At Sitio Top Hill, Cebu City, there is always someone in each house who stays awake at night, boiling water for coffee. Ever since the attempted eviction of its urban poor residents several months ago, they have learned to be alert and keep their guard – to protect themselves and their homes.
BY JANE CATHERINE CHUA ROJO
Contributed to Bulatlat
Vol. V, No. 3, February 20-26, 2005
The place is called Sitio Top Hill – a highland locality just behind a not-so-popular golf course at Lahug, a village in Cebu City. One can reach the place on a habal-habal, a motorcycle that can accommodate at least four passengers, or a 10-minute hike from the corner where the jeepney trip ends. The path is winding, lined at both sides with small houses made of light materials.
Mornings in Top Hill are quite peaceful. Most of the houses are closed and the pathways are for most part devoid of passersby. Only once in a while do harried fathers appear, making haste to get to their working places.
The clock registers 6 a.m. in the house of Manang Pilar. Her husband Manong Lando, though still sleepy, forces himself to wake up. He washes his face and hurries to the house of Titing, the owner of the passenger jeepney he drives. He drives it for 15 to 16 hours every day, returning home at midnight with money that would last till the next day and his body tired and aching.
Next to Manang Pilar’s house is Isabelita’s. She is a 27-year-old mother of two little girls. Her husband is already out for work and she was cooking noodles for breakfast. After her little girls ate and went to school, Isabelita is left to wash the dishes, clean the house and roll the mat where the family sleeps. It’s already 8 o’clock when Isabelita goes outside with the basin filled with dirty laundry tucked beside her. She is about to start her washing when Manang Pilar approaches her.
“Mare, don’t you have clothes to wash?” Isabelita asked.
“There’s a lot in there but I won’t wash them yet. My illness has struck again.”
“So, have you taken your medicine already?”
“Not yet. There’s no money to buy one. It’s only now that your pare was able to drive again after his license was confiscated.”
“That’s right. That’s why he was here during the demolition. But you know, it was in fact good for you. Me? I nearly lost my mind. My partner leaves early on Fridays and Mondays. I could not leave Charisse because she was crying really hard. I could only watch while our house was being demolished. They turned it upside down. The roof became the floor. Too bad!”
“They were pests! Even though you kept asking them not to destroy the house because the owners were not there, they just kept on destroying, destroying, destroying… It was so frustrating because they were not listening.
“So that’s why you’re sick again?!”
“Exactly. And during the barricade, we keep on pushing ourselves forward. We didn’t care if we about the knives they had with them. We were not afraid. What matters to us was our anger towards them.”
“I was not able to join because the kids were all crying… they were all running. I picked them up one by one and brought them there because they might fall into the holes.”
“We were so pitiful. We had no money that time and yet that thing happened. We had to eat for three days at Mare Isis’ house… breakfast, lunch, dinner.”
“We did not eat, too. How could we cook rice when we didn’t even have any dwelling? We just rolled out some mats where we could rest.”
The usual gossip about the episodes of Lovers in Paris and Hiram (Borrowed), two very popular soap operas, has been replaced with talk about the real life drama in their community wherein all of them were actors.
Although the demolition took place months ago, it continues to be the topic of conversations in Sitio Top Hill.
Manang Pilar and Isabelita are still chatting when they hear a group of kids shouting, as if a mantra, the phrase, “Pulis… mang-demolis”
“They’re taunting the police again. Back then, kids were afraid of the police. Not anymore.”
“It’s their fault. Instead of ensuring peace, they would rather help those who demolished our homes. We were the ones who were abused but we’re the ones who were arrested.”
It’s already noon and so the women go to their respective homes to prepare lunch. Meanwhile, just below the plaza, stands the house of Manang Arlinda. The house has unpainted walls made of plywood and bamboo floors. It’s a small house, with no rooms nor furniture, just a few framed photographs hanging on the wall.
Outside that lonely-looking house, the air is filled with lively conversations. People young and old, sit under the shade while enjoying each other’s company. Students from the University of the Philippines (UP) are also present. It’s a part of their Basic Masses Integration (BMI), learning first hand the conditions of the masses by living with them for a brief period. All of them eat lunch together. The small house is filled with people squatting forming a circle. Nonoy, youth leader of the sitio, cooks the food. The students contribute money to buy rice, sardines, buwad (fried fish) and Odong, a cheap noodle brand.
Table talk naturally centers on the possibility of another demolition that week.
“Their plan is to organize four groups for the attack. That would really be tough because the barricade would be divided.”
“But there’s plenty of us. Everybody must help.”
“We would call a meeting so that we could plan very well.”
“We just have to make everybody understand that we really need to win because we don’t have any other home. We must think of our children.”
“Besides, most of us have our sources of income in the area.”
The conversations go on for few more minutes until the students finally decide to leave. Some of the residents stay to chat some more while some go back to their houses. Since the demolition, most of the people prefer to just stay in their homes. “Sige gyud kada adlaw mi magbantay… dili na lang gyud mag lakaw-lakaw kay mao may atake nila kanang mingaw bitaw na way tawo,” (We stay on guard every day… we seldom go out because they often attack when the place is empty) Manang Marissa explains.
In the afternoon, Manong Arman, the Sitio leader, calls for a meeting. By way of introduction, he talks of the time when Mr. Villalon, the original owner of the land they live in, was still alive.
“Villalon had visited us and had never asked us to leave. He would even say that when he sells this land, he would want us to be the buyer. When he died, we approached his secretary and she told us ‘Villalon had not sold any land. If ever this land would be offered for sale, you will be the priority because you are the ones who live in the place.’ The one claiming now to have bought the land is bogus because the titles that he is holding were all just Xerox copies and his map is just handwritten and is not even clear.”
All the residents share the same belief with their leader. They deem that Salud Young, the claimant, is not a legitimate owner. With that conviction, they are determined to fight for their houses. “Mag-andam gyud mi taman-taman. Bisag armado pa sila… dili gyud mi mahadlok.” (We would prepare really hard. Even if they’re armed, we will not be scared.) May-may declared.
In the evening, while most are asleep, there is always someone in each house who stays awake, boiling water for coffee. As Gina said, “Halos dili mi mangatulog dinhi. Kada gabii gabilar, nagabantay gyud.” (We hardly sleep. Every night, we stay awake… we always keep on guard.)
