Today, I missed going to the meeting of the Partido Pandaigdigang Pilipino, an Overseas Filipino Workers party. The choice of venue is very far from my home, and I need to come home right away because the traffic along the way gets very bad as the night deepens
Alex and Susie would have been there and many others, at Dampa a restaurant near the international airport. The place is historic -- imagine a restaurant by that site where the OFWs depart from the country to their work destinations. It is truly a great loss not being able to join them, especially the two whom I just encounter now and then writing emails under the PPP e-group
Actually, everytime I open my PPP email, I feel a burning sensation in my heart, as if I am scooping millions of bleeding hearts -- bleeding from having to uproot themselves from the land of their birth, bleeding from having to separate from their meaningful relationshis, and bleeding for being forced to take on a new hat (or brain) to serve in a foreign culture.
The Philippines is rich in natural resources, yet majority are poor and have to go abroad to support their families back home. What is lacking in our country is that push to every Filipino woman, man, or just plain Filipino human being to start a business. Why can't every bank offer good loans, no collateral without burdening the borrower with requirements like having a fat bank account? In other countries, the government provides start-up capital, but here, the only capital that is sure to make you millions is when you sink it in politics, get elected and sit in Congress to draw millions of funded projects of the government. Some officials literally take that as their fortune.
Back to the meeting. Roger has drawn up a lon list of agenda, and mine should have been the website. I am ready to share my researches on this but then certain things held me up, very personal yet affects my whole being, my roots. I simply cannot turn my back at the weak health of my mother now. I have experience her not recognizing me and mistaking me for another person. I had to concoct going out and then asking the maid to introduce me to her so that she would address me as Emma. Oh how I missed her normal moments. Last night, the 9th of December 07, she suffered from a stroke. I massaged her face and head very hard to bring back the blood on it Then, I applied virgin coconut oil with goji berry juice on her head, the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet Slowly she began talking normally again. All throughout her sleep, she kept calling her mother, "Nay, Nay" and this morning she dreamed of a woman-business partner of hers who in real life, developed a relationship with her driver. That woman had asked her to join her and her paramour to go night swimming but she demurred. By the way the woman was married to a congressman.
This afternoon, my mother asked to be bathed to feel fresh again. Ah, my mother is back on earth.
First steps to Alzheimer's disease? How many OFWs are given tips on how to deal with mental health? I hope that when their term ends abroad and they return home, their families would still be able enjoy their company, their healthy company for a long, long time.
And so to the participants at the meeting. My heart and mind go with you. I will make sure to be available next time. Emma
Monday, December 10, 2007
REVIVAL
I never imagined I could ever revive my blog With so many political goings-on in my country, and then my email nearly getting lost (I changed my password last Saturday and could not access it afterwards), I was ready to give up on my communication with the outside world. Funny isn't it how a simple lost email could rouse deep anxieties and frustrations over having a meaningful existence in this world Have I become techno-mad that I would lose my foothold on this earth without access to technologies? No I don't think so Right now, I think my mind is just saddled with taking care of my 91 year old mother.
A woman's husband in a community is comatose and has been in the hospital for nearly 4 months She knew that it would take a very long time, almost heroic proportions to bring him back to normal. So also, I knew that her moroseness and loneliness were caused by his absence. Yet, I asked her pointblank, how could you feel so when this man had been shouting at you, cursing your children by your first husband and belittling every business efforts you would make to tide over the family's needs She happened to be the family breadwinner and the man only her assistant to her transactions, yet had equal ownership of every profitable venture that she had been able to rake.
My mother is different though. She is easy to teach than that other woman When she told me that this 23rd would be her saddest birthday since her husband had passed away, I told her that she can always greet herself, a happy birthday Nobody ruled that people should always celebrate their birthdays with other people In fact my most memorable celebration of my birthday was when I went toa resort and spent great time looking at the horizon, sitting down underneath a coconut tree, drinking beer and writing down my thoughts, what I had been or had achieved in the past year and my future plans. Am I being westernized in that sense? In a way yes, but I can imagine our indigenous tribes allowing their members to be the same -- reflective of their existence For example, I have seen a child in the high mountains of T'boli tribes in South Cotabato, Southern Philippines, playing with his leaf whistle while in front of a vast field of green ricestalks. I think he had been there for more than an hour and had been fascinated by whistling and seeing the birds around him. He must have been communicating with them as well.
Here or there, east or west? It does not really matter I guess what is important is that we feel whole, together and human.
A woman's husband in a community is comatose and has been in the hospital for nearly 4 months She knew that it would take a very long time, almost heroic proportions to bring him back to normal. So also, I knew that her moroseness and loneliness were caused by his absence. Yet, I asked her pointblank, how could you feel so when this man had been shouting at you, cursing your children by your first husband and belittling every business efforts you would make to tide over the family's needs She happened to be the family breadwinner and the man only her assistant to her transactions, yet had equal ownership of every profitable venture that she had been able to rake.
My mother is different though. She is easy to teach than that other woman When she told me that this 23rd would be her saddest birthday since her husband had passed away, I told her that she can always greet herself, a happy birthday Nobody ruled that people should always celebrate their birthdays with other people In fact my most memorable celebration of my birthday was when I went toa resort and spent great time looking at the horizon, sitting down underneath a coconut tree, drinking beer and writing down my thoughts, what I had been or had achieved in the past year and my future plans. Am I being westernized in that sense? In a way yes, but I can imagine our indigenous tribes allowing their members to be the same -- reflective of their existence For example, I have seen a child in the high mountains of T'boli tribes in South Cotabato, Southern Philippines, playing with his leaf whistle while in front of a vast field of green ricestalks. I think he had been there for more than an hour and had been fascinated by whistling and seeing the birds around him. He must have been communicating with them as well.
Here or there, east or west? It does not really matter I guess what is important is that we feel whole, together and human.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Something vicious
Something vicious is happening to my blog. I just wrote about loneliness and then when I pressed "View my Blog" -- lo and behold, a different blog appears. Virus, human political dirty virus is at it again. Help
Dealing with loneliness
My page has not been touched for two weeks already. I find myself engaged in writing replies to my emails everytime and then suddenly I have to leave. wow, so many problems of OFWs. And now my son is in Singapore and he feels very lonely. He wants to get out of it already. He cannot stand the solitude.
But what is being lonely in a foreign land? Is Singapore really a lonely place? Why should we feel alone in that country? i wonder? I was in London for 18 months and I was able to develop many friends. Everyday I was cycling my way to the center of London to go to Ujamaa where I read a lot about the women's movement, the left movement, the third world movement. I was fired by that idealism to read, read books because at that time, the country was under martial law. ( I lived up north in Kentish Town and later at Hampstead Heath in one of those Victorian era two story houses. They are gone now. The city council did not find it important to keep them despite their historical value.)
Of course, I also had to deal with loneliness and I had close friends to whom I could pour my heart out like Judith Weeks, Mari, Sindamani Bridglal, and Pat Thomas. They were really great people. I also met a lot of folks from all over the globe -- all steeped in democratic processes and respectful of other people's ideas. There was even one Vietnam war veteran there who slept with a woman from an Eastern european country and was I so shocked.
I guess, I will have to teach my child how to appreciate his good luck, earning a lot while enjoying a new culture. I hope also that Singapore would open up his vista about culture and raise their level of democratic acceptance of different beliefs.
But what is being lonely in a foreign land? Is Singapore really a lonely place? Why should we feel alone in that country? i wonder? I was in London for 18 months and I was able to develop many friends. Everyday I was cycling my way to the center of London to go to Ujamaa where I read a lot about the women's movement, the left movement, the third world movement. I was fired by that idealism to read, read books because at that time, the country was under martial law. ( I lived up north in Kentish Town and later at Hampstead Heath in one of those Victorian era two story houses. They are gone now. The city council did not find it important to keep them despite their historical value.)
Of course, I also had to deal with loneliness and I had close friends to whom I could pour my heart out like Judith Weeks, Mari, Sindamani Bridglal, and Pat Thomas. They were really great people. I also met a lot of folks from all over the globe -- all steeped in democratic processes and respectful of other people's ideas. There was even one Vietnam war veteran there who slept with a woman from an Eastern european country and was I so shocked.
