founded in 1968 by Remedios Mercedes, a former Catholic nun, and situated near the slums of Tondo, a district in the city of Manila. Because of its limited resources, the orphanage initially screened the children who would be accepted and provided for until they reached the age of 20 when they had to leave the orphanage. In 1974, the fortune of THGM took a turn for the better. Felipe de Santos, a multi-millionaire and owner of FDS Pharmaceutical, a leading manufacturer of medical equipment and its highly-vaunted research department in the country, became an advocate and co-partner of THGM. When Mercedes died in 1992, de Santos took over operations of THGM. From thereon, THGM accepted orphans without restrictions. Also, it no longer limits itself to housing them but has expanded its service to provide educational and skill programs to prepare the children for a fighting chance when they leave the orphanage.
That’s the positive image THGM portrays publicly when the rich and famous open their wallets. But beyond good intentions there lurks the dark force of human nature. No one can escape the power of evil, even to those so-called saints.
Far from the eyes of the government and the public, in the remote island on the southern part of the country, there lies a massive one floor structure which is secretly hidden with different types of trees in at least a 1,000-hectare radius. Not far from the building is a helicopter pad designed like a bush to deceive prying eyes from above. The land is patrolled all day long for possible intruders. It is also gated and fenced. There’s only one access road to the building but it’s private. Anyone who attempts to drive through it will never see the light of day again. It has an underground hospital fully equipped with the latest medical technology. It is staffed with five doctors and twelve nurses. They are highly-paid and bound to secrecy. In fact, all those who work and know what is going on in this place are well-compensated as long as they keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, bad consequences will happen to them and their families.
There are orders to be filled: kidneys, hearts, lungs, and livers. But the medical staffs do their operations in a systematic way to avoid errors and exhaustions. Once the organ is removed, it is preserved with the most advanced technique of machine perfusion. FDS is also working to develop the cryoprotectant solvents which will improve the preservation duration of the organ. When this novel approach is perfected, FDS will expand the sale of the organs worldwide.
Right now, FDS’s illegal harvesting of organs is only for those who can afford the hefty prices ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 U.S. dollars. The ordering process is done clandestinely with no on-line tracks. The meeting will usually take place either late nights or early mornings. The buyer gets an unexpected coded message of where the secret rendezvous will take place. FDS finds its wealthy clients through the organ waiting lists of all hospitals in the country. Though these lists are not publicly available, FDS has hacked the hospitals’ computer servers to access the information.
Again the recipients and their families are threatened not to reveal how they come about with the saving organ. Once, a family of four inadvertently mentioned the purchase of the organ in a party. A few months later, they were all killed suddenly in a one-vehicle accident. The police never suspected any foul play. The incident was emailed to all FDS’s clients as a warning.
*****
Juan and Jose, age seven and five, respectively, became orphans when their mother died of a heart attack. Their father left them as soon as Jose was born. With no relatives around to take them in, they relied on each other for support and survival. They heard of THGM and found the courage to knock at its gate. They were let in, but as they feared, they were separated immediately. The dormitories at THGM are divided into three categories: Dorm A is for 5 years old and below; Dorm B is for 6 to 12 years old; and Dorm C is for the teenagers. But the JJs, as they are fondly called, meet up during meal hours, when all the children can find seats to their liking in the dining room without age distinction. They talk about their activities and new-found acquaintances. For the moment, they have forgotten their miserable conditions. They try to blend in as much as their shy personalities will allow. But when they go to bed separately, the nightmare of separation keeps them awake most of the night until dawn takes them into their dreamless sleep.
A month later, during lunchtime, Jose has not arrived in the designated meeting place. Juan waited for half an hour, but Jose still has not showed up. Juan is starting to be overly concerned and has approached the person in charge of the dining room. Juan is told to go to the administration building. There, he talks to the Director of Personnel. A search is conducted. Hours later, Jose is still missing. Juan is emotionally devastated. That night, Juan cries hard for his lost brother.
One day Juan stumbles on a whispered conversation between two drivers of transport vans. One is retelling an event a few weeks ago. Apparently, he had trouble quieting a boy who was crying and screaming for his brother. The more he shouted, the boy doubled down instead, causing a lot of anxiety for the rest of the children. He had to stop at the side of the road, took the boy away from the van and beat the boy into unconsciousness. The boy never woke up. The driver was severely chastised and his salary suspended for five months for wasting much-desired organs. The driver felt unjustly punished. The other driver told him he came off easy.
Juan can’t make a thing about this information. He starts snooping around to know more that will tie the pieces together. He observes that the transport vans usually leave the compound at night when the orphanage is soundly quiet. One night, when he hears the idling of the transport vans, Juan sneaks out of his dormitory unnoticed. In the shadow, outside the front of the building, Juan sees the children asleep being carried into the waiting transport vans; each has a capacity of eight passengers, including the driver. Once they are filled into capacity, they leave the compound; thus stealing away the children’s innocence and freedom without their consent. These children will never be seen again. But the sad part is that nobody misses them. The coming and going of children in the orphanage gives an illusion of normalcy. But Juan knows now and he intends to expose the Big Lie of THGM.
Once every five years, THGM opens its doors to the public. It’s called The Open House Celebration. Politicians, social workers and sponsors mostly grace the event. Guest speakers line up in the morning for their important messages. Lunch is scheduled for two hours. Then group tours highlight the rest of the afternoon.
This is the opportunity Juan is waiting to take action. He eyes which of the guests will give him the full attention about his theory of what THGM is all about. He thinks a social worker will be more sympathetic. He grabs a copy of the programs and looks for a social worker who will be speaking. Her name is Ms. Tanya Maliwag. She is the last speaker. Juan strategizes to be the first person Ms. Tanya Maliwag will see when she leaves the stage after her speech.
His plan works and Ms. Tanya Maliwag is all ears. Her face is incredulously surprised and she is shocked of the words coming out of Juan’s mouth. When Juan is finished, Ms. Maliwag asks Juan if he has told his story to anybody else. Then she advises Juan not to speak to anyone while she investigates. She tells him it will take a while because it is a complex matter and evidence will have to be gathered. She reassures Juan that she will do everything within her full power to search for the truth. She thanks Juan and leaves the impression that she is the right person who will handle the problem seriously. Juan feels the same way and is satisfied with his instinctual ability to discern whom to trust.
Juan has not heard from Ms. Maliwag for several months now. He has no way of contacting her and so he waits although his patience is getting shattered each day. After dinner, Juan feels sleepy. He goes straight to bed and regrets having to miss his favourite TV series program Almost Paradise. He feels at one time that THGM was once a happy place for him and his brother Jose. Juan hits his pillow and he is immediately asleep. He dreams of his mother; he dreams of his brother; he dreams of his future; he dreams of Ms. Maliwag smiling at the orphans she has saved from the evil claws of THGM. It must have been a long dream for Juan feels he has slept for days. When he wakes up, a strong light shines into his face. Juan hears a voice asking for a scalpel. He feels his body is being opened up.
20 September 2024