Thus, at 12 midnight, the silence that covers Sitio Top Hill like a thick blanket is ripped softly by a noise that is heard in almost every house – the sound of metal spoon against porcelain cup as it stirs the black aromatic liquid. Indeed, somebody must stay on guard. Bulatlat
© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Monday, December 06, 2004
The Good Germans
by: John S. Hatch
12/06/04 "ICH" -- It is a commonplace that at the end of WWII scarcely a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer could be found, or even anyone with an inkling that a Holocaust had been taking place. Even as rocks flew through Jewish shop windows and homes were burned, the Good Germans didn't know. Even when Jews began disappearing in huge numbers from right under their noses, the Good Germans weren't aware. Later on, even amongst Holocaust deniers I used to wonder if there were a mitigating percentage, however small, who as otherwise decent human beings simply could not accept the horror that human nature can be so vile. To admit the truth would be to recognize that life was essentially meaningless and insane, with suicide as the only logical course, a choice which the all-powerful instinct for self-preservation attempted to prevent. Thus self-deception for self-preservation; an unhappy compromise. It was the Nazi-exploited Nietzsche who pointed out (in the late 1800's remember) that one must first know the truth in order to bury it. Everybody knew, in one way or another. Violence, after all, is what One-Thousand Year Reichs do, and they must start very early.
America, America, Uber Alles
While there is much justified consternation surrounding the truly astonishing election of George W. Bush-first he steals power, then it's handed back to him tied with a fancy yellow ribbon-the fact is that for the longest time American foreign policy (and often domestic as well) has been so savage as to shock the world. Yet the average American seems to care as little as the average German did about the Third's Reich's crimes against humanity or the Holocaust. Didn't know, didn't care or-liked it very much. 'We' are empire! Therefore 'we' are a priori justified in anything we do. Rules only apply to lesser nations, lesser beings.
Just to go back a short way, while George crusades to 'free' his beloved Iraqis' (almost universally referred to as 'ragheads' and 'sandniggers' (!) , bastards and faggots by his like-thinking men and women in the field), LBJ was a crook with indirect ties to the Mafia, and likely foreknowledge of the Kennedy assassination. (And we can't forget his vice-crook 'Nolo Contendere' Spiro Agnew, can we?) Nixon's boys had their inherited gooks and commies to torture and murder and bomb and napalm, and he had even more direct ties to the Mafia from almost the beginning of his criminal career. (And Rumsfeld and Powell were honing their skills for later- Rumsfeld in Defense, Powell as chief spinner for My Lai). Both Nixon and Bush lied about their respective wars, using the most unscrupulous but effective assistants (Murray Chotiner, Karl Rove) in order to get elected, and then surrounded themselves with ambitious thugs and criminals, all rising like pus out of a pimple (Kissinger, Mitchell, Erlichman, Haldeman, Liddy, Hunt et al), or far-right religious zealots (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft et al, including the multi-untalented David Frum, sophomoric enough to brag about the pathetic comic-book phrase 'Axis of Evil'). Then came Ford, who will always be remembered for pardoning Nixon's crimes, many of which weren't then known to the public, and as a participant in the official Kennedy assassination cover-up known as the Warren Commission.
Meanwhile the CIA continued to mingle, meddle, and assassinate willy-nilly wherever they felt like it. Jimmy Carter may have been a gentler soul, but he welcomed the despised Shah of Iran, installed by the US after deposing the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq for deciding to take control of Iran's own oil resources. The nerve of that uppity Mohammed! (Yet the neo-con tut-tutters keep saying that oil was not a factor in Iraq's invasion-they forgot all about Iran, but would like to visit again, and soon.) The corporate press blubbered on and on when Reagan mercifully died, with scant mention of his murderous if shaky hand, guided by the likes of the truly bizarre Ollie North, John Poindexter, and the depraved (but very ambitious) John Negroponte, newly appointed ambassador to Iraq (honestly, it would require an outsourced factory of Shakespearian elves working overtime to do adjectival justice to some of these malicious miscreants).
How much American psychic energy was required to 'forget' Reagan's 'freedom fighters' of Nicaragua ('the equivalent of our Founding Fathers', he was already demented enough to pronounce)? They used tactics learned at the famous US Army 'School of Americas' at Ft. Benning, Georgia, also known as 'School of the Assassins', whose distinguished graduates include Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos, formerly of Panama, and Roberto Violo of Argentina. The freedom fighters raped nuns and peasant women and used all sorts of lethal terror methods in the countryside to dislodge the elected government. Preferred targets were teachers and medical staff, but they bagged an Archbishop as well. A favorite horror method involved the stuffing of a grenade into the bleeding, broken-toothed mouth of an innocent man woman, and yes, even child (of course child, when you think about it) and then detonation in front of what might be left of the as-good-as-dead family. Well it seemed to work in the long run. Ronnie must have been proud. And looking at The Gipper's shiny coffin and poor Nancy's touching grief, how hard was it to forget Reagan's prior treasonous secret interference in foreign policy affairs in order to have the American hostages in Iran freed later rather than sooner, with arms as a reward, more cash to the freedom fighters for grenades, and coke to California as a byproduct? He forgot all about it, right away. Ollie too. I wonder if any one of those dignitaries was trying to forget Ronnie's pal 'Blowtorch Bob' (D'Aubisson) of El Salvador, and how he came to acquire his colorful sobriquet? Or even remember?
On and on. Bush I's puerile denial that he wasn't in Reagan and Ollie's loopy 'loop' regarding Iran-Contra, his message to Saddam through Ambassador April Glaspie (July 25, 1990) that America was neutral regarding Iraqi plans vis a vis Kuwait, then presto! Ill-equipped, ill-trained and terrified Iraqi soldiers were being buried alive in the desert, surrender not even an option. Later, elsewhere, weaponless soldiers were picked off one by one by stationary, low flying helicopters while their brave pilots whooped and hollered, intoxicated by the sheer joy of delivering no-risk murder.
Then there was the notorious 'Highway of Death', a 60 mile stretch between Mutlaa, Kuwait and Basra where non-combatant soldiers, fleeing back to Iraq on orders and civilian men, women and children were mowed down by bombs (including napalm and/or phosphorus) and bullets from planes and helicopters until not a single human being remained alive. Not even a dog. Such was the enthusiasm for the sport that extra air traffic controllers had to be brought in so that as many pilots as possible could participate without fear of bumping into each other. Estimated casualties (just dead, no wounded) were in the tens of thousands. Tens of thousands.