I guess, I will have to teach my child how to appreciate his good luck, earning a lot while enjoying a new culture. I hope also that Singapore would open up his vista about culture and raise their level of democratic acceptance of different beliefs.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
When commitment spells harassment
Participating politically in the Philippines especially if you are a writer is like swimming in a sea of crocodiles. Yes, everywhere I go, ever since I started writing not only about women's oppression, I have been harassed from my home up to the places I go to. At home, my things are tampered with. My room is intruded and my things get disorganized. No matter how hard I try to put order, by labelling my things, they simply get chaotic again. The labels are removed; my articles placed elsewhere. And the most important documents I need for the moment suddenly disappear from my table. On the road, I meet people seemingly planted to create havoc as I pass by. Today, 25 July, my deceased father's birthday, a woman with plenty of goods to sell on her shoulders blocked my path. When I said, "Excuse me" to mean, let me pass, she said "Aba oobaho," meaning "Yes bad odor." I knew then that she was planted because the military and police intelligence have this bad habit of letting scavengers with carts pass my house as I go out of the gate; of making people both men and women carrying plastic bags of waste go out; of making trucks of Leonel Waste Managing Co., pass by the same streets I am supposed to go through, etcetera, etcetera. Are these done because I am relating with the people of Smokey Mountain that huge pile of garbage with plenty of scavengers. Not only is this their form of harassment. Even dogs are used, especially black and white. Because I have related with the Black and white movement to oust Gloria Arroyo, the illegitimate president of the Philippines, the military has made it their business to make people pass me by as they are dressed in black and white; of making dogs colored b and w be in the vicinity of the place that I will pass through.
Even tv and radio programs like M., , an announcer over a national tv, joins the fray by presenting news at that exact time I am listening over the radio. Or maybe it is his traffic engineer doing that, but as radio manager, he surely has a hand on it. Right now, I am listening and watching partially the tv news with him in it. He reported an item about dogs.
You see, as a committed media practitioner, we are called watchdogs. And they have done those things to literally insult us.
Worst of all, are those men who brush my left chest -- sexual harassment to the hilt, whether I ride a bus, a jeep, stand by a street talking to a vendor, etc. etc. The act is so repetitive that I suspect now that this has been made deliberate.
And so, I think that the administration of this illegitimate president is making these moves because they are paranoid about their powers being taken away.
Anyway, I am listing this down to remind those who are entering politics to be on their guard against hoping for a red carpet welcome. There are a lot of sacrifices.
Also, I think that we should make the military write its history now. Everyday the military should keep track of all their sins against the Filipino people -- how they harassed, sexually, physically and emotionally the critics. In this manner, they would be able to compare their acts with their predecessors. And future soldiers will know whom to emulate and whom to denigrate as "protectors of the people and the country."
Even tv and radio programs like M., , an announcer over a national tv, joins the fray by presenting news at that exact time I am listening over the radio. Or maybe it is his traffic engineer doing that, but as radio manager, he surely has a hand on it. Right now, I am listening and watching partially the tv news with him in it. He reported an item about dogs.
You see, as a committed media practitioner, we are called watchdogs. And they have done those things to literally insult us.
Worst of all, are those men who brush my left chest -- sexual harassment to the hilt, whether I ride a bus, a jeep, stand by a street talking to a vendor, etc. etc. The act is so repetitive that I suspect now that this has been made deliberate.
And so, I think that the administration of this illegitimate president is making these moves because they are paranoid about their powers being taken away.
Anyway, I am listing this down to remind those who are entering politics to be on their guard against hoping for a red carpet welcome. There are a lot of sacrifices.
Also, I think that we should make the military write its history now. Everyday the military should keep track of all their sins against the Filipino people -- how they harassed, sexually, physically and emotionally the critics. In this manner, they would be able to compare their acts with their predecessors. And future soldiers will know whom to emulate and whom to denigrate as "protectors of the people and the country."
Friday, July 20, 2007
Rainy days before SONA
It's raining cats and dogs in Quezon city. Sometimes, this makes me very afraid because the floods might enter the house again. Before, it used to take 4 to 5 days of continuous rains for our house to get flooded. Now it sometimes takes only a few hours. Ever since the huge four-story SM Centerpoint mall was constructed along Aurora Boulevard, the waters have had a hard time receding from the roads. They accumulate and then keep our place inaccessible for hours and hours. Poor families scamper to the Betty Go Belmonte Elementary public school or go atop the rooftops of their shanties for safety.
I have experienced being cooped up on the second floor of our small house at the back of the compound of my mother's residence. Luckily, I was able to buy food and so did not have to worry where to eat. But what was difficult was relieving myself. Talk about economic development and GDPs.
It is already 2007 and the environmental problems have worsened. I have been hoping that MetroManila would have cured itself of them but unfortunately, the situation is getting graver. I wonder why pumping stations are not set up at strategic points of the metropolis so that when the rains come, they get activated and help the people deal with the rains more conveniently.
But you know, these floods have a certain use. I notice that they come during those times when there are grave political events happening in the country. Like today is three days before the State-of-the-Nation address will be delivered by gma at the Batasang Pambansa. The military and the police are on red alert already. I noticed this morning that the tricycles kep moving about in front of our house every five minutes or so and they go vroom vrooming when near our place, sounding as if the noise was meant for us to hear clearly or get irritated badly.
Sometimes no amount of scientific analysis suffices to explain phenomena in our land. Maybe in some near future, we would finally be able to get officials whose mission in life is really to serve the people and not their pockets.
I have experienced being cooped up on the second floor of our small house at the back of the compound of my mother's residence. Luckily, I was able to buy food and so did not have to worry where to eat. But what was difficult was relieving myself. Talk about economic development and GDPs.
It is already 2007 and the environmental problems have worsened. I have been hoping that MetroManila would have cured itself of them but unfortunately, the situation is getting graver. I wonder why pumping stations are not set up at strategic points of the metropolis so that when the rains come, they get activated and help the people deal with the rains more conveniently.
But you know, these floods have a certain use. I notice that they come during those times when there are grave political events happening in the country. Like today is three days before the State-of-the-Nation address will be delivered by gma at the Batasang Pambansa. The military and the police are on red alert already. I noticed this morning that the tricycles kep moving about in front of our house every five minutes or so and they go vroom vrooming when near our place, sounding as if the noise was meant for us to hear clearly or get irritated badly.
Sometimes no amount of scientific analysis suffices to explain phenomena in our land. Maybe in some near future, we would finally be able to get officials whose mission in life is really to serve the people and not their pockets.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Something Funny
When you are in the Philippines, it is very hard to laugh. In fact comedy tv programs are formatting and reformatting because their audience is dwindling and they need to find the right mix of writers who could tickle the funny bones seriously.
It is very difficult being a critic, much more a political and cultural critic. The powers-that-be have links from the telephone, to cellphone, up to even internet servers. Would you believe that this Yahoo always opens with a reference to a dog, whenever I surf? The engineers there seem to know when I am working in front of the computer. They seem to be knowledgeable about my whereabouts 24 hours of the day. Sometimes, I feel like going to another planet for a vacation. There seems to be no let up of harassment ever since I started writing heavy political opinions especially about the illegitimacy of the presidency in the Philippines (GMA)
It is sad that a woman should be a very reviled president now. From Cory to Gloria Arroy are miles and miles of differences. Cory was loved by the people until she became partial to FVR in the campaign for presidential elections in 1992. The people voted for Miriam, the nemesis of FVR who was cheated of her votes. The people were shocked by the outcome of the elections. They did not move at all to help defend Miriam against the theft of her presidential title. Perhaps because FVR is a military man and then Cory, the supposed democracy defender backed him up. Cardinal Sin also did not move an inch, though in 1986 he was calling for everyone to join the massing up at EDSA to boot out the dictator and his cohorts.
Anyway, so many things are coming up and the overseas Filipino workers and professionals are gearing up to make 2010 a truly clean, legitimate and pro-masses elections up to the presidency. The groups have the resources to put up candidates. I am helping them as well in terms of the groundworks. We hope to found a party that would really address the problems of the Filipino people. By that time, if we are successful, we will surely have a hearty laugh, something that is heaven-sent.
