Marilyn Manuel
Posted on 08/22/2003 2:18:16 AM PDT by happygrl
MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino woman who was reported to have been killed in the bombing of the United Nations (news - web sites) office in Baghdad is still alive, family members and a Philippine official said.
Marilyn Manuel, a U.N. staffer, was being treated at a military hospital outside Baghdad, acting Foreign Secretary Franklin Ebdalin said Friday.
Ebdalin had no details on her condition but said she would be transferred to another hospital in the Iraqi capital. He said the United Nations earlier reported that Manuel and another Filipino, Ranillo Buenaventura, were killed in the bombing Tuesday.
The New York Daily News reported Friday that Manuel's family in the Woodhaven section of Queens had been making funeral plans for her when she called them at 3 a.m. Thursday.
"When I heard her voice, a chill went through me," her son, Eric Manuel, 25, told the newspaper. "My heart stopped. She said, 'Ric, it's mom.'"
Marilyn Manuel told her daughter, Vanessa Manuel Mazzullo, 29, that she didn't know how she had gotten out of the U.N. building, the newspaper said.
"I can't wait to feel her, touch her, smell her and tell her I love her," Mazzullo was quoted as saying. Manuel's older son, Vladimir Manuel, 33, said the family hadn't told her that she had been presumed dead.
"I can't express how I feel," her husband, Benjamin Manuel, 56, told the Daily News. "I have a second chance with my wife again."
In Manila, Manuel's cousin, Susan de Vera, said memorial prayers planned for Saturday evening will instead be a thanksgiving Mass.
She said Marilyn was able to borrow a cell phone from a nurse at a makeshift hospital to call her family in New York, not knowing that they were already grieving.
"They are celebrating now because she's alive. Actually it's her (54th) birthday today," she said.
De Vera said Manuel's husband, Benjamin Manuel, was very sad when she called him up on Thursday night.
"He could not accept that she was dead and as it turns out he was right," she said. "If she had not been able to borrow a cell phone, we would still be grieving."
De Vera said Manuel will be flown back to New York over the weekend.
The United Nations reported 20 people were killed in the attack, including the U.N.'s chief envoy to Iraq (news - web sites), Sergio Vieira de Mello. However, independent checks by The Associated Press at area hospitals showed at least 23 died in the blast.
Marilyn Manuel
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Bring back stewardesses and chairwomen and the rest of correct English
Yes, you are right, the correct word to describe a female from the Philippines, is "filipina" I should know, I have a beautiful Filipina myself. She is the joy of my life.
As a caveat (if my wife reads this) I am very happy with my wife. She is the most beautiful women in the wordl and treats me like a king. Of course she was raised in rural Indiana in the bible belt so she has a better picture of what marriage can be than your typical coaster.
A Jewish woman is a Jewess, and should be proud of it.
One of my favorite Star Trek episodes is where Abraham Lincoln and several other historical figures suddenly appear on the Enterprise (thei help Kirk,Spock, McCoy etc fight against the klingons and their heroes IIRC).
Lincoln meets Lt Uhura and says "What a charming Negress"
Oh the beauty of non-PC speech
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