Then there came the insane sanctions, which did absolutely nothing to slow the building of palaces for Saddam and his revolting sons (did we forget that America had earlier assisted Saddam in its war against Iran, even providing certain chemicals which were to become famous?) Extending through the Clinton years these otherwise ineffectual measures are conservatively credited with killing one million ordinary Iraqis through malnutrition and lack of basic medicines.
Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking, irrevocably America-defining utterances regarding Iraq and America's arrogance and ignorance and self-induced amnesia was not by some slippery, war-mongering Republican from Kentucky, but from educated, refined ex-Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who when asked if the cruel and futile sanctions had been worth the deaths of 500,000 innocent Iraqi children, looked genuinely thoughtful for a moment, then answered in the affirmative. It is truly to weep. Adieu America! The requiem is for you too.
Armageddon the Blues
With his second, and perhaps final term (don't forget, many Americans wanted to amend the Constitution to allow dear old Ronnie a third term) George W. Bush will feel emboldened to spend his famous political 'capital' in a world growing increasingly wary, fearful, and fed up with America's growing rogue status, lack of trustworthiness, and willingness to embrace violence.
That Bush would ever even consider appointing as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a signal that the former's one-finger victory salute was not a joke, as tasteless as it was. To appoint as top law enforcement officer a man who considers the Geneva Conventions 'quaint' and obsolete and the strictures against torture inapplicable, the World Court without jurisdiction is unprecedented in any civilized nation anywhere. Add to that even more draconian elements to the execrably designated 'Patriot Act', and I am genuinely surprised that given the American proclivity for chattering incessantly about love of country and constitution, and bravery and freedom ('Give me freedom, or give me fries!' Freedom fries!) that the streets haven't been deluged with incandescently angry (real) patriots demanding their country back. No not demanding, taking.
Perhaps America was always just empty talk, a superpower as vacuous as some of your 'superstars', as George II, lead by the nose by crazy Likudites, crazy Christians, and just plain power-mad crazies, leads the world to the brink of Armageddon. But there is no Jesus waiting (and, thank goodness, certainly not the creepy Christ of the cretinous far Christian right), no Anti-Christ (not even the U.N.), only prolonged hell on earth for many, hamburgers and SUV's and beer for the few. And of course, Wal-Mart for everyone. George II insists we have to be for or against. Well, I'm proud to come out against. I know America is a ruthless and formidable foe, but remember, there are billions of us around the world We are angry and sickened, and perhaps have finally had enough.
Violence is not necessary (if only America would learn that) - imagine what a worldwide boycott of every single thing American would do to your economy, in fairly short order. The dollar would further erode, stock market indicies would plunge, more countries would switch to the Euro as reserve currency, foreign owned treasury bonds would be called in in the billions, the American financial system would risk collapse. Imagine that your political elite and their oozing advisors not daring to leave the country for fear of arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It happened to Chile's Pinochet in great Britain, and Kissinger escaped detainment in France only by a whisker (or was it a prayer?). That America no longer recognizes Geneva Conventions and International Rules of Conduct doesn't mean that more civilized nations no longer do.
For starters, a few days ago President Bush came to my country, Canada. Were there to exist true justice, he would have been arrested the moment he stepped off Air Force One in Ottawa, and would be held on suspicion of having committed a breath-taking array of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Of course that didn't happen. Yet. But we can take some consolation in the fact that, despite being invited to address a joint session of Parliament and Senate as protocol dictates, his handlers politely declined, fearful of what his reception might be.
Now, a group of Vancouver Lawyers (L.A.W.-Lawyers Against War) has filed papers with the U.N. charging Mr. Bush with war crimes. As Mr. Bush is not Canadian, our Attorney General has eight days in which to approve the filing or reject it. It will of course be rejected. For now.
John Hatch is a writer, novelist, and film-maker living in British Columbia, Canada. His novel The Wolfe Chronicles was published in 2001. He is also a contributor to bcpolitics.ca He can be reached at johnhatch@canada.com
© John S. Hatch
12/06/04 "ICH" -- It is a commonplace that at the end of WWII scarcely a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer could be found, or even anyone with an inkling that a Holocaust had been taking place. Even as rocks flew through Jewish shop windows and homes were burned, the Good Germans didn't know. Even when Jews began disappearing in huge numbers from right under their noses, the Good Germans weren't aware. Later on, even amongst Holocaust deniers I used to wonder if there were a mitigating percentage, however small, who as otherwise decent human beings simply could not accept the horror that human nature can be so vile. To admit the truth would be to recognize that life was essentially meaningless and insane, with suicide as the only logical course, a choice which the all-powerful instinct for self-preservation attempted to prevent. Thus self-deception for self-preservation; an unhappy compromise. It was the Nazi-exploited Nietzsche who pointed out (in the late 1800's remember) that one must first know the truth in order to bury it. Everybody knew, in one way or another. Violence, after all, is what One-Thousand Year Reichs do, and they must start very early.
America, America, Uber Alles
While there is much justified consternation surrounding the truly astonishing election of George W. Bush-first he steals power, then it's handed back to him tied with a fancy yellow ribbon-the fact is that for the longest time American foreign policy (and often domestic as well) has been so savage as to shock the world. Yet the average American seems to care as little as the average German did about the Third's Reich's crimes against humanity or the Holocaust. Didn't know, didn't care or-liked it very much. 'We' are empire! Therefore 'we' are a priori justified in anything we do. Rules only apply to lesser nations, lesser beings.
Just to go back a short way, while George crusades to 'free' his beloved Iraqis' (almost universally referred to as 'ragheads' and 'sandniggers' (!) , bastards and faggots by his like-thinking men and women in the field), LBJ was a crook with indirect ties to the Mafia, and likely foreknowledge of the Kennedy assassination. (And we can't forget his vice-crook 'Nolo Contendere' Spiro Agnew, can we?) Nixon's boys had their inherited gooks and commies to torture and murder and bomb and napalm, and he had even more direct ties to the Mafia from almost the beginning of his criminal career. (And Rumsfeld and Powell were honing their skills for later- Rumsfeld in Defense, Powell as chief spinner for My Lai). Both Nixon and Bush lied about their respective wars, using the most unscrupulous but effective assistants (Murray Chotiner, Karl Rove) in order to get elected, and then surrounded themselves with ambitious thugs and criminals, all rising like pus out of a pimple (Kissinger, Mitchell, Erlichman, Haldeman, Liddy, Hunt et al), or far-right religious zealots (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft et al, including the multi-untalented David Frum, sophomoric enough to brag about the pathetic comic-book phrase 'Axis of Evil'). Then came Ford, who will always be remembered for pardoning Nixon's crimes, many of which weren't then known to the public, and as a participant in the official Kennedy assassination cover-up known as the Warren Commission.
