Small people, big hearts, new home (1)

“Midgets” who run Hobbit House Tavern in Boracay, Aklan cannot thank the founder of the original Hobbit House in Manila enough for conceptualizing the restaurant that employed people afflicted with dwarfism like them.

The Hobbit House, which was originally located in Ermita, Manila, was founded by a former Peace Corps Volunteer from Iowa, United States, Jim Turner, in 1973.

For years, it had been a haven for displaced midgets escaping the chaotic streets of Manila and the carnivals that exploited them.

Turner passed away at the age of 77 in 2016 after his health worsened being an “alcoholic and chain smoker,” leaving his restaurant workers displaced when it closed in 2018.

“We are thankful to the founder of this restaurant for his good deeds of giving us kind and equal opportunities. And we are also glad that the owners of Hobbit House here in Boracay continue that legacy,” according to Mario Cuatro, one of the midget waiters who has been serving tourists at the Hobbit House Tavern Boracay for 16 years now.

Located at the D’Mall in Station 2, the specialty restaurant is run by Freddie and Karen Elizalde, and Virgilio and Jeanette Sacdalan of Boracay Kelana Food Corp.

Sadly, they are usually made laughingstocks by an insensitive few. Cuatro said they are used to being ridiculed in a sometimes “cruel world.”

“We cannot escape from the scrutiny of our customers. Some are nice, but sometimes there are still those who call us unano (dwarf). We have accepted it because that’s the fact,” Cuatro told the Daily Tribune in Filipino.

To be continued