Month: May 2008

Hoax email warning and site messages

How should this site evolve?

Thanks to all those who have signed up to Phil-UK network directory. The idea is to create a space where people can publicise their group, company, or event. At the same time, I don’t want this site being a source of junk mail.

There’s obviously a fine line between filtering what people want to say and preventing unwanted messages. Since this is a community site, I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Drop me a note with your opinion about the kind of content that should appear, and how it should reach you. For now, the group messaging feature is disabled but you can still add information to your own profile page.

Hoax email warning

On a similar but unrelated related vein, remember to treat all email you receive (from anyone, not just this site) with slight suspicion. Also be sure to keep your email accounts secure. A friend recently had her Yahoo email account hacked. The hacker then sent a message to her entire contact list asking to borrow money. As you can see from the copy below, the email, containing relevant and personal information, is convincing enough to dupe an unwitting loved-one. Of course, a bit of common sense goes a long way.

Some basic computer security tips:

  1. Use secure passwords for your online accounts
  2. Don’t login to your email in internet cafes; the computer may be infected with a program to steal passwords
  3. Change your passwords once in a while
  4. Regularly run anti-virus programs on your own computer
  5. Keep backups of your important emails, files and contacts
  6. Don’t trust anything you receive from the internet

Copy of the hoax email:

“How are you? Hope everything is ok? i wanted to seek your favour on something very important. Something terrible happened to me. I had a trip to United Kingdom on some works.

Unfortunately for me all my money got stolen at the hotel where i lodged along with all my belongings also with my return ticket. Since then i have been without any money,i am even owing the hotel. I only have access to my e-mail for now because i didn’t bring my mobile here.

Please i need you to lend me about 1650G.B.Pounds so i can make arrangements and return back home. I have spoken to the embassy and they are responding to the matter effectively. I have also reported the case to the police.

I have also made enquiries and was able to find out that you can have money sent to me through a service called Western Union Money Transfer.

Below is the information you might require in sending me some money.

Name: XXX XXX

Address: XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX.

Once you have made the transfer,please send me the details on the receipt you will get including a 10digit number called the MTCN number, because i was told without that i won’t be able to receive the money.I will make all refunds to you as soon as am out of here.

Please i will be waiting to hear from you as soon as possible.

Regards..

XXX”

Work experience for a TV production company

A London-based TV production company wants two fluent Filipino speakers to transcribe footage filmed in the Philippines. The position is available immediately until mid June. This is an unpaid work experience placement but they’ll cover travel expenses.

You’ll see the editing process within a small production company and get the chance to explore other departments. This should be great for your CV if you’d like to break into the industry.

Get in touch ASAP if you’re interested and I’ll send you more information.

Watch ‘Between Two Cultures’ online

The BBC’s ‘Meet the Immigrants’ episode featuring Filipino domestic workers seemed to generate lots if interest. I thought it would be a good time to follow it up buy uploading ‘Between Two Cultures’, a short video documentary filmed by two members of Phil-UK back in 2000.

It’s a 12 minute video documentary about two Filipinas: a student who grew up in the UK, and a nanny working to support her family in the Philippines.

For more information, and to watch the video, head to the Between Two Cultures page.

Meet the Immigrants

Did you catch the episode of BBC’s ‘Meet the Immigrants’ that featured Filipino domestic workers? If not, there’s another chance to watch it through the BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer featuring Filipino domestic workers

Filipino Community Network

Welcome!

This is a place where UK-based Filipino groups and businesses can reach out to our community. Tell people about your events, find suppliers or let people know about your company’s services. You can save time by making the Filipino Community Network page your first port of call on the internet.

Filipino Professionals Group

Welcome!

This is a group for Filipino professionals in the UK. Its purpose is to help with networking and to promote businesses within our community.

Rice shortage

Some independent coverage on the Philippines’ rice shortage:

Does our food make us barbaric?

A visitor recently objected to my post that asked for people interested in helping with some background research about balut.

Here’s the message:

Perhaps this human interest story regarding the balut, is merely another way to make the Filipino appear less civilized and more barbaric. I hope you reconsider encouraging anyone of our people to go on television and allowing others to make us look foolish.

This struck me as strange. I don’t think that there’s any reason why balut itself would make Filipinos appear barbaric. Sure, it’s an unfamiliar delicacy to most people in the West. But does the secret blend of 11 herbs & spices make KFC more civilised?

Don’t get me wrong—I happen to think that KFC is finger lickin’ good. However, perhaps this visitor’s comment is more evidence of that old bugbear otherwise known as colonial mentality. Some Filipinos seem to project feelings of inferiority and this is evident in the UK as well as in the Philippines.

It’s sad that we should feel embarrassed about something as simple as food. Food is what helps define our culture and just as we should be proud of what we are, we also shouldn’t be ashamed of what we eat.

What do you think?