It is very difficult being a critic, much more a political and cultural critic. The powers-that-be have links from the telephone, to cellphone, up to even internet servers. Would you believe that this Yahoo always opens with a reference to a dog, whenever I surf? The engineers there seem to know when I am working in front of the computer. They seem to be knowledgeable about my whereabouts 24 hours of the day. Sometimes, I feel like going to another planet for a vacation. There seems to be no let up of harassment ever since I started writing heavy political opinions especially about the illegitimacy of the presidency in the Philippines (GMA)
It is sad that a woman should be a very reviled president now. From Cory to Gloria Arroy are miles and miles of differences. Cory was loved by the people until she became partial to FVR in the campaign for presidential elections in 1992. The people voted for Miriam, the nemesis of FVR who was cheated of her votes. The people were shocked by the outcome of the elections. They did not move at all to help defend Miriam against the theft of her presidential title. Perhaps because FVR is a military man and then Cory, the supposed democracy defender backed him up. Cardinal Sin also did not move an inch, though in 1986 he was calling for everyone to join the massing up at EDSA to boot out the dictator and his cohorts.
Anyway, so many things are coming up and the overseas Filipino workers and professionals are gearing up to make 2010 a truly clean, legitimate and pro-masses elections up to the presidency. The groups have the resources to put up candidates. I am helping them as well in terms of the groundworks. We hope to found a party that would really address the problems of the Filipino people. By that time, if we are successful, we will surely have a hearty laugh, something that is heaven-sent.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Unsung Heroine: Ka Tonyang
Overseas Filipino Workers do not just work and earn to death in other countries. Many serve the needy OFWs without expecting anything in return like Tonette Binsol or Ka Tonyang. They are the unsung Filipino heroes and heroines abroad who just serve endless to the point of neglecting their own health. Ka Tonyang died of a stroke. Now, I would like to give way to the article about her by Nathaniel Duenas, architect and now living in the United States who knew her personally:
Tonette Binsol (or Ka Tonyang) was studying and living in Japan in the late 80's when we first met in the internet. She created the scholarship program for several indigenous children in the Zambales and Sierra Madre and (which was) later spread to other indigenous peoples all over the country. Her love for her ancestral country(folks) was genuine and her knowlege was shared to all.
Ka Tonyang was synonimous to 'Mother Theresa' (whose) compassion and kindness to the (oppressed) and in need (are legendary). She championed the 'working Pinays in Japan' and created a network of worldwide concerned OFC through Fil-IT which later on expanded to other e-groups of OF/OFWs.
We had worked together since 1985 creating several 'internet cafes' in the provinces and remote locations allowing students and kids access to the free yahoo email and communicating concerns and issues on livelihood, education, communication, elections, enterpreneurship, and the advancement in technology.
Tonette has helped thousands of indigent children especially the Aetas and other indigenous tribes in realizing their dreams to elevate themselves to a higher and rewarding way of life. She gathered used computers from Japanese banks and financial institutions and crated them in shiploads to various locations in the Philippines. Her dreams of generating a new breed of Pilipinos came true from every individual she touch.
I recommended her for a University of Stanford Grant in 1999 but her commitment to the far reaches of the OF/OFWs (was consuming) her time - managing dozens of egroups and websites, seeking financial assistance and investors to assist the less fortunate and those neglected by OWWA left on their own at the mercy of their foreign employers.
Tonette pioneered the OF/OFW empowerment through self-reliance with the generosity of the Japanese people and the contributions of the worldwide audience of concerned citizens.
Ka Tonyang will always remain in the hearts of our people. May her tribe flourish in those who believe in her cause.
Goodbye my good friend, hope to see you soon.
Nat
Tonette Binsol (or Ka Tonyang) was studying and living in Japan in the late 80's when we first met in the internet. She created the scholarship program for several indigenous children in the Zambales and Sierra Madre and (which was) later spread to other indigenous peoples all over the country. Her love for her ancestral country(folks) was genuine and her knowlege was shared to all.
Ka Tonyang was synonimous to 'Mother Theresa' (whose) compassion and kindness to the (oppressed) and in need (are legendary). She championed the 'working Pinays in Japan' and created a network of worldwide concerned OFC through Fil-IT which later on expanded to other e-groups of OF/OFWs.
We had worked together since 1985 creating several 'internet cafes' in the provinces and remote locations allowing students and kids access to the free yahoo email and communicating concerns and issues on livelihood, education, communication, elections, enterpreneurship, and the advancement in technology.
Tonette has helped thousands of indigent children especially the Aetas and other indigenous tribes in realizing their dreams to elevate themselves to a higher and rewarding way of life. She gathered used computers from Japanese banks and financial institutions and crated them in shiploads to various locations in the Philippines. Her dreams of generating a new breed of Pilipinos came true from every individual she touch.
I recommended her for a University of Stanford Grant in 1999 but her commitment to the far reaches of the OF/OFWs (was consuming) her time - managing dozens of egroups and websites, seeking financial assistance and investors to assist the less fortunate and those neglected by OWWA left on their own at the mercy of their foreign employers.
Tonette pioneered the OF/OFW empowerment through self-reliance with the generosity of the Japanese people and the contributions of the worldwide audience of concerned citizens.
Ka Tonyang will always remain in the hearts of our people. May her tribe flourish in those who believe in her cause.
Goodbye my good friend, hope to see you soon.
Nat
Saturday, July 7, 2007
AUTHENTIC BEING. The Philippines is still a beautiful country. Baguio is only 7 hours away from Manila and I can breathe fresh air everywhere except when a polluting jeepney or a public smoker passes by, sometimes instigated by some kind of evil force to do so. Yet I am happy to be here in Baguio, spending my birthday and feeling light and breezy.
Forget politics, forget election cheaters, forget political dogmatists. Hah! I am here to recharge my batteries. I wish I could also turn off my cellphone and keep my watch but I can't. They are part of my body system already.
Mines View Park is about 15 minutes away from or within the city is still beautiful despite the commercialism of the area. There are many stores with Ilocano and Kankanaey vendors (not wearing their traditional costumes, mind you) selling Baguio-made handicrafts like woodcarvings, knitted ponchos, and the like. I bought the dreamcatcher. I love this although it is adopted from the Native Americans. There is something mysterious in its shape -- round and with spider-web designs inside, and with feathers as decor around. I will give it to my grandchild to keep under her pillow so she can dream beautiful dreams.
Then I also bought strawberry wine to drink in my room as I write or fix my primer. Sweet, I presume it is going to be sweet, but it's okay. I love anything native. I used to keep wine at home and drink it every night after a hard walking day in MetroManila. But I developed some kidney problem so I had to stop it.
Also I took pictures of the foggy valleys with the mountains receding into the background and the colorful flowers by the wayside. The latter are not found in Manila because they grow only in cold climate. Perhaps the Fil-Ams, once they take a vacation, can bring home some to California and other States to grow to remind them of Baguio everyday.
This morning when my bus arrived from Manila, I walked around and found the Igorot stairs outside of that famous restaurant, Barrio Fiesta, I think. Four Igorot women sculptures (human size) are seated on the staircase pulling lice from each other's head in succession. How funny. There is something quaint about Igorot humour. I did not like though the gory men sculptures carrying a decapitated head, and another a pig. Eeky. I am sure the Igorots no longer do that -- headhunting?
Some would say that is the primitive side of the ethnic tribes but there is a way of showing the past of a people -- not necessarily drawing to the idea by creating 15 feet tall sculptures. Yes, an artist can present his or her own interpretation of realities and come out distorting present value systems of the ethnic tribes and could be hewing closely to respect of human rights already.
One thing I wished I had experienced -- hearing ethnic instruments and music being played at Mines View Park and all over the city, if only to remind me that I am already in another place, not the busy, crazy and sooty MetroManila. I told the driver, Ely, that they could provide authentic musicians and performers there so that they could also earn every hour for 15 minutes. Then they could also hire students who might have need for allowance. There is nothing like feeling, acting and being authentic.
Anyway, here is more to finding beautiful spots in the Philippines.
Forget politics, forget election cheaters, forget political dogmatists. Hah! I am here to recharge my batteries. I wish I could also turn off my cellphone and keep my watch but I can't. They are part of my body system already.
Mines View Park is about 15 minutes away from or within the city is still beautiful despite the commercialism of the area. There are many stores with Ilocano and Kankanaey vendors (not wearing their traditional costumes, mind you) selling Baguio-made handicrafts like woodcarvings, knitted ponchos, and the like. I bought the dreamcatcher. I love this although it is adopted from the Native Americans. There is something mysterious in its shape -- round and with spider-web designs inside, and with feathers as decor around. I will give it to my grandchild to keep under her pillow so she can dream beautiful dreams.
