Author Topic: Cebuana Teacher Hangs Self in US (Read 3933 times)

hazel · « **on:** November 22, 2007, 01:13:05 AM »

Phoebe Jen Indino and Jasmin Uy/LPM
The Freeman

Irenea Conato Apao was described by her students as a jolly teacher that would always love to teach physics.

Before going abroad, the 41-year-old popularly known as Maâ€™am Apao last taught three years ago at the Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School, formerly known as Basak National High School, where she was one of the most talented teachers for her science exhibits and symposiums.

But last November 8, she was found lifeless hanging inside her rented room in Baltimore, Maryland in an apparent suicide which stemmed from depression.

Filipino teachers and Filipino-American community leaders from Virginia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey conducted necrological rites in her memory at the Rendon Hale Funeral Home in Lanham, Maryland last Nov. 17

Apaoâ€™s body is expected to arrive in Cebu this week, in time for her daughterâ€™s 18th birthday on November 26. Her remains will be laid in Punta Prinsesa Funeral Chapel.

Apao taught for nine years at the Basak National High School where her works won recognition from the Department of Education, which bestowed the Top Ten Selected Educatorsâ€™ Award upon her. As a government scholar, she earned a masterâ€™s in education at De La Salle University in Manila.

In 2006, Apao was one of the first batches of Filipino teachers hired by the Baltimore Public School System to help mitigate the shortage of teachers in the area. She actually arrived in the US months earlier to teach math and physics at the Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Fellow teacher Michelle Albor-Basabe would always remember Apao as â€œNene.â€ They grew up together at the Cabreros compound in Basak. Apao finished her bachelorâ€™s degree at University of San Jose-Recoletos and later married Basabeâ€™s cousin.

Apao and her husband, however, got separated although their marriage produced two children, â€“ Ivy, 17, who is currently a freshman in nursing at Cebu State College of Science and Technology, and Paulo, 10, a Grade 4 pupil at the Basak Elementary School â€“ who were left in the care of her sister when she left for the US.

â€œShe only became Irene here but weâ€™ve always known her as Nene,â€ Basabe recalls, ribbing her when they first reunited in Baltimore.

â€œI remember her being tough. She went through a lot of problems â€“ marital problems and huge financial problems back in the Philippines but she always got through it. For me, sheâ€™s always been a winner,â€ Basabe recounts.

Basabe said she was surprised when Apao told her that she started suffering from depression last year, shortly after she moved from Spotsylvania to Baltimore.

â€œI asked her what the problem was and all she could say was â€˜work,â€™â€ Basabe remembers.

The Migrant Heritage Commission is one of the groups trying to raise funds to send home Apaoâ€™s remains. It also aims to create a trust fund for the education of her two children.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

Brownman · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2007, 01:54:45 AM »

Hay pagkalouy sad!

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grazie7y · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2007, 05:04:43 AM »

I read this in the Filipino newspaper the other day when I went to the Pinoy Store. They didn't say though that she committed suicide; only mentioned being "untimely death". They were just asking for donation especially for her kids who are still in school. I feel so, so sad for the kids. Just so sad! Why didn't she just go back to Spotsylvania instead of staying in Baltimore? Why not seek for help? Hay, so many questions! I can't believe people can do this. I know this is sickness but can they not think about their loved ones that they are leaving behind? Did she imagine the pain her children would feel when they learned about their mother's death and more so that she committed suicide? Wouldn't these kids feel that they are not worth living for? tsk tsk tsk

May her soul find peace and forgiveness...

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Glen · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:05:47 AM »

Kalooy bitaw niya oy! nakabasa bitaw ko ani pero walay gibutang nga nag hikog siya!

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Brownman · « **Reply #4 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:11:26 AM »

unta mahaluna iyang kalag sa kalangitan!

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ms da binsi · « **Reply #5 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:15:32 AM »

Kaluoy pod oi!!!

basi nag heart attack sha...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

grazie7y · « **Reply #6 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:23:01 AM »

ga bigti lagi daw sya, maring! daghan kaayo mga suicide stories karong panahuna oi maka dampen sa spirit! Sana nag join sya ug TB aron nahimamat ta nya aron unta makatabang ta niya. There's so much to live for jud, no matter what problems we are going through! Pero mao lang lagi na, wa jud ta kabalo sa real story why she did this...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

Brownman · « **Reply #7 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:24:42 AM »

mao bitaw, mao nga kinahanglan jud nga musangpit ta permi ni lord sa tanang oras.

