{"id":205,"date":"2019-06-25T05:19:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T09:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/globalreporting2019\/?p=205"},"modified":"2020-07-02T15:51:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T19:51:12","slug":"an-unconventional-family-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/globalreporting2019\/an-unconventional-family-man\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unconventional Family Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marissa Michaels<\/em><\/p>\n

ATHENS<\/strong> — After spending an hour leisurely sipping half a bottle of Coca-Cola, Noriel Cueto finally admitted that he was nervous being interviewed.<\/p>\n

But seeing him navigate the immigrant-filled neighborhood of Kypseli in central Athens, you might not guess it. Cueto knew which caf\u00e9 to sit in, identified all of the bakeries and brazenly asked some angsty teenagers with skateboards to take his picture. He pointed out each shop that had closed during Greece\u2019s financial crisis.<\/p>\n

He knows the neighborhood so well because a block away, Cueto, a live-in Filipino domestic worker stationed in Athens, shares an apartment with two relatives on his weekends off. The rent: 50 euros each month for two bedrooms.<\/p>\n

Cueto and his relatives are just a few of the thousands of Filipinos staying in Athens as live-in domestic workers. These migrants, some undocumented, have been affected by Greece\u2019s unstable financial picture, just like everyone else, but their struggles often go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

With no experience in domestic work, Cueto journeyed to Greece at 19 because his aunt, already living in Athens, informed him of a job opening. \u201cIt\u2019s my chance because my aunt is here,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Cueto, 37, has worked in the household of Loula Kertsikoff for 18 years, since he left his job as a rice farmer in the Philippines. He sees work in Greece as an unmissable economic opportunity. \u201cNot all my life planting rice, farming,\u201d he said, clearly glad to have avoided such a path.<\/p>\n

And as a domestic worker working with two others, cooking, driving, walking dogs and doing maintenance, Cueto has learned to feel at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a family, actually,\u201d Cueto said. He eats dinner with the family, goes on vacation with them and has even watched two young girls, Ariadne and Melina Kertsikoff, grow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are together every summer\u2026They are very sweet girls,\u201d he said, a smile wrinkling the corners of his eyes.<\/p>\n

He became fluent in Greek along with the children in the family. \u201cI learned from the kids. When I came, Ariadne and Melina were like one year old. From there, I learned. As they learned, I also learned,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Though he cares for his Greek family, Cueto sometimes wishes he could return to the Philippines for good to be with his real family. His wife, Jinalyn, and kids moved back to the Philippines when Greece\u2019s financial crisis hit, Jinalyn was fired and they could no longer afford to hire a caretaker for their children while they worked.<\/p>\n

Now, he sends money home. Though Cueto considers himself lucky that he was able to keep his job during the crisis, he still laments the distance from his family. The two months he visits each year or so is not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am worried because I am apart from my family, but I\u2019m used to it because I\u2019m here 18 years,\u201d said Cueto. \u201cWhen I sent them and I came back alone, I felt like I want to go back. Whatever we have, we have. And the important thing is that we\u2019re all together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s hitting me a lot\u2026 I set my mind, I\u2019m doing this for them\u2026Teach your mind how to reduce pain or homesickness\u2026I can make their future. So I set my mind for them, for their future, good living. Because as a farmer, I can\u2019t do that,\u201d Cueto added.<\/p>\n

To combat his homesickness, Cueto calls his children several times a day. He rests assured that he is providing a better life for his kids than he had growing up, at very least in terms of financial stability.<\/p>\n

Cueto has also managed to feel a sense of home in Athens\u2019 bustling Filipino community.<\/p>\n

Every Sunday he goes to church with other Filipinos and he eats at a local Filipino restaurant, Kabayan. One recent Sunday, he planned to attend a celebration of the Philippines\u2019 Independence Day at the Panathenaic Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are happy to be here. You feel like you are home. You are free, not like in other countries that have no parties, no alcohol, no cigarettes. Here, it is open. You can do whatever,\u201d he said of Filipino immigrants.<\/p>\n

And he lives in Kypseli, a neighborhood filled with immigrants from the Philippines, Albania, Georgia, and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

When his first son, Lloyd Alexander, attended Greek school, he enjoyed the diversity there. The multicultural kids in school were welcoming. Cueto said, \u201cWe can see their nation, their culture. They are friends. It\u2019s very nice to study with other nations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lloyd Alexander even liked Greek education better than his schooling in the Philippines. According to Cueto, the son has said, \u201cFather, I want to go back to Greece. And I said, \u201cOK you can study well, be a good boy, and I will take you back to Greece when you\u2019re grown enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certainly, Cueto hopes to be reunited with his family one day for good, whether that be in Greece or the Philippines. In the meantime, he has managed to balance his multiple families and care for them all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marissa Michaels ATHENS — After spending an hour leisurely sipping half a bottle of Coca-Cola, Noriel Cueto finally admitted that he was nervous being interviewed. But seeing him navigate the immigrant-filled neighborhood of Kypseli in central Athens, you might not guess it. Cueto knew which caf\u00e9 to sit in, identified all of the bakeries<\/p>\n

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