Then I also bought strawberry wine to drink in my room as I write or fix my primer. Sweet, I presume it is going to be sweet, but it's okay. I love anything native. I used to keep wine at home and drink it every night after a hard walking day in MetroManila. But I developed some kidney problem so I had to stop it.
Also I took pictures of the foggy valleys with the mountains receding into the background and the colorful flowers by the wayside. The latter are not found in Manila because they grow only in cold climate. Perhaps the Fil-Ams, once they take a vacation, can bring home some to California and other States to grow to remind them of Baguio everyday.
This morning when my bus arrived from Manila, I walked around and found the Igorot stairs outside of that famous restaurant, Barrio Fiesta, I think. Four Igorot women sculptures (human size) are seated on the staircase pulling lice from each other's head in succession. How funny. There is something quaint about Igorot humour. I did not like though the gory men sculptures carrying a decapitated head, and another a pig. Eeky. I am sure the Igorots no longer do that -- headhunting?
Some would say that is the primitive side of the ethnic tribes but there is a way of showing the past of a people -- not necessarily drawing to the idea by creating 15 feet tall sculptures. Yes, an artist can present his or her own interpretation of realities and come out distorting present value systems of the ethnic tribes and could be hewing closely to respect of human rights already.
One thing I wished I had experienced -- hearing ethnic instruments and music being played at Mines View Park and all over the city, if only to remind me that I am already in another place, not the busy, crazy and sooty MetroManila. I told the driver, Ely, that they could provide authentic musicians and performers there so that they could also earn every hour for 15 minutes. Then they could also hire students who might have need for allowance. There is nothing like feeling, acting and being authentic.
Anyway, here is more to finding beautiful spots in the Philippines.
CITY OF PINES. A foggy city. City of my youth. Summer capital of the Philippines. That is Baguio. And I was surprised to find that it has retained its "villagey" character. I am staying at the Baguio Cooperative and Credit 4-story Building in the heart of the city. Did you know that it is number one among Century cooperatives, meaning the first in the list of coops with 100 million shared capital? Yes the Mountain Province people are a great lot in terms of cooperative undertaking. It lends to members twice or three times the amount the gave as capital based on the length of period they have been in.
Coops are not viable projects for funding agencies because of the high mortality rate, but this one beats them all. It is possible to have a successful cooperative venture. The interest rate is 2% or so per month, cheaper than bank rates.
I think this kind of NGO work is really worth emulating. Imagine, they have a Lingap Fund loan for peddlers and nobody has applied for it. The loans applied for are in the range of hundreds of thousands, which speak a lot about the business acumen of Baguio folks.
How I wish we could replicate this in Manila among the urban poor sectors.
Coops are not viable projects for funding agencies because of the high mortality rate, but this one beats them all. It is possible to have a successful cooperative venture. The interest rate is 2% or so per month, cheaper than bank rates.
I think this kind of NGO work is really worth emulating. Imagine, they have a Lingap Fund loan for peddlers and nobody has applied for it. The loans applied for are in the range of hundreds of thousands, which speak a lot about the business acumen of Baguio folks.
How I wish we could replicate this in Manila among the urban poor sectors.
Healing
Leaving our country is a very painful process the second time around. Whether for a job or to attend a conference, it is very difficult seeing from the airplane those little islands that become dots later on as the plane zooms up into the skies. I feel so much loss, so much pain knowing that those kids waving goodbye from the barbed-wire fences surrounding the airport would not see us again, or me again for a few weeks or days or so.
Why is this so? The Philippines remains in a tender spot in our hearts. She is Inang Bayan, barefooted, a woman in flag-draped clothes with long hair, and sad eyes looking at a man in Katipunero uniform with the sambalilo on his hand kneeling before her with one knee as if asking for her blessings.
We could be in pain knowing how our kababayan will be left behind in the care of a government that is not that totally sincere in bringing about changes, from poverty to prosperity, from injustice to justice, from inequalities to equalities. And we feel powerless in the face of forces that seem to get petrified in the pedestals they are in.
Yet we also know that deep inside we must discard certain values like those feudal ones of being too polite in the face of oppression, of being too accommodating of friends who exhibit intolerance or even are manipulative of political processes in organizations. We need to be broadminded and carry on changes within ourselves so that we come out assertive in the face of these forces that could spell a difference in the way we participate in our society.
Also, we must look at religion as not merel a ritual of saying prayers or attending masses but a way to renew our spiritual energies so that we will be able to face those forces again and again and not feel defeat everytime we meet them. Our prayers have to be changed too, not all the time saying "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa," as soon as we reach the steps of the church. No we must say, "I come my God to pray and be nurtured. Bring your blessings please so that I may love my life and be strong to face those who wish to bring evil to me and to my country. Give us your caring hands that we may not feel down when so many problems seem to overwhelm us." Yes, I believe that the Church has to constantly re-invent itself, to revise those prayers that bring about a slavish mentality to unnatural forces. The Church must not only preach humility but also strength to overcome those proud and arrogant powerful forces that refuse to see the handwriting on the wall.
Noli me tangere. Touch me not, said Rizal. Why because the wounds are so deep and to touch them is to bring about more pain. Let us all heal that pain.
Why is this so? The Philippines remains in a tender spot in our hearts. She is Inang Bayan, barefooted, a woman in flag-draped clothes with long hair, and sad eyes looking at a man in Katipunero uniform with the sambalilo on his hand kneeling before her with one knee as if asking for her blessings.
We could be in pain knowing how our kababayan will be left behind in the care of a government that is not that totally sincere in bringing about changes, from poverty to prosperity, from injustice to justice, from inequalities to equalities. And we feel powerless in the face of forces that seem to get petrified in the pedestals they are in.
Yet we also know that deep inside we must discard certain values like those feudal ones of being too polite in the face of oppression, of being too accommodating of friends who exhibit intolerance or even are manipulative of political processes in organizations. We need to be broadminded and carry on changes within ourselves so that we come out assertive in the face of these forces that could spell a difference in the way we participate in our society.
Also, we must look at religion as not merel a ritual of saying prayers or attending masses but a way to renew our spiritual energies so that we will be able to face those forces again and again and not feel defeat everytime we meet them. Our prayers have to be changed too, not all the time saying "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa," as soon as we reach the steps of the church. No we must say, "I come my God to pray and be nurtured. Bring your blessings please so that I may love my life and be strong to face those who wish to bring evil to me and to my country. Give us your caring hands that we may not feel down when so many problems seem to overwhelm us." Yes, I believe that the Church has to constantly re-invent itself, to revise those prayers that bring about a slavish mentality to unnatural forces. The Church must not only preach humility but also strength to overcome those proud and arrogant powerful forces that refuse to see the handwriting on the wall.
Noli me tangere. Touch me not, said Rizal. Why because the wounds are so deep and to touch them is to bring about more pain. Let us all heal that pain.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Foreign domestic helpers: modern day slaves
Since the eighties, we in the women's movement have been decrying the lot of domestic helpers, how they are the modern day slaves of the world. Can you imagine working more than 12 hours a day without overtime? And some of them get flatironed on their backs, slapped, raped, and even forced to jump from high rise buildings just to escape from further oppression. Yet the International Labour Organization seems to turn a blind eye to their plight.
Domestic helpers are most women and they would enter this domestic job simply because there are no other opportunities for them in their home countries. Now what is wrong with their going abroad? There is nothing wrong except that the ILO does not look at their working conditions if the countries follow humane rules and regulations. Any employer who has a servant/s at his or her beck and call would be apt to or be attracted to order them around any time of day. Many of these employers would not have read the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and so they are bound to oppress their servants. The Middle Eastern countries have the greater number of employers who really go beyond the norm of what could be said to be humane treatment of domestic helpers. Reports are replete of wives of Arab men feeling jealous over Filipino maids who then suffer the brunt of their rocky marriages.
Unfortunately, not even the presence of labor attaches in those countries could help the maids when they run into problems. Instead they even become victims of these officials, charged with or raped just so they could be given shelter. Sick.
Moreover, the low self-esteem that domestic helpers suffer from could run for generations. They could carry that to their deathbed or they could suffer from so much psychologically that they would commit suicide to end their suffering.