Meanwhile the CIA continued to mingle, meddle, and assassinate willy-nilly wherever they felt like it. Jimmy Carter may have been a gentler soul, but he welcomed the despised Shah of Iran, installed by the US after deposing the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq for deciding to take control of Iran's own oil resources. The nerve of that uppity Mohammed! (Yet the neo-con tut-tutters keep saying that oil was not a factor in Iraq's invasion-they forgot all about Iran, but would like to visit again, and soon.) The corporate press blubbered on and on when Reagan mercifully died, with scant mention of his murderous if shaky hand, guided by the likes of the truly bizarre Ollie North, John Poindexter, and the depraved (but very ambitious) John Negroponte, newly appointed ambassador to Iraq (honestly, it would require an outsourced factory of Shakespearian elves working overtime to do adjectival justice to some of these malicious miscreants).
How much American psychic energy was required to 'forget' Reagan's 'freedom fighters' of Nicaragua ('the equivalent of our Founding Fathers', he was already demented enough to pronounce)? They used tactics learned at the famous US Army 'School of Americas' at Ft. Benning, Georgia, also known as 'School of the Assassins', whose distinguished graduates include Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos, formerly of Panama, and Roberto Violo of Argentina. The freedom fighters raped nuns and peasant women and used all sorts of lethal terror methods in the countryside to dislodge the elected government. Preferred targets were teachers and medical staff, but they bagged an Archbishop as well. A favorite horror method involved the stuffing of a grenade into the bleeding, broken-toothed mouth of an innocent man woman, and yes, even child (of course child, when you think about it) and then detonation in front of what might be left of the as-good-as-dead family. Well it seemed to work in the long run. Ronnie must have been proud. And looking at The Gipper's shiny coffin and poor Nancy's touching grief, how hard was it to forget Reagan's prior treasonous secret interference in foreign policy affairs in order to have the American hostages in Iran freed later rather than sooner, with arms as a reward, more cash to the freedom fighters for grenades, and coke to California as a byproduct? He forgot all about it, right away. Ollie too. I wonder if any one of those dignitaries was trying to forget Ronnie's pal 'Blowtorch Bob' (D'Aubisson) of El Salvador, and how he came to acquire his colorful sobriquet? Or even remember?
On and on. Bush I's puerile denial that he wasn't in Reagan and Ollie's loopy 'loop' regarding Iran-Contra, his message to Saddam through Ambassador April Glaspie (July 25, 1990) that America was neutral regarding Iraqi plans vis a vis Kuwait, then presto! Ill-equipped, ill-trained and terrified Iraqi soldiers were being buried alive in the desert, surrender not even an option. Later, elsewhere, weaponless soldiers were picked off one by one by stationary, low flying helicopters while their brave pilots whooped and hollered, intoxicated by the sheer joy of delivering no-risk murder.
Then there was the notorious 'Highway of Death', a 60 mile stretch between Mutlaa, Kuwait and Basra where non-combatant soldiers, fleeing back to Iraq on orders and civilian men, women and children were mowed down by bombs (including napalm and/or phosphorus) and bullets from planes and helicopters until not a single human being remained alive. Not even a dog. Such was the enthusiasm for the sport that extra air traffic controllers had to be brought in so that as many pilots as possible could participate without fear of bumping into each other. Estimated casualties (just dead, no wounded) were in the tens of thousands. Tens of thousands.
Then there came the insane sanctions, which did absolutely nothing to slow the building of palaces for Saddam and his revolting sons (did we forget that America had earlier assisted Saddam in its war against Iran, even providing certain chemicals which were to become famous?) Extending through the Clinton years these otherwise ineffectual measures are conservatively credited with killing one million ordinary Iraqis through malnutrition and lack of basic medicines.
Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking, irrevocably America-defining utterances regarding Iraq and America's arrogance and ignorance and self-induced amnesia was not by some slippery, war-mongering Republican from Kentucky, but from educated, refined ex-Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who when asked if the cruel and futile sanctions had been worth the deaths of 500,000 innocent Iraqi children, looked genuinely thoughtful for a moment, then answered in the affirmative. It is truly to weep. Adieu America! The requiem is for you too.
Armageddon the Blues
With his second, and perhaps final term (don't forget, many Americans wanted to amend the Constitution to allow dear old Ronnie a third term) George W. Bush will feel emboldened to spend his famous political 'capital' in a world growing increasingly wary, fearful, and fed up with America's growing rogue status, lack of trustworthiness, and willingness to embrace violence.
That Bush would ever even consider appointing as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a signal that the former's one-finger victory salute was not a joke, as tasteless as it was. To appoint as top law enforcement officer a man who considers the Geneva Conventions 'quaint' and obsolete and the strictures against torture inapplicable, the World Court without jurisdiction is unprecedented in any civilized nation anywhere. Add to that even more draconian elements to the execrably designated 'Patriot Act', and I am genuinely surprised that given the American proclivity for chattering incessantly about love of country and constitution, and bravery and freedom ('Give me freedom, or give me fries!' Freedom fries!) that the streets haven't been deluged with incandescently angry (real) patriots demanding their country back. No not demanding, taking.
Perhaps America was always just empty talk, a superpower as vacuous as some of your 'superstars', as George II, lead by the nose by crazy Likudites, crazy Christians, and just plain power-mad crazies, leads the world to the brink of Armageddon. But there is no Jesus waiting (and, thank goodness, certainly not the creepy Christ of the cretinous far Christian right), no Anti-Christ (not even the U.N.), only prolonged hell on earth for many, hamburgers and SUV's and beer for the few. And of course, Wal-Mart for everyone. George II insists we have to be for or against. Well, I'm proud to come out against. I know America is a ruthless and formidable foe, but remember, there are billions of us around the world We are angry and sickened, and perhaps have finally had enough.
Violence is not necessary (if only America would learn that) - imagine what a worldwide boycott of every single thing American would do to your economy, in fairly short order. The dollar would further erode, stock market indicies would plunge, more countries would switch to the Euro as reserve currency, foreign owned treasury bonds would be called in in the billions, the American financial system would risk collapse. Imagine that your political elite and their oozing advisors not daring to leave the country for fear of arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It happened to Chile's Pinochet in great Britain, and Kissinger escaped detainment in France only by a whisker (or was it a prayer?). That America no longer recognizes Geneva Conventions and International Rules of Conduct doesn't mean that more civilized nations no longer do.