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pioneer · « **Reply #8 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:29:12 AM »

Maybe Nene had no one to talk to in the U.S. Maybe there were things that she wanted to say but she found herself alone or maybe she refused to talk about these or maybe her friends are too busy to listen to her woes.

Nene could have poured out her heart before Jesus and talked to Him. The Lord never rejects anyone who would call upon His name. Jesus said: "Come to Me who are weary and are heavily laden and I will give you rest." There is rest for anyone who would run to God for rescue.

Of course, we need friends with whom we could share our joys and sorrows.

A forum site can be one of the channels through which a person can scream and unleash the content of his or her heart. Releasing unspoken thoughts and feelings can actually help ease a nagging burden.

Reach out to someone today.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

ms da binsi · « **Reply #9 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:36:35 AM »

Mike it is very depressing being alone in America...
I had been there a lot of times and thanks Heavens i was very strong enough to cope those feelings...
I was single and have no family here for 10 years and it was not easy...

But at the abyss of my depression, wa man sad ko maka hunahuna ug hikog...
i thought kung mag hikog ko basi naay manimbitar naho ug disco pagka ugma nahhh! di ko ka sadsad...
palasayaw lang gyud ko and that was my therapy...

To all depressive TB members...pabaga gyud nawong...sulti gyud bisan unsa...bahala na...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

C2H4 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 22, 2007, 11:03:46 AM »

We all get depressed from time to time, but clinical depression (major depressive disorder) is something else entirely. It is more physiological than psychological in origin.

No one who has never suffered from major depression can ever know how it feels to live with it from day to day.

I just wish she'd have sought help from healthcare professionals and various support groups that could have made a tremendous difference.

:'(

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

Lorenzo · « **Reply #11 on:** November 22, 2007, 11:56:41 AM »

Phoebe Jen Indino and Jasmin Uy/LPM
The Freeman

Irenea Conato Apao was described by her students as a jolly teacher that would always love to teach physics.

Before going abroad, the 41-year-old popularly known as Maâ€™am Apao last taught three years ago at the Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School, formerly known as Basak National High School, where she was one of the most talented teachers for her science exhibits and symposiums.

But last November 8, she was found lifeless hanging inside her rented room in Baltimore, Maryland in an apparent suicide which stemmed from depression.

Filipino teachers and Filipino-American community leaders from Virginia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey conducted necrological rites in her memory at the Rendon Hale Funeral Home in Lanham, Maryland last Nov. 17

Apaoâ€™s body is expected to arrive in Cebu this week, in time for her daughterâ€™s 18th birthday on November 26. Her remains will be laid in Punta Prinsesa Funeral Chapel.

Apao taught for nine years at the Basak National High School where her works won recognition from the Department of Education, which bestowed the Top Ten Selected Educatorsâ€™ Award upon her. As a government scholar, she earned a masterâ€™s in education at De La Salle University in Manila.

In 2006, Apao was one of the first batches of Filipino teachers hired by the Baltimore Public School System to help mitigate the shortage of teachers in the area. She actually arrived in the US months earlier to teach math and physics at the Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Fellow teacher Michelle Albor-Basabe would always remember Apao as â€œNene.â€ They grew up together at the Cabreros compound in Basak. Apao finished her bachelorâ€™s degree at University of San Jose-Recoletos and later married Basabeâ€™s cousin.

Apao and her husband, however, got separated although their marriage produced two children, â€“ Ivy, 17, who is currently a freshman in nursing at Cebu State College of Science and Technology, and Paulo, 10, a Grade 4 pupil at the Basak Elementary School â€“ who were left in the care of her sister when she left for the US.

â€œShe only became Irene here but weâ€™ve always known her as Nene,â€ Basabe recalls, ribbing her when they first reunited in Baltimore.

â€œI remember her being tough. She went through a lot of problems â€“ marital problems and huge financial problems back in the Philippines but she always got through it. For me, sheâ€™s always been a winner,â€ Basabe recounts.

Basabe said she was surprised when Apao told her that she started suffering from depression last year, shortly after she moved from Spotsylvania to Baltimore.

â€œI asked her what the problem was and all she could say was â€˜work,â€™â€ Basabe remembers.

The Migrant Heritage Commission is one of the groups trying to raise funds to send home Apaoâ€™s remains. It also aims to create a trust fund for the education of her two children.

Lord God, please take the soul of Ms. Irenea Apao into your kingdom. Have mercy on her o Lord, and grant her peace with you, Lord.