The domestic helpers are in a very sick workplace, a very traumatic situation. The time is over ripe to address their problems. Their situation will improve only if their working conditions are changed, overhauled, revolutionized!
I think that it is high time that the ILO put its foot down and say stop to all this modern day slavery. The ILO is in the best position to mediate, intervene and put an end to the sufferings of domestic helpers. Let domestic service be onely 8-hour a day job, and with free vacations every months. Then require all receiving countries to provide dormitories for them to retire into every day. Let no domestic helper work overnight in their employer's home.
Let this labor organization acquire a meaningful existence by showing its sympathetic arm to our sisters in the domestic service.
Domestic helpers are most women and they would enter this domestic job simply because there are no other opportunities for them in their home countries. Now what is wrong with their going abroad? There is nothing wrong except that the ILO does not look at their working conditions if the countries follow humane rules and regulations. Any employer who has a servant/s at his or her beck and call would be apt to or be attracted to order them around any time of day. Many of these employers would not have read the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and so they are bound to oppress their servants. The Middle Eastern countries have the greater number of employers who really go beyond the norm of what could be said to be humane treatment of domestic helpers. Reports are replete of wives of Arab men feeling jealous over Filipino maids who then suffer the brunt of their rocky marriages.
Unfortunately, not even the presence of labor attaches in those countries could help the maids when they run into problems. Instead they even become victims of these officials, charged with or raped just so they could be given shelter. Sick.
Moreover, the low self-esteem that domestic helpers suffer from could run for generations. They could carry that to their deathbed or they could suffer from so much psychologically that they would commit suicide to end their suffering.
The domestic helpers are in a very sick workplace, a very traumatic situation. The time is over ripe to address their problems. Their situation will improve only if their working conditions are changed, overhauled, revolutionized!
I think that it is high time that the ILO put its foot down and say stop to all this modern day slavery. The ILO is in the best position to mediate, intervene and put an end to the sufferings of domestic helpers. Let domestic service be onely 8-hour a day job, and with free vacations every months. Then require all receiving countries to provide dormitories for them to retire into every day. Let no domestic helper work overnight in their employer's home.
Let this labor organization acquire a meaningful existence by showing its sympathetic arm to our sisters in the domestic service.
Monday, July 2, 2007
On being humane
How could we make being humane a way of life in this world? How could we tell everyone to be kind, nurturing and good to everyone? Christians view being humane as part of being Christ-like. Political ideologues theorize and practice an ideology, with being humane embeded like a package into all the discussions. Government officials skirt the issue and think in terms of laws and implementing them or perhaps, they think that their work exemplifies already one's being humane.
This word humane really interests me. You see, we have different ways of relating with the world, with our societies. We think differently - on how to be of service to others, or on how to have a more meaningful life. But we generally think that to be humane is part of being human already.
Now, some people think being humane is time-bound: they may be humane now, but not tomorrow. They may be humane towards one particular group of people but not with some. Yet the word is etched in the UN Declaration of Human Rights; so everyone is expected to be humane.
If persons are part of a group of authority, what are the boundaries of their being humane? Is it being humane to stop others from exercising their human rights? Of course it is not and that is why there are many investigations going on, especially in the case of extra judicial killings in the Philippines.
So what we mean here is that to define being humane is to put up a model for human relationships. What is the relationship between two people, between one person and a group of persons; between and among groups of people? We say being humane in all these instances is being kind, nurturing and good, is it not?
But supposing one is in a position of putting into order the lives of other people, like government officials. Being in a position of authority, then they are expected to follow the UN Declaration of Human Rights and to insure that everyone is treated humanely, whether a criminal, a prisoner, or just a plain citizen. Unfortunately, not all government officials are of this bent of mind. Some even do away with lives of other people, those journalists and members of legal mass organizations, some of whom even belong to the religious sector.
From my end, I would like to ask: Is authority vested with that right to invade the privacy of people, to tamper with their things at home, to hire relatives or maids or servants to steal things of people who are committed to exercising their human rights? Does being in a position of authority give that right to them to do these things, with impunity? I have experienced such cases in many instances and I am appalled because I believe and practice doing things in the most lawful manner. I even publish my writings or get them to be published so that I would be known as acting and working on legal grounds. Yet, I have suffered from my laptop being hacked, my USB flash being pilfered (with the thief, seemingly in the know where and when to get it from my bag), my planner containing telephone lists and dates with people, being stolen or misplaced in the confines of my room, and even my celfone being jammed -- important phone numbers being suddenly delisted. Worse is paying people to act in a derisive manner towards me in public and in meetings with people where they have planted spies. And worst of all, is the sexual harassment. Once, I went to a spa to get a massage. As I was lying down on the bed, a masseus came in with a cellfone, and turned up the dimmed lights and suddenly flung up the blanket covering my body. I was too shocked to know what had happened. But I never returned there anymore. I knew that somebody had order her to do this to me.
Here is where I think being humane is no longer being practiced by the intelligence staff in particular of the Philippine government. and that intelligence is no longer used to advance being humane; nor government budget used to follow the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Anyone who criticizes, even through writing is considered an enemy of the State and is to be stopped at all costs, whether to steal, supposedly borrow or even destroy those things that a person uses to advance his or her ideas, and so much more: to bring down the self-esteem of that person in order to paralyze him/her from writing and criticizing.
Let my writings be records of human rights in the Philippines, under a woman president who does not squirm nor flinch at any of those instances mentioned. I believe that history later on will be written about her - and pity her grandchildren and great, great grandchildren for being a willing captive of a military that has no qualms about being not humane.
Till then, have a nice day.
This word humane really interests me. You see, we have different ways of relating with the world, with our societies. We think differently - on how to be of service to others, or on how to have a more meaningful life. But we generally think that to be humane is part of being human already.
Now, some people think being humane is time-bound: they may be humane now, but not tomorrow. They may be humane towards one particular group of people but not with some. Yet the word is etched in the UN Declaration of Human Rights; so everyone is expected to be humane.
If persons are part of a group of authority, what are the boundaries of their being humane? Is it being humane to stop others from exercising their human rights? Of course it is not and that is why there are many investigations going on, especially in the case of extra judicial killings in the Philippines.
So what we mean here is that to define being humane is to put up a model for human relationships. What is the relationship between two people, between one person and a group of persons; between and among groups of people? We say being humane in all these instances is being kind, nurturing and good, is it not?
But supposing one is in a position of putting into order the lives of other people, like government officials. Being in a position of authority, then they are expected to follow the UN Declaration of Human Rights and to insure that everyone is treated humanely, whether a criminal, a prisoner, or just a plain citizen. Unfortunately, not all government officials are of this bent of mind. Some even do away with lives of other people, those journalists and members of legal mass organizations, some of whom even belong to the religious sector.
From my end, I would like to ask: Is authority vested with that right to invade the privacy of people, to tamper with their things at home, to hire relatives or maids or servants to steal things of people who are committed to exercising their human rights? Does being in a position of authority give that right to them to do these things, with impunity? I have experienced such cases in many instances and I am appalled because I believe and practice doing things in the most lawful manner. I even publish my writings or get them to be published so that I would be known as acting and working on legal grounds. Yet, I have suffered from my laptop being hacked, my USB flash being pilfered (with the thief, seemingly in the know where and when to get it from my bag), my planner containing telephone lists and dates with people, being stolen or misplaced in the confines of my room, and even my celfone being jammed -- important phone numbers being suddenly delisted. Worse is paying people to act in a derisive manner towards me in public and in meetings with people where they have planted spies. And worst of all, is the sexual harassment. Once, I went to a spa to get a massage. As I was lying down on the bed, a masseus came in with a cellfone, and turned up the dimmed lights and suddenly flung up the blanket covering my body. I was too shocked to know what had happened. But I never returned there anymore. I knew that somebody had order her to do this to me.
Here is where I think being humane is no longer being practiced by the intelligence staff in particular of the Philippine government. and that intelligence is no longer used to advance being humane; nor government budget used to follow the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Anyone who criticizes, even through writing is considered an enemy of the State and is to be stopped at all costs, whether to steal, supposedly borrow or even destroy those things that a person uses to advance his or her ideas, and so much more: to bring down the self-esteem of that person in order to paralyze him/her from writing and criticizing.