For starters, a few days ago President Bush came to my country, Canada. Were there to exist true justice, he would have been arrested the moment he stepped off Air Force One in Ottawa, and would be held on suspicion of having committed a breath-taking array of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Of course that didn't happen. Yet. But we can take some consolation in the fact that, despite being invited to address a joint session of Parliament and Senate as protocol dictates, his handlers politely declined, fearful of what his reception might be.
Now, a group of Vancouver Lawyers (L.A.W.-Lawyers Against War) has filed papers with the U.N. charging Mr. Bush with war crimes. As Mr. Bush is not Canadian, our Attorney General has eight days in which to approve the filing or reject it. It will of course be rejected. For now.
John Hatch is a writer, novelist, and film-maker living in British Columbia, Canada. His novel The Wolfe Chronicles was published in 2001. He is also a contributor to bcpolitics.ca He can be reached at johnhatch@canada.com
© John S. Hatch
Sakripisyo (Sa Bayan Ko)
ni: Tata Raul G. Funilas
Disyembre 3, 2004
Ilog ng Dupinga, Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija
Isang bangungot ang nililok
Ng mga tunggak at balakyot,
Sa lalawigang Quezon, Nueva Ecija
At ang probinsiyang Aurora;
Sa bansa kong sinisinta—
Ang Pilipinas na abang-aba.
Mga bayang Heneral Nakar, Real, Infanta,
Bulubunduking Gabaldong may ilog Dupinga
At kubling paraisong nangangasul na Dingalan.
Walang sawang pinagsamantalahan
Ang gubatang walang kamalay-malay
Ng tusong-ganid na magtutroso sa kabundukan.
Isang delubyo ang pinaalingawngaw
Ng langit. Ang sigwadang alimpuyo’y sumalimbay
Ang laksang pinaslang na talaksang kahoy
Na mahibik ang hikbi ng pagngunguyngoy,
Sa ilambo ng hangi’t ula’y gumulong-gulong;
Nanalasa’t kumitil ang rumaragasang daloy.
Nagsakripisyo ang Lumikha umungol ang taghoy,
Pumatak ang luha sa bultong-anak na nakikanlong;
Upang ibantad sa lahat ang walang pangil na batas
Ng sinalaula at binalahurang nakakalbong gubat.
Ang sigaw ng lahat: Parusahan ang kapural na palangas
Sa Malayong Silangang dinidiyos ay pilak.
© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications
Disyembre 3, 2004
Ilog ng Dupinga, Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija
Isang bangungot ang nililok
Ng mga tunggak at balakyot,
Sa lalawigang Quezon, Nueva Ecija
At ang probinsiyang Aurora;
Sa bansa kong sinisinta—
Ang Pilipinas na abang-aba.
Mga bayang Heneral Nakar, Real, Infanta,
Bulubunduking Gabaldong may ilog Dupinga
At kubling paraisong nangangasul na Dingalan.
Walang sawang pinagsamantalahan
Ang gubatang walang kamalay-malay
Ng tusong-ganid na magtutroso sa kabundukan.
Isang delubyo ang pinaalingawngaw
Ng langit. Ang sigwadang alimpuyo’y sumalimbay
Ang laksang pinaslang na talaksang kahoy
Na mahibik ang hikbi ng pagngunguyngoy,
Sa ilambo ng hangi’t ula’y gumulong-gulong;
Nanalasa’t kumitil ang rumaragasang daloy.
Nagsakripisyo ang Lumikha umungol ang taghoy,
Pumatak ang luha sa bultong-anak na nakikanlong;
Upang ibantad sa lahat ang walang pangil na batas
Ng sinalaula at binalahurang nakakalbong gubat.
Ang sigaw ng lahat: Parusahan ang kapural na palangas
Sa Malayong Silangang dinidiyos ay pilak.
© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Emotional Cost of Philippine Exodus
By: Sarah Toms
BBC Correspondent in Manila
13 September 2004
Many Filipinos even want to work in Iraq, despite the risks. The millions of Filipinos working overseas make a huge financial differenceto the lives of their families back home - the difference between basic survival and a better life.
But there is a social cost too, as children grow up without their parents.
Thirteen-year-old Marc Anthony Terencio has never met his American father,and it has been two years since his mother left to work as a domestic help in Saudi Arabia. He is being brought up by his weathered but sprightly grandmother, in a Manila neighbourhood made up of a warren of shacks. "My mother went abroad to earn a living to support school expenses and other basic needs," he said. "We eat good food a lot, and our house has been improved, like the floor got cemented."
Brain Drain
There are millions of children like Marc Anthony, being raised by a relative because one or both parents work overseas. With an unemployment rate that is usually above 10%, the search for opportunities has taken eight million Filipinos - a tenth of the population- away from their country and their families.
"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money. But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."
The $8bn they send home each year helps their relatives and gives vital support to an economy burdened by debt, corruption, tax evasion and poverty. But it also creates other problems, such as a loss of skills in their home country.
"At least 73% of workers are women, and the jobs they go into are usually in the service sector," said Malou Alcid, who teaches social work at the University of the Philippines. "Many of them are college graduates, so you have over-qualified women taking on domestic work because the salary is better than what they would get here as a teacher or an engineer."
Mia Nabulenai, who has three children and a husband with no job, is a case in point. She used to be a supervisor at a hotel, but decided to go to an overseas employment agency in Manila in the hope of getting work as a laundry woman at one of the US military bases in Iraq. "It will give a nice future to my children," she said. "Sometimes the people here don't get meals three times a day. A lot of people are applying to this agency. They sleep overnight in the street."
Many Filipinos want to go to Iraq, despite the risks, and nearly every week hundreds of workers like Mrs Nabulenai stage noisy protests calling on President Gloria Arroyo to lift the ban on Filipinos working there. The government stopped its citizens from taking work in Iraq after aFilipino lorry driver was taken hostage by militants in July. He was released two weeks later but the ban remains, as officials study whether it is safe to go back there.
Psychological Scars
According to Connie Bragas-Regalado of Migrante, a lobby group for overseas workers, it is not just the loss of talented Filipinos that is of concern. Angelo de la Cruz, who was held hostage in Iraq, is a father of eight "We have many cases of broken families, and children are dropouts atschool," she said. "So if you look at the economic benefits and if you look at the socialcosts, it's really not compensating. But then we have no other option."
