Disowned by her own parents and raised by her grandma, Marites Asis longs for her siblings in Philippines
"She did things that I can’t imagine a mom could do to her child."
This story is part of Becoming Canadian, a year-long project sharing stories of struggle and triumph from new Canadian citizens.
"Honestly, I don't know if my mom really loves me because it's just me that she gave up."
I don't know what happened but when I was three months old, according to my grandma, they left me with her.
"My mom and dad had 10 children. I was the second one. I don't know what happened but when I was three months old, according to my grandma, they left me with her. I tried to help them, but I still feel like it's not enough for her. She did things that I can't imagine a mom could do to her child. I grew up with my grandma. She taught me how to love, how to forgive and how to take care of my family. She would have loved it here. I'm still longing for my parents and I'm still longing for my siblings, even though we've been apart for a long time. I still want to go back to see where my grandmother is buried. I still want my parents and my siblings to be reunited, just to fix everything, because there have been lots of things that have been broken."
— Marites Asis, born in Philippines. Lives in Toronto, became a Canadian citizen on January 28, 2017 in Toronto.
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