Let my writings be records of human rights in the Philippines, under a woman president who does not squirm nor flinch at any of those instances mentioned. I believe that history later on will be written about her - and pity her grandchildren and great, great grandchildren for being a willing captive of a military that has no qualms about being not humane.
Sometimes, I think I am being drawn to be not humane, myself, by the situation I am in. during those instances, I breathe in and out, exhale and inhale, and blank my mind to get a fresher view of life.
Till then, have a nice day.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Double life
I was surprised to know that a friend of mine leads a dichotomous bloglife. He has a blog for his personal writings and another for his "serious stuff." I never have this kind of separated life -- simply because in the women's movement, we say that "the personal is political." So whether I write about what is happening to me personally or about the society I am in, it is still me talking, not another person.
But maybe he has a purpose. Perhaps someday, he plants to publish his writings and through that categorization of his writings, it would be easy to compile them into two books.
Yet, when we dichotomize, are we not saying that life could have this kind of separation? I perceive life as one seamless thread. Whether knots occur now and then, it is still one and the same life I have. I breathe the same air whether I am writing short stories or essays. And when I write poetry, then that is still me - perhaps wanting to get away from the overly-rational life of politics. But who says that poems cannot be political, or short stories for that matter?
I told a friend, I write short stories when essays contain too much truth that are too blunt for the authorities to take.
But maybe he has a purpose. Perhaps someday, he plants to publish his writings and through that categorization of his writings, it would be easy to compile them into two books.
Yet, when we dichotomize, are we not saying that life could have this kind of separation? I perceive life as one seamless thread. Whether knots occur now and then, it is still one and the same life I have. I breathe the same air whether I am writing short stories or essays. And when I write poetry, then that is still me - perhaps wanting to get away from the overly-rational life of politics. But who says that poems cannot be political, or short stories for that matter?
I told a friend, I write short stories when essays contain too much truth that are too blunt for the authorities to take.
My only country
I am now slowly recovering my love for my country. I am beginning to love the scenery, the different places which used to make me sick. There must be something great about having a change of leaders. Sometime two years past, I used to hate everything in this place. I could not stand seeing the pictures of cheating officials in the papers. I used to draw horns on their heads and fangs on their mouths to signify their kinship with Dracula. Although seeping blood among NGO activists and media journalists still occur, I am beginning to see the light - many sectors in our society are already awake to the iniquities -- the ordinary folks are no longer mum about so many issues. They speak out and show their concern if not disgust about the turn of events. (I used to be in a place in an urban poor area where I felt like a sore thumb talking about the need for change whereas many of the folks are just thinking of where to get money to buy their food.) The Church now has a daily program on air -- Veritas 846, although they seem not to be too critical of the types of advertisements that they churn out there. The ads are commercializing their programs. Then the media of course is brilliant -- everyday, worthy news is coming out and opinions are flying all over the place. The journalists - broadcast and print are no longer afraid to speak out. Would you believe Ellen Tordesillas called Gloria A, magnanakaw? That was printed in Abante and my mother was so shocked beyond belief. So I told her, perhaps Ellen had a journalist friend who either disappeared or got killed and belongs to the statistics of the extra judicial killings.
But then, the bigger problem I see is the militarization of the government. Too many soldiers are in key positions in the government bringing with them their black and white idea of life; or it is either war or peace. They are at war if the people are not for them, and at peace when people are quiet and not contradicting their positions. I think that military men should be allowed to hold office, unless they are voted into office like Trillanes IV, only after 5 years of being a civilian. It takes time for a militaristic mind to mellow down and appreciate the need for legal and non-violent means of resolving social and personal issues.
Another problem I deem to be difficult is the instant victory of former enemies of cheaters who have just won seats in the government through elections, but are now singing a different song. I read today that Allan Peter Cayetano, voted senator, who was in the past the "erstwhile" enemy of the First Gentleman because Cayetano had chosen to squeal on the latter's foreign accounts abroad (although still to be proven) is declaring that he will vote for bills that would emanate from Malacanang if it would help the economy.
Let us keep our fingers crossed that the interests of the people, their trust on these officials which they showed by voting them into office, would not go down the drain.
So do I still love my country? For all its potholes and the corrupt practices of its officials? Excuse me, but I see that the poor people are still hoping that something would happen to their lives. I maintain my Polyanna views because of them, not because of the people at the helm. I believe that so long as the majority of the poor people view their lives as not wasted although they are still in that struggling stage and are prepared meet head-on the problems of survival, then my positive view of life in our country is intact. I hope.
A phrase that is worthwhile saying when problems occur is to say "So what?" a psychologist said. But for me, I hum a tune to myself, and with it, I know the words that are in every note -- something about being patient becaus things will come to a head after all.
Have a nice day!
But then, the bigger problem I see is the militarization of the government. Too many soldiers are in key positions in the government bringing with them their black and white idea of life; or it is either war or peace. They are at war if the people are not for them, and at peace when people are quiet and not contradicting their positions. I think that military men should be allowed to hold office, unless they are voted into office like Trillanes IV, only after 5 years of being a civilian. It takes time for a militaristic mind to mellow down and appreciate the need for legal and non-violent means of resolving social and personal issues.
Another problem I deem to be difficult is the instant victory of former enemies of cheaters who have just won seats in the government through elections, but are now singing a different song. I read today that Allan Peter Cayetano, voted senator, who was in the past the "erstwhile" enemy of the First Gentleman because Cayetano had chosen to squeal on the latter's foreign accounts abroad (although still to be proven) is declaring that he will vote for bills that would emanate from Malacanang if it would help the economy.
Let us keep our fingers crossed that the interests of the people, their trust on these officials which they showed by voting them into office, would not go down the drain.
So do I still love my country? For all its potholes and the corrupt practices of its officials? Excuse me, but I see that the poor people are still hoping that something would happen to their lives. I maintain my Polyanna views because of them, not because of the people at the helm. I believe that so long as the majority of the poor people view their lives as not wasted although they are still in that struggling stage and are prepared meet head-on the problems of survival, then my positive view of life in our country is intact. I hope.
A phrase that is worthwhile saying when problems occur is to say "So what?" a psychologist said. But for me, I hum a tune to myself, and with it, I know the words that are in every note -- something about being patient becaus things will come to a head after all.
Have a nice day!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
When Celfones Get Lost
I still cannot get over my lost cellfone, Nokia 7260. It was given to me by my son for my birthday last year. But not yet a year old I lost it in Magsaysay Village, Tondo while going there one evening to remind the women about the trip to the Museo Pambata the following day. Since that time, February 2007, I have hardly stepped at the Village. I feel numb whenever I go there.
Why is it so traumatic losing a cellfone? This week I read a headline about an individual saying that the cellfone is more important than her wedding ring. A cellfone is one's communication with the world. Can you imagine folks that for many decades, about 4 decades, in my case, I never had a decent line of communication. The cellfone revolutionizes our way of communicating with other people. We can be contacted very easily wherever we are. Well, if you were here in the Philippines before the entry of cellfones, you can imagine us roving around to look for a public phone somewhere so that we can keep in touch with our friends and business associates. At home, we shared phones with the rest of the family members and have to queue up in order to get our chance to make a call.
Then the pager came and it seemed a good answer to our being accessible when out of the house. So as soon as it rang, whereever we were, we would rush to the nearest public phone to return the call. I also remember seeing that tall building in Cubao, the Pocketbell office where I used to pay my bills. But now it is gone. The pager is obsolete, now taken over by the Scandinavian and Japanese devices, the cellfones.
Going back to my lost cellfone, I lost also the phone numbers of very important people in my work. It was a good thing, I was able to list them down in a notebook one time. But the trouble of writing them again to another cellfone is very tedious. Maybe we should have a bank somewhere in the satellite in which we can secretly bank our phone lists and access them should we ever lose our cellfone.
The most recent models boast of having a capability for the user to watch tv programs. Now, I don't really like that because it could be abused and draw the user to dangerous levels. For example, we could get so engrossed watching the tv program while driving and then lose control of the wheels. I think that we should retain the integrity of the device -- it is small, so its features should be enough to serve as a communications medium.
Anyway, what else is in the offing in the realm of communications?