Studies have shown that children can have behavioural problems at school because of the absence of one or two parents, said Ms Alcid of the University of the Philippines. "One academic has used the term emotional orphans to describe the children of overseas workers," she said. "They fall into bad company, so they get into drugs. Some of the girls get pregnant. They are looking for acceptance, for love. They are looking for people to care for them."
In the alley outside his two-room house, Marc Anthony bounces a basketballas his grandmother sits on a wooden bed inside. His mother has worked in Saudi Arabia for two years, but there is still not enough money for a mattress or glass in the windows.
"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money," Marc Anthony said. "But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."
BBC Correspondent in Manila
13 September 2004
Many Filipinos even want to work in Iraq, despite the risks. The millions of Filipinos working overseas make a huge financial differenceto the lives of their families back home - the difference between basic survival and a better life.
But there is a social cost too, as children grow up without their parents.
Thirteen-year-old Marc Anthony Terencio has never met his American father,and it has been two years since his mother left to work as a domestic help in Saudi Arabia. He is being brought up by his weathered but sprightly grandmother, in a Manila neighbourhood made up of a warren of shacks. "My mother went abroad to earn a living to support school expenses and other basic needs," he said. "We eat good food a lot, and our house has been improved, like the floor got cemented."
Brain Drain
There are millions of children like Marc Anthony, being raised by a relative because one or both parents work overseas. With an unemployment rate that is usually above 10%, the search for opportunities has taken eight million Filipinos - a tenth of the population- away from their country and their families.
"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money. But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."
The $8bn they send home each year helps their relatives and gives vital support to an economy burdened by debt, corruption, tax evasion and poverty. But it also creates other problems, such as a loss of skills in their home country.
"At least 73% of workers are women, and the jobs they go into are usually in the service sector," said Malou Alcid, who teaches social work at the University of the Philippines. "Many of them are college graduates, so you have over-qualified women taking on domestic work because the salary is better than what they would get here as a teacher or an engineer."
Mia Nabulenai, who has three children and a husband with no job, is a case in point. She used to be a supervisor at a hotel, but decided to go to an overseas employment agency in Manila in the hope of getting work as a laundry woman at one of the US military bases in Iraq. "It will give a nice future to my children," she said. "Sometimes the people here don't get meals three times a day. A lot of people are applying to this agency. They sleep overnight in the street."
Many Filipinos want to go to Iraq, despite the risks, and nearly every week hundreds of workers like Mrs Nabulenai stage noisy protests calling on President Gloria Arroyo to lift the ban on Filipinos working there. The government stopped its citizens from taking work in Iraq after aFilipino lorry driver was taken hostage by militants in July. He was released two weeks later but the ban remains, as officials study whether it is safe to go back there.
Psychological Scars
According to Connie Bragas-Regalado of Migrante, a lobby group for overseas workers, it is not just the loss of talented Filipinos that is of concern. Angelo de la Cruz, who was held hostage in Iraq, is a father of eight "We have many cases of broken families, and children are dropouts atschool," she said. "So if you look at the economic benefits and if you look at the socialcosts, it's really not compensating. But then we have no other option."
Studies have shown that children can have behavioural problems at school because of the absence of one or two parents, said Ms Alcid of the University of the Philippines. "One academic has used the term emotional orphans to describe the children of overseas workers," she said. "They fall into bad company, so they get into drugs. Some of the girls get pregnant. They are looking for acceptance, for love. They are looking for people to care for them."
In the alley outside his two-room house, Marc Anthony bounces a basketballas his grandmother sits on a wooden bed inside. His mother has worked in Saudi Arabia for two years, but there is still not enough money for a mattress or glass in the windows.
"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money," Marc Anthony said. "But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Belgian Doctor Treads Paths Least Traveled
In one ironic twist, while many of the country’s medical doctors are leaving for abroad for lack of better career opportunities at home, one foreign doctor – a Belgian – has been in the country as a medical volunteer. He stayed for eight years and he leaves some valuable lessons not only to Filipinos doctors but health authorities as well.
BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
In one ironic twist, while many of the country’s medical doctors are leaving for abroad for lack of better career opportunities at home, one foreign doctor – a Belgian – has been in the country as a medical volunteer. He stayed for eight years and he leaves some valuable lessons not only to Filipinos doctors but health authorities as well.
Wim De Ceukelaire, a Belgian doctor, came to the Philippines in January 1996. He was sent by New World, a non-government organization supporting struggles of different countries in Asia and Africa for food security.
In his eight years of stay in the Philippines, Wim, as friends and colleagues would call him, has seen the country as one of the best examples of the negative impact of globalization on health. “[The Philippines is] remodeling to the needs of rich countries,” he told Bulatlat in an interview last week. “Rich countries need cheaply trained but highly qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Pharmaceutical transnational corporations (TNCs) need market.”
He said that medicines in the Philippines are one of the most expensive in Asia, second only to Japan. The country, he said, is also among the top five countries exporting cheap labor of health professionals.
Witness
From the year he stepped foot on the Philippines in 1996, the Belgian doctor, who’s 36, worked for the Council for Health and Development (CHD), a national organization of community-based health programs (CBHPs) until 2001. Wim helped in CHD’s research work and international networking. He joined medical missions and trainings and visited community based health programs (CBHP) all over the country.
Looking back, Wim said, “Providing services is important. [But] my role as a witness is even more important. It strengthens the morale of the people, signifies to those in power and to the big companies that people have support even from other countries.”
Community-based health programs
Wim has seen the work of the CBHPs as unique. “The approach of the CBHPs strongly asserts that health is in the hands of the people, not dependent on TNCs, high technology or highly qualified doctors. The people can take charge of most of their health needs.” He mentioned some basic requirements to enable people to manage their health needs. “The people must be united, organized. They should analyze their health situation in the right context.”
To illustrate, he cited the health problems of the children related to malnutrition. Wim said that the right answer to malnutrition is not food supplements. “The right answer is basically the improvement of livelihood of the people … When you speak of livelihood, you’re talking about land ownership and the problems of high costs of farming inputs, usury, among others.”
He said health problems are analyzed in a comprehensive way, within social and economic contexts. “[From there, the people] unite and take action accordingly.”
“People themselves take charge of their development, their food security, their health or economic progress. That is the real meaning of community-based,” he said. While other non-government organizations are claiming they are grassroots-oriented, he said it was just a flavoring.
