Reality intrudes on dreams of EU-like pact for Asean
By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: January 28, 2007
PAJAK, The Philippines: For the past four years, Raul Umpad has been making guitars by hand. Working under the shade of a mango tree, often without a shirt because of the humidity and heat, he smoothes the wood using sandpaper.
It’s a dreary job, Umpad said. And the pay, about $4 a day, is not so good, but it supports his jobless wife and their four young children. “It would be so easy to complain about the low pay, but I count my blessings,” Umpad, 38, said, rubbing sandpaper briskly on a piece of pear-shaped plywood.
Posted on January 28, 2007, and filed under Stories, The New York Times / International Herald Tribune | Comments
