<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>She came to work, but found lasting love
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Ms Gemma Garcia with her children (from left) Shubhaa, Nithira and Gunah. She became a Singapore citizen in 2007. -- ST FILE PHOTO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->When Ms Gemma Garcia came to Singapore in 1995 to work as a maid, the then 29-year-old had only one objective in mind - to earn lots of money for her elderly parents and 12 siblings back in the Philippines.
However, everything changed three years later when she met a Singapore Armed Forces officer through a mutual friend and fell in love with him.
Today, Ms Garcia is a Singapore citizen, happily married with three young children and living in a four-room HDB flat in Bishan.
Said the 42-year-old part-time chambermaid: 'It was never my intention to find a husband in Singapore. My friend asked if I wanted to get to know someone and I said okay.'
Her Indian Singaporean husband, 42, declined to be interviewed.
Ms Garcia said she has no idea how her friend had his telephone number but she was told that he was specifically looking for a Filipino wife. Many of his friends had Filipino wives as well, she said.
After their first meeting in Woodlands where they had drinks at a coffee shop, the two began dating regularly on her days off.
'I was very lucky because I had a very kind American employer. They allowed me to go out,' she said.
When her contract ended a few months later, he followed her home to the Philippines to meet her family and ask for her hand in marriage.
They returned to Singapore two weeks later and started planning for their big day.
However, complications began to surface.
As a former work permit holder, Ms Garcia needed approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before she could marry a Singaporean.
They applied 'many, many times' to the ministry but their application was turned down repeatedly, she said. They even sought help from an MP. While waiting for approval, the couple lived in a rented room.
At the same time, Ms Garcia also had to win the heart of her husband's parents who were upset he was not going to marry an Indian girl.
Recalling her first meeting with his family, she said: 'I wore a Punjabi suit to please them. But when I got there, they pulled long faces.'
After two years, in 2000, they finally received MOM's approval and got married, but their troubles did not stop there.
She said: 'I was still not a permanent resident . So I always had to apply for the long-term social visit pass again and again.'
Each time her pass expired, she would fly back to the Philippines. When she had her children, she would take them home with her.
'It was very difficult for me but I refused to give up,' she said.
Finally in 2004, she was granted permanent residency. Three years later, in 2007, she became a Singapore citizen.
Today, her life revolves around her children and work. She gets along very well with her in-laws now and visits them every Sunday. She said: 'I'm very happy with my life now. Getting where I am now was not easy but it was worth it.'
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Ms Gemma Garcia with her children (from left) Shubhaa, Nithira and Gunah. She became a Singapore citizen in 2007. -- ST FILE PHOTO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->When Ms Gemma Garcia came to Singapore in 1995 to work as a maid, the then 29-year-old had only one objective in mind - to earn lots of money for her elderly parents and 12 siblings back in the Philippines.
However, everything changed three years later when she met a Singapore Armed Forces officer through a mutual friend and fell in love with him.
Today, Ms Garcia is a Singapore citizen, happily married with three young children and living in a four-room HDB flat in Bishan.
Said the 42-year-old part-time chambermaid: 'It was never my intention to find a husband in Singapore. My friend asked if I wanted to get to know someone and I said okay.'
Her Indian Singaporean husband, 42, declined to be interviewed.
Ms Garcia said she has no idea how her friend had his telephone number but she was told that he was specifically looking for a Filipino wife. Many of his friends had Filipino wives as well, she said.
After their first meeting in Woodlands where they had drinks at a coffee shop, the two began dating regularly on her days off.
'I was very lucky because I had a very kind American employer. They allowed me to go out,' she said.
When her contract ended a few months later, he followed her home to the Philippines to meet her family and ask for her hand in marriage.
They returned to Singapore two weeks later and started planning for their big day.
However, complications began to surface.
As a former work permit holder, Ms Garcia needed approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before she could marry a Singaporean.
They applied 'many, many times' to the ministry but their application was turned down repeatedly, she said. They even sought help from an MP. While waiting for approval, the couple lived in a rented room.
At the same time, Ms Garcia also had to win the heart of her husband's parents who were upset he was not going to marry an Indian girl.
Recalling her first meeting with his family, she said: 'I wore a Punjabi suit to please them. But when I got there, they pulled long faces.'
After two years, in 2000, they finally received MOM's approval and got married, but their troubles did not stop there.
She said: 'I was still not a permanent resident . So I always had to apply for the long-term social visit pass again and again.'
Each time her pass expired, she would fly back to the Philippines. When she had her children, she would take them home with her.
'It was very difficult for me but I refused to give up,' she said.
Finally in 2004, she was granted permanent residency. Three years later, in 2007, she became a Singapore citizen.
Today, her life revolves around her children and work. She gets along very well with her in-laws now and visits them every Sunday. She said: 'I'm very happy with my life now. Getting where I am now was not easy but it was worth it.'