Among the peasants
While still working for the CHD, Wim also did work for the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), a national organization of peasants. “I saw the importance of working with the rural community.”
He was involved in strengthening peasant organizations and research work, some of which were health-related like studies on the effects of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides.
“I’ve learned most from the ordinary people, from sharings with farmers, indigenous [people],” Wim continued.
Wim related an incident where he was greeted by the indigenous people with in one barrio, “Dati, galit na galit ako sa mga puti.” (Before, I’m very angry with the white people.)” He said he has learned more from them about colonialism, imperialism than from books.
At the KMP, Wim said he learned so much. “I’m very proud that I had discussions with Ka Daning and Ka Paeng,” he said of the two peasant leaders. “The way they analyze problems is so sharp—GMOs, pesticides, high-breed rice, trade liberalization. Everything I cannot achieve despite my supposed scientific background and years in the university. Ka Paeng is a scientist even though he did not finish college. Alam niya lahat. (He knows everything) and I have to read many books on GMOs to keep up with him.”
Ka Daning Ramos is the current KMP chair while Ka Paeng Mariano, who also served as KMP chair, is now AnakPawis representative in Congress.
Besides Ka Daning and Ka Paeng, Wim said he had met so many interesting and inspiring people. “Ka Dan Vizmanos who was proud that he was born on the same year as Che Guevarra. He is already part of Philippine history. EdVil (Prof. Edilberto Villegas), Rey Casambre, mga matatanda (older people) who already earned their mark in Philippine history.“ He said he was able to discuss with them political and economic problems in the Philippines. Those he mentioned are fellows of the Center for Anti-Imperialist Studies (CAIS).
Mindanao
Asked what place he likes best in the Philippines, Wim answered, “So many. It’s a very beautiful country. In general, Mindanao is my favorite.” He explained that his love for Mindanao stems not only from the beauty of its natural resources but also because of its people. “It is like a melting pot. Foreigners are easily accepted.”
Wim believes though that in Manila, people know so little about what’s happening in Mindanao.
He said he has been in Pikit, North Cotabato twice. The first time was in 1998 during the major offensives of the AFP against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Wim went to Camp Rajamuda and found it was not a military camp at all. “Rajamuda is just a barangay (village) with school building, houses, palengke (market). But we are made to believe it’s a military target.”
In 2003, he also went to Buliok Complex. Again, he said, “There is no such thing as Buliok Complex…no military installations, just another barangay.” He said that what people see on television, read in papers is not always the truth.”
He recounted that in Buliok, some media people were saying, “We are sorry but we are sure it won’t get through Manila.” Wim deems they practice self-censorship. “I don’t blame them. They know their editors will kill their stories.”
Significant experience
Wim recounted a fact finding and medical mission in a community of B’laan, indigenous people in South Cotabato, sometime in late 1996. It was his first encounter with victims of human rights violations. The area was being claimed by the Western Mining Corporation, an Australian firm, and the AFP was protecting the company’s interest.
Wim said, “They knew exactly what the military took away from them, how many plates, spoons. Nagtaka ako kung bakit. (I was surprised why) I realized that’s all they have.”
“In hindsight, it was even more significant for me. The mining company pulled out two or three years later because of the resistance of the people. Our efforts, especially of the B’laan people, were not in vain. It was a sad experience but had a happy ending.”
International solidarity
Since 2001 until before leaving the Philippines last week, Wim served as the country representative of New World and International Action for Liberation (Intal). Intal is focused on health.
He coordinated partnerships, solidarity work. Every two weeks, he would dispatch news briefs on the Philippines.
He would also email a monthly newsletter, with links for people who want to know more. He said some articles were taken from Bulatlat. These publications are read by people in Belgium and the Netherlands who are interested in the Philippines.
Pinoy culture
During his stay, he does not think he acquired any trait of Pinoy culture. He related that last year, there was a balut- eating contest for non-Filipinos. “I just finished the duck egg’s soup.”
Wim said that in the community though, he just eats what they serve. “Rice with salt, there’s nothing else. It’s a good experience after all to eat rice and salt once in a while… to remind us that there are people who do not have any other ulam (viand) but asin (salt).”
Wim also appreciates the Filipinos’ happy disposition, “European culture is actually the opposite. Even in the best of circumstances, what is seen there are the weaknesses, the bad side. Dito baligtad (Here, it’s the other way around). Even if everything looks black, people will find a bright spot somewhere.”
He admitted that in the beginning of his stay, it was very hard for him. When he was first asked,“Saan ka galing?” (Where did you come from?) His first reaction was, “Why do you want to know?”
Before eating, his officemates would ask, “Anong ulam mo?” (What’s your viand). “People decide whose ulam they will collectivize. I just find someone eating on my plate.”
The People’s movement
“Since 1996, I have only seen the advance of the people’s movement. Pataas nang pataas. (Ever advancing)… I witnessed the expansion of people’s organizations and other manifestations of the growth of the people’s movement. We even have progressive congressmen today.”
Wim said with certainty, “In the near future, if the progressive movement builds further on that, there will be major developments here that I’m going to miss. The people’s movement is stronger after ousting Estrada in 2001. There will be defining moments in Philippine history and the people’s movement will have a significant role. I will monitor that, of course. I know what I’ll miss.” Bulatlat
© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications
BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
In one ironic twist, while many of the country’s medical doctors are leaving for abroad for lack of better career opportunities at home, one foreign doctor – a Belgian – has been in the country as a medical volunteer. He stayed for eight years and he leaves some valuable lessons not only to Filipinos doctors but health authorities as well.
Wim De Ceukelaire, a Belgian doctor, came to the Philippines in January 1996. He was sent by New World, a non-government organization supporting struggles of different countries in Asia and Africa for food security.
In his eight years of stay in the Philippines, Wim, as friends and colleagues would call him, has seen the country as one of the best examples of the negative impact of globalization on health. “[The Philippines is] remodeling to the needs of rich countries,” he told Bulatlat in an interview last week. “Rich countries need cheaply trained but highly qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Pharmaceutical transnational corporations (TNCs) need market.”
He said that medicines in the Philippines are one of the most expensive in Asia, second only to Japan. The country, he said, is also among the top five countries exporting cheap labor of health professionals.
Witness
From the year he stepped foot on the Philippines in 1996, the Belgian doctor, who’s 36, worked for the Council for Health and Development (CHD), a national organization of community-based health programs (CBHPs) until 2001. Wim helped in CHD’s research work and international networking. He joined medical missions and trainings and visited community based health programs (CBHP) all over the country.