I pray for her, i pray for her family, her friends..that are affected by her sudden passing.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

benelynne · « **Reply #12 on:** November 22, 2007, 01:13:18 PM »

Am so sorry to add to the overcast mood but this headline also stared me in the face today (after getting the sad news about Lorenzo's friend and this one). I believe we should go out and share our smile, lend our ears, extend our hand, offer a prayer... It could make all the difference when someone has stepped the thin line between hope and despair.

SUICIDE
World's suicide capital â€” tough image to shake

By ERIC PRIDEAUX
Staff writer

Japan has attained a reputation as the suicide capital of the world. A 2007 international comparison of suicide rates (per 100,000 people) by the World Health Organization ranked Japan sixth for females, at 12.8, behind Sri Lanka, South Korea and Lithuania, and 11th for males, at 35.6, well below Lithuania, Belarus and the Russian Federation. Although total suicides actually dropped slightly last year, entrenched cultural mores, the pressures inherent to a modern economy and alarming rates of youth depression are likely to continue driving tens of thousands of citizens to self-destruct every year.

Following are questions and answers about Japan's struggle with suicides:

How does Japan's suicide rate compare with other industrialized countries?

Among the Group of Eight countries, Japan ranks top in the female category and behind only the Russian Federation for males, according to suicide rates announced by the WHO. Suicide rates are calculated by the number of suicides divided by population multiplied by 100,000.

What are characteristics of suicides in Japan?

Japanese culture has a history of condoning and even glorifying suicide.

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), a samurai was often forced to atone for wrongdoing by slicing open his belly in the highly formalized ritual of seppuku, or harakiri.

After Japan's surrender in 1945, suicide became an act of contrition when many people committed seppuku in front of the Imperial Palace. In 1970, novelist Yukio Mishima committed seppuku amid great fanfare in a vain effort to spark a revival of nationalism. The act secured his legacy among many rightwingers.

Star-crossed lovers in kabuki plays often resolve their tribulations with double-suicides. So, too, did the middle-aged, 20th century husband and his beautiful mistress in the 1997 film "Shitsurakuen" ("Lost Paradise").

To read more, check out http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071120i1.html

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orChids · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2007, 02:11:41 PM »

Sir Benne...last 3 years ago ,there was a person we know nga nagbigti pod,..gamay ra may pasensya ning mga hapon bahin sa suliran ba... $:-\$

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

benelynne · « **Reply #14 on:** November 22, 2007, 03:21:37 PM »

Sir Benne...last 3 years ago ,there was a person we know nga nagbigti pod,..gamay ra may pasensya ning mga hapon bahin sa suliran ba... $:-\$

Dinhi sa Tsukuba University kung asa nag-eskwela ko sa una, before the Tsukuba Express and the entertainment places started sprouting up, it was known for three S's--Science, Sports and Suicide. There's a 10-storey building within the campus that was a favorite jumping site, but they surrounded it now with a wire screen.

One day, while walking towards the library, I heard a loud thud on the flower bed just a few meters away from me. Pagtan-aw naku, a blood-bathed student who jumped off from the 8th floor. Couldn't look at it straight... Tinuod ka, dali ra mag-snap ang mga Hapon.

Life's beautiful! But sometimes it takes an effort to make it so...

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benelynne · « **Reply #15 on:** November 22, 2007, 03:23:23 PM »

Orchids,

And that's a beautiful kimono, too!

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orChids · « **Reply #16 on:** November 22, 2007, 04:31:34 PM »

Waaa...Sus diha jud diay ka sa pag hitabo no?nanglibawot akong balhibo Sir Benne.Last year dire sa hoikuen(nursery) sa akong anak,Ang amahan pod sa iyang classmate jumped off from the 6th floor of a building nearby our place.. $:-\$ ...hayyyyyyy..

Thanks sa pag tan aw sa kimono..hehe nawala akong panglibawot sa balhibo..
Yes tinuod ka Sir Benne.."Life's beautiful! But sometimes it takes an effort to make it so"...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

grazie7y · « **Reply #17 on:** November 22, 2007, 04:32:47 PM »

Kahadlok pod ana, Bene san! I heard there was an Iron Chef before who lost in the competition and he committed suicide! Pastilan intawon!

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6643.0

C2H4 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:01:51 PM »

Could it be that the Japanese think there's honor in suicide, murag Hara Kiri?

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #19 on:** November 22, 2007, 11:23:49 PM »

I dont know why anyone would commit suicide...for the sake of a petty problem like that. It boggles my mind to think about that--when theres so much...friends and counseling can do..

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Author Topic: Cebuana Teacher Hangs Self in US (Read 3933 times)

hazel