Why is it so traumatic losing a cellfone? This week I read a headline about an individual saying that the cellfone is more important than her wedding ring. A cellfone is one's communication with the world. Can you imagine folks that for many decades, about 4 decades, in my case, I never had a decent line of communication. The cellfone revolutionizes our way of communicating with other people. We can be contacted very easily wherever we are. Well, if you were here in the Philippines before the entry of cellfones, you can imagine us roving around to look for a public phone somewhere so that we can keep in touch with our friends and business associates. At home, we shared phones with the rest of the family members and have to queue up in order to get our chance to make a call.
Then the pager came and it seemed a good answer to our being accessible when out of the house. So as soon as it rang, whereever we were, we would rush to the nearest public phone to return the call. I also remember seeing that tall building in Cubao, the Pocketbell office where I used to pay my bills. But now it is gone. The pager is obsolete, now taken over by the Scandinavian and Japanese devices, the cellfones.
Going back to my lost cellfone, I lost also the phone numbers of very important people in my work. It was a good thing, I was able to list them down in a notebook one time. But the trouble of writing them again to another cellfone is very tedious. Maybe we should have a bank somewhere in the satellite in which we can secretly bank our phone lists and access them should we ever lose our cellfone.
The most recent models boast of having a capability for the user to watch tv programs. Now, I don't really like that because it could be abused and draw the user to dangerous levels. For example, we could get so engrossed watching the tv program while driving and then lose control of the wheels. I think that we should retain the integrity of the device -- it is small, so its features should be enough to serve as a communications medium.
Anyway, what else is in the offing in the realm of communications?
when life is unfair
(Note: I just lost my most recent post and I had thought that blogger saves our drafts automatically. But i think google should investigate why all the paragraphs i have written are now all gone.)
That ballad, "Ordinary Song" is very engaging. I seldom hear it on the radio but when I do it seems to be automatically tuned in to my emotional state at that moment when I find life to be so unfair. In fact, there is a line in the song that says something like this, "When life seems so unfair, I will be there, singing this "ordinary song" to you.
Many of the Philippine songs could have been composed for some kind of romantic settings. I have composed some but they contain lyrics about the environment and talking about the lives of the urban poor and of women. I cannot get them to be aired on the radio because they sound too radical. However, I was able to present them over the Sunday Concert at the Park in Luneta for 45 minutes in the 90's. I was surprised to know from the production coordinator, Gie Arnold, a widow, that the show was well-watched by music students.
What happens to artistic works like these is that they get to be shown publicly but only through concerted efforts of some government institutions like the National Parks Development committee in bringing culture to the masses. Someday, when things are all right, perhaps, we will have daily presentations at the Luneta Park geared towards showcasing the works of Pilipino artists and
composers. We can dream, can't we?
That ballad, "Ordinary Song" is very engaging. I seldom hear it on the radio but when I do it seems to be automatically tuned in to my emotional state at that moment when I find life to be so unfair. In fact, there is a line in the song that says something like this, "When life seems so unfair, I will be there, singing this "ordinary song" to you.
Many of the Philippine songs could have been composed for some kind of romantic settings. I have composed some but they contain lyrics about the environment and talking about the lives of the urban poor and of women. I cannot get them to be aired on the radio because they sound too radical. However, I was able to present them over the Sunday Concert at the Park in Luneta for 45 minutes in the 90's. I was surprised to know from the production coordinator, Gie Arnold, a widow, that the show was well-watched by music students.
What happens to artistic works like these is that they get to be shown publicly but only through concerted efforts of some government institutions like the National Parks Development committee in bringing culture to the masses. Someday, when things are all right, perhaps, we will have daily presentations at the Luneta Park geared towards showcasing the works of Pilipino artists and
composers. We can dream, can't we?
Monday, June 25, 2007
Fresh Sea Air Breathes Freedom
Last Sunday, I went to Luneta Grandstand with women and a man from the Smokey Mountain relocation site. I taught the women the song: "Tokatokatok" my composition which discusses the origins of the species. Did women come from the ribs of men, or did women and men arise from the bamboo shoot which a bird rapped on? "Saan nanggaling ang babae? Saan nanggaling ang lalaki? Saan nanggaling ang katauhan, Yan ang ating palaisipan."
As we were about to finish learning the song, I decided to ask the women if they agree that women and men should be equal. More than half said that equality is impossible, while two said that it is. When I was asked for my opinion, I said that there are two strands of thinking here -- one group talks of the present conditions of women -- that we are in a disadvantageous position to men; while the other group talks of the equality principle, that women should be assertive.
Then I explained to them why there is such a thing as a women's movement that we earned the right to vote only in 1937 from the Americans, that women before the Family Code was signed had to get the consent of their husbands before entering any business deals or agreement, that women were secondary in priority of education in families, that some abandoned unmarried women could not get support from the fathers of their children because they do not carry his family name.
I could see how their faces light up as I mention each particular instance of women's sad situation.
Were we free to talk because we were there in Luneta breathing fresh sea air? Luneta where Rizal met his death in the hands of a firing squad under the rule of Spanish civilian and military officers? Were we free to think because they were away from their homes which constantly reminded them of poverty?
How I wish we could continue having such discussions outside of their homes and feel free to explore many ideas about life.
As we were about to finish learning the song, I decided to ask the women if they agree that women and men should be equal. More than half said that equality is impossible, while two said that it is. When I was asked for my opinion, I said that there are two strands of thinking here -- one group talks of the present conditions of women -- that we are in a disadvantageous position to men; while the other group talks of the equality principle, that women should be assertive.
Then I explained to them why there is such a thing as a women's movement that we earned the right to vote only in 1937 from the Americans, that women before the Family Code was signed had to get the consent of their husbands before entering any business deals or agreement, that women were secondary in priority of education in families, that some abandoned unmarried women could not get support from the fathers of their children because they do not carry his family name.
I could see how their faces light up as I mention each particular instance of women's sad situation.
Were we free to talk because we were there in Luneta breathing fresh sea air? Luneta where Rizal met his death in the hands of a firing squad under the rule of Spanish civilian and military officers? Were we free to think because they were away from their homes which constantly reminded them of poverty?
How I wish we could continue having such discussions outside of their homes and feel free to explore many ideas about life.
theft for life
Today, I learned that my son lost his laptop to a burglar in his home. The culprit worked his way to the second floor through the grills covering the garden on the first floor, then hooked out the laptop and let it pass through the window grills. I felt devastated knowing the extremely important data that the laptop contains and the many months and possibly years that my son had put into gathering and organizing his data.
Two weeks ago, because of too many pressures, I forgot my laptop inside a cab. My whole world seemed to crumble then. I kept walking to and fro on the street, trying to look for a cab that could help me run after the first. Then the tricycle drivers at the corner of the street helped me get one. Upon getting in, I asked the driver if we could look for that new cab, model 2005, except that I don't know where he had gone. The driver looked to the left of the street we were crossing and saw a nearly brand new cab. "That one looks new," he said. "Let's try it," I said as it looked like the cab that I had taken. True enough, after I got out and peeped through the glass window I saw my knapsack with the laptop on the front seat beside the driver's. Then the driver himself got out of the door in one of the apartments where the cab was parked. "Oh, I was going to bring it to you, except that I felt like pissing. So I passed by my house. I told you before I live nearby. I was really going to give it to you." Earlier, while inside his cab, I told him in which building of the Smokey Mountain relocation site called Paradise Heights I was going to, and he told me he knew the place.
I believed him -- that he really was going to return it to me. Otherwise, he could have brought it down to his house and then kept it for possible deals that he could make out of it. Some friends said perhaps he was going to pawn it. I don't know if I should say yes to that. I would like to believe in that never-ending goodness of the Filipino people.
But come to think of it, why does this government allow laptops to be pawned? And there are pawnshops selling second hand laptops and even celfones. This means that stealing these objects could be a lucrative profession because the thieves could easily wangle a deal out of them.
The pawnshops would not even report the serial numbers of the laptops nor of the celfones. Otherwise, many victims of thefts could have recovered their properties.
Anyway, these incidents show that there is a graver problem facing us today and tomorrow -- that of brazen behavior to cross legal rules and steal -- for food, for life, or way of life, we could pick our answer.