Looking back, Wim said, “Providing services is important. [But] my role as a witness is even more important. It strengthens the morale of the people, signifies to those in power and to the big companies that people have support even from other countries.”
Community-based health programs
Wim has seen the work of the CBHPs as unique. “The approach of the CBHPs strongly asserts that health is in the hands of the people, not dependent on TNCs, high technology or highly qualified doctors. The people can take charge of most of their health needs.” He mentioned some basic requirements to enable people to manage their health needs. “The people must be united, organized. They should analyze their health situation in the right context.”
To illustrate, he cited the health problems of the children related to malnutrition. Wim said that the right answer to malnutrition is not food supplements. “The right answer is basically the improvement of livelihood of the people … When you speak of livelihood, you’re talking about land ownership and the problems of high costs of farming inputs, usury, among others.”
He said health problems are analyzed in a comprehensive way, within social and economic contexts. “[From there, the people] unite and take action accordingly.”
“People themselves take charge of their development, their food security, their health or economic progress. That is the real meaning of community-based,” he said. While other non-government organizations are claiming they are grassroots-oriented, he said it was just a flavoring.
Among the peasants
While still working for the CHD, Wim also did work for the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), a national organization of peasants. “I saw the importance of working with the rural community.”
He was involved in strengthening peasant organizations and research work, some of which were health-related like studies on the effects of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides.
“I’ve learned most from the ordinary people, from sharings with farmers, indigenous [people],” Wim continued.
Wim related an incident where he was greeted by the indigenous people with in one barrio, “Dati, galit na galit ako sa mga puti.” (Before, I’m very angry with the white people.)” He said he has learned more from them about colonialism, imperialism than from books.
At the KMP, Wim said he learned so much. “I’m very proud that I had discussions with Ka Daning and Ka Paeng,” he said of the two peasant leaders. “The way they analyze problems is so sharp—GMOs, pesticides, high-breed rice, trade liberalization. Everything I cannot achieve despite my supposed scientific background and years in the university. Ka Paeng is a scientist even though he did not finish college. Alam niya lahat. (He knows everything) and I have to read many books on GMOs to keep up with him.”
Ka Daning Ramos is the current KMP chair while Ka Paeng Mariano, who also served as KMP chair, is now AnakPawis representative in Congress.
Besides Ka Daning and Ka Paeng, Wim said he had met so many interesting and inspiring people. “Ka Dan Vizmanos who was proud that he was born on the same year as Che Guevarra. He is already part of Philippine history. EdVil (Prof. Edilberto Villegas), Rey Casambre, mga matatanda (older people) who already earned their mark in Philippine history.“ He said he was able to discuss with them political and economic problems in the Philippines. Those he mentioned are fellows of the Center for Anti-Imperialist Studies (CAIS).
Mindanao
Asked what place he likes best in the Philippines, Wim answered, “So many. It’s a very beautiful country. In general, Mindanao is my favorite.” He explained that his love for Mindanao stems not only from the beauty of its natural resources but also because of its people. “It is like a melting pot. Foreigners are easily accepted.”
Wim believes though that in Manila, people know so little about what’s happening in Mindanao.
He said he has been in Pikit, North Cotabato twice. The first time was in 1998 during the major offensives of the AFP against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Wim went to Camp Rajamuda and found it was not a military camp at all. “Rajamuda is just a barangay (village) with school building, houses, palengke (market). But we are made to believe it’s a military target.”
In 2003, he also went to Buliok Complex. Again, he said, “There is no such thing as Buliok Complex…no military installations, just another barangay.” He said that what people see on television, read in papers is not always the truth.”
He recounted that in Buliok, some media people were saying, “We are sorry but we are sure it won’t get through Manila.” Wim deems they practice self-censorship. “I don’t blame them. They know their editors will kill their stories.”
Significant experience
Wim recounted a fact finding and medical mission in a community of B’laan, indigenous people in South Cotabato, sometime in late 1996. It was his first encounter with victims of human rights violations. The area was being claimed by the Western Mining Corporation, an Australian firm, and the AFP was protecting the company’s interest.
Wim said, “They knew exactly what the military took away from them, how many plates, spoons. Nagtaka ako kung bakit. (I was surprised why) I realized that’s all they have.”
“In hindsight, it was even more significant for me. The mining company pulled out two or three years later because of the resistance of the people. Our efforts, especially of the B’laan people, were not in vain. It was a sad experience but had a happy ending.”
International solidarity
Since 2001 until before leaving the Philippines last week, Wim served as the country representative of New World and International Action for Liberation (Intal). Intal is focused on health.
He coordinated partnerships, solidarity work. Every two weeks, he would dispatch news briefs on the Philippines.
He would also email a monthly newsletter, with links for people who want to know more. He said some articles were taken from Bulatlat. These publications are read by people in Belgium and the Netherlands who are interested in the Philippines.
Pinoy culture
During his stay, he does not think he acquired any trait of Pinoy culture. He related that last year, there was a balut- eating contest for non-Filipinos. “I just finished the duck egg’s soup.”
Wim said that in the community though, he just eats what they serve. “Rice with salt, there’s nothing else. It’s a good experience after all to eat rice and salt once in a while… to remind us that there are people who do not have any other ulam (viand) but asin (salt).”
Wim also appreciates the Filipinos’ happy disposition, “European culture is actually the opposite. Even in the best of circumstances, what is seen there are the weaknesses, the bad side. Dito baligtad (Here, it’s the other way around). Even if everything looks black, people will find a bright spot somewhere.”
He admitted that in the beginning of his stay, it was very hard for him. When he was first asked,“Saan ka galing?” (Where did you come from?) His first reaction was, “Why do you want to know?”
Before eating, his officemates would ask, “Anong ulam mo?” (What’s your viand). “People decide whose ulam they will collectivize. I just find someone eating on my plate.”
The People’s movement
“Since 1996, I have only seen the advance of the people’s movement. Pataas nang pataas. (Ever advancing)… I witnessed the expansion of people’s organizations and other manifestations of the growth of the people’s movement. We even have progressive congressmen today.”
Wim said with certainty, “In the near future, if the progressive movement builds further on that, there will be major developments here that I’m going to miss. The people’s movement is stronger after ousting Estrada in 2001. There will be defining moments in Philippine history and the people’s movement will have a significant role. I will monitor that, of course. I know what I’ll miss.” Bulatlat
© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications
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