Missing the Eastwood Community

I was walking home from Greenbelt last night and got approached twice in the street during the short walk from GB3 to 109 Dela Rosa.

First was a woman with what appeared to be her child, a toddler. They were asking for help in securing their fare to get home. This reminded me of the old lady who used to frequent the underground walkway in front of the Enterprise about 5 years ago. I was new in Makati and gave her money for her fare home to, hmm, I think it was Pampanga. 2 months later and she was still there, at the walkway. And I was told that it was the new scheme for begging.

The second person who approached me last night was an obvious beggar. He had no footwear and was carrying a plastic bag of leftover food. There was a security guard in front of that condo next to Prince Plaza, but the guard just ignored him.

I lived in this neighborhood back in 2003 (until mid 2006). Either it was safer then, or I just have a rose-tinted memory of those years.

I miss Eastwood. I miss its semblance to a gated, closed community. I miss the abundance of Megaworld Security around, and the QC police car that would patrol at night, ensuring almost zero occurrences of shady characters and untoward incidents.

I know I may sound cruel in calling beggars shady characters. But is it wrong to want to feel safe? Christmas is approaching, and we all know that people become desperate during the Christmas season. Crime rate rises, along with depression.

I just want to be safe. I don’t want to have to keep looking behind my back, or looking suspiciously at every person I meet along that short walk from work to home.