Two weeks ago, because of too many pressures, I forgot my laptop inside a cab. My whole world seemed to crumble then. I kept walking to and fro on the street, trying to look for a cab that could help me run after the first. Then the tricycle drivers at the corner of the street helped me get one. Upon getting in, I asked the driver if we could look for that new cab, model 2005, except that I don't know where he had gone. The driver looked to the left of the street we were crossing and saw a nearly brand new cab. "That one looks new," he said. "Let's try it," I said as it looked like the cab that I had taken. True enough, after I got out and peeped through the glass window I saw my knapsack with the laptop on the front seat beside the driver's. Then the driver himself got out of the door in one of the apartments where the cab was parked. "Oh, I was going to bring it to you, except that I felt like pissing. So I passed by my house. I told you before I live nearby. I was really going to give it to you." Earlier, while inside his cab, I told him in which building of the Smokey Mountain relocation site called Paradise Heights I was going to, and he told me he knew the place.
I believed him -- that he really was going to return it to me. Otherwise, he could have brought it down to his house and then kept it for possible deals that he could make out of it. Some friends said perhaps he was going to pawn it. I don't know if I should say yes to that. I would like to believe in that never-ending goodness of the Filipino people.
But come to think of it, why does this government allow laptops to be pawned? And there are pawnshops selling second hand laptops and even celfones. This means that stealing these objects could be a lucrative profession because the thieves could easily wangle a deal out of them.
The pawnshops would not even report the serial numbers of the laptops nor of the celfones. Otherwise, many victims of thefts could have recovered their properties.
Anyway, these incidents show that there is a graver problem facing us today and tomorrow -- that of brazen behavior to cross legal rules and steal -- for food, for life, or way of life, we could pick our answer.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
worldwide migration
Many Filipino workers and professionals have gone abroad to seek new identities, new roles, greener pastures and possible resettle in the countries that have received them. The number is getting bigger and bigger as if the Philippines is no longer a haven for Filipinos. Why is this so? Why is life in the Philippines not that atractive anymore for our compatriots?
I know that in Filipino families, there is so much pressure to be financial supportive, to provide one's economic share to fill up domestic needs, especially in the field of education. Couples have a hard time keeping their families above ground -- that is, eating three times a day, with a roof over their head, and the children going to school with complete uniform, allowances, and money for school supplies.
Yet what should be the government's duty is being thrown in as a burden to the family. For example, one child absented himself from his 3rd grade class because his mother was not able to give him an allowance of ten pesos or 50 cents. His mother had to go to a hearing at the department of labor to follow up a case against her former employer who had charged her with theft after her ten-year stint with them as laundrywoman- all around maid in their flower shop. Imagine a maid in a commercial company being paid a maid's salary. So in return, she countercharged the employer with illegal labor practices.
Now why is it a big deal that the child did not go to school? The mother spoke to me about how she rued his absence. Why because every time the child goes to school, he receives 6 kilos of rice FOR FREE. And 6 kilos means that the family will be able to eat properly for 6 meals. 5 days x 6 is 30 kilos which then eases up the mother's problems of making her family survive.
By the way, the father is in jail due to incest-rape and so the mother is now under the care of a non-government organization, Bantay Bata, receiving good counselling for the soul, for her to be strong in the face of the negative directions of her family life in the beginning.
Without a non-government organization helping the mother, her family would have broken up, her daughters sent to some convent to receive education and/or become nuns, or to some night clubs to serve as guest relations officers, about one or two steps to prostitution.
It is 2007 and the Philippines is still experiencing these problems
I know that in Filipino families, there is so much pressure to be financial supportive, to provide one's economic share to fill up domestic needs, especially in the field of education. Couples have a hard time keeping their families above ground -- that is, eating three times a day, with a roof over their head, and the children going to school with complete uniform, allowances, and money for school supplies.
Yet what should be the government's duty is being thrown in as a burden to the family. For example, one child absented himself from his 3rd grade class because his mother was not able to give him an allowance of ten pesos or 50 cents. His mother had to go to a hearing at the department of labor to follow up a case against her former employer who had charged her with theft after her ten-year stint with them as laundrywoman- all around maid in their flower shop. Imagine a maid in a commercial company being paid a maid's salary. So in return, she countercharged the employer with illegal labor practices.
Now why is it a big deal that the child did not go to school? The mother spoke to me about how she rued his absence. Why because every time the child goes to school, he receives 6 kilos of rice FOR FREE. And 6 kilos means that the family will be able to eat properly for 6 meals. 5 days x 6 is 30 kilos which then eases up the mother's problems of making her family survive.
By the way, the father is in jail due to incest-rape and so the mother is now under the care of a non-government organization, Bantay Bata, receiving good counselling for the soul, for her to be strong in the face of the negative directions of her family life in the beginning.
Without a non-government organization helping the mother, her family would have broken up, her daughters sent to some convent to receive education and/or become nuns, or to some night clubs to serve as guest relations officers, about one or two steps to prostitution.
It is 2007 and the Philippines is still experiencing these problems
Email integrity
I don't understand why a simple case of communication gets hacked all the time. My letters, emails, telephone, and celfones are hacked all the time. This has made me feel very uneasy. For example, I always get goosepimples whenever I open my emails because there is always that nagging feeling that something could have happened to my boxes and that I might not be able to access them again. It's really hard living in the Philippines.
At home my telephone conks out again and again. I have reported it to the telephone company which keeps on sending technicians fixing the problem but as soon as they are gone, the problem crops up again.
Then my celfone messages to other people are not received. They tell me so. Yet in my celfone, it says, message sent.
What is wrong about being a writer? Why should I be cut off from communication? This is highly unfair. And unjust. I have even been barred from writing again in broadsheets. I find it difficult looking for space for my ideas.
Isn't it high time that international bodies take strong notice of human rights violations? For example, why can't the United Nations reprimand countries that violate freedom of communication? I think they should put up a monthly list of countries which are human violators and specify the violations.
In this manner, the Philippine government will take notice of how it appears to other countries.
At home my telephone conks out again and again. I have reported it to the telephone company which keeps on sending technicians fixing the problem but as soon as they are gone, the problem crops up again.
Then my celfone messages to other people are not received. They tell me so. Yet in my celfone, it says, message sent.
What is wrong about being a writer? Why should I be cut off from communication? This is highly unfair. And unjust. I have even been barred from writing again in broadsheets. I find it difficult looking for space for my ideas.
Isn't it high time that international bodies take strong notice of human rights violations? For example, why can't the United Nations reprimand countries that violate freedom of communication? I think they should put up a monthly list of countries which are human violators and specify the violations.
In this manner, the Philippine government will take notice of how it appears to other countries.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
personal
i am a member of two ofw associations. i communicate with them as often as i can. my heart bleeds every time i write them. actually the writings are not personal, but rather comments on certain socio-political topics that crop up sent in by any member. so a comment is topped by another comment and so forth and so on. because i am here in the philippines, i sometimes feel a certain melancholia -- maybe because i empathize with them - their being away from the country, dealing with a new culture, separated from their loved ones. even if some of them have their families with them, i don't think they are really happy with their lot. there is something about our roots that make us feel the need to return again and again to them.
when writing goes beyond art
i would like to think that writing is not a responsibility, not an order to be filled up. i would like to be able to write about people, about characters and events in a fictitious place. a novel? yes, a dramatic one.
but i am drawn to writing essays which make me think logically. and when that happens, i become very rationale and my feelings seem to get deadened. maybe i should sit down everyday, spend 30 minutes writing my novel. discipline for fiction is very hard to develop.
well... perhaps.
but i am drawn to writing essays which make me think logically. and when that happens, i become very rationale and my feelings seem to get deadened. maybe i should sit down everyday, spend 30 minutes writing my novel. discipline for fiction is very hard to develop.
well... perhaps.
third world spectacles
why are some quarters afraid of the phrase third world? what's wrong it? I think that there is too much smoothening over of our language in order to accommodate certain sectors who cannot understand nor accept the need for a new economic order. actually i developed my tw perspective in my m a years at the ateneo de manila university. i had jesuit priest-mentors from south asia who were really steeped in philosophy and liberation theology. they were extremely conscious of the fact that there were rich and poor in this world and that everyone can make a move to equalize that.
orozcomyblog
Good evening Friends. I am starting a new blog. It is so exciting for me because then I can write down my thoughts, my subversive thoughts according to some quarters, and communicate with you. Sometimes I will send you drawings -- my visual outlook on life or sometimes I will sing a song to you. Yes I do compose music, songs actually, but I have also done a short classical piece, several feminist songs, and currently doing a sonata for a flute and piano. Well, here then I will be in this corner. anytime you feel like communicating with me, please fell free to do so.
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