"To Be A Filipino"
By Alex Bello
This is one of the most
interesting articles written by a Filipino. The article is a challenge to all of us,
including Filipinos now residing in the land of milk and honey. Our beginnings and
childhood experiences are very similar in many respects to Mr. Bello's.
Bello's article read:
When I was small, the Philippine Peso was P7 to the
$dollar. The president was Diosdado Macapagal. Life was simple. Life was easy. My father
was a farmer. My mother kept a small sari-sari store where our neighbors bought
sang-perang asin, sang-perang bagoong, sang-perang suka, sang-perang toyo at pahinging
isang butil nabawang. Our backyard had kamatis, kalabasa, talong, ampalaya, upo, batao and
okra. our silong had chicken and we had a pig, a dog and a cat. of course, we lived on the
farm.
During rainy season, my father caught frogs at night, which
my mother made into batute (stuffed frog), or just plain fried. During the day, he caught
hito and dalag from his rice paddocks, which he usually inihaw.
During dry season, we relied on the chickens, vegetables,
bangus, tuyo and tinapa. Every now and then, there was pork and beef from the town market.
Life was so peaceful, so quiet. No electricity, no TV, just the radio for Tia Dely, Roman
Rapido, Tawag ng Tanghalan and Tang-tarang-tang. Most of the day on weekends, I played
with my neighbors (who were all my cousins).
Tumbang-preso, taguan-pung, piko, luksong-lubid, patintero
at iba pa. I don't know about you, but I miss those days. These days, we face the TV, the
Internet, Email, newspaper, magazine, grocery catalog, or drive around.
The peso is a staggering and an incredible P49 to the
$dollar. Most people can't have fun anymore. Life has become a battle. We live to work. We
work to live. Life is not easy. I was in Saudi Arabia in 1983. It was lonely, difficult
and scary. It didn't matter if you were a man or a woman, you were target for rape. The
salary was cheap and the vacation far between.
If the boss didn't want you to go on holiday, you won't.
They had your passport. Oh, and the agency charged you almost 4 months of your salary,
which if you had to borrow on a 20% per month meant your first year pay was all gone
before you earned it. The Philippines used to be one of the most important countries in
Asia. Before and during my college days, many students from neighboring Asian countries,
e.g. Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China went to the Philippines to get their diplomas.
Until 1972, like President Macapagal, President Marcos was one of the most admired
presidents of the world. The Peso had kept its value, P7 to the $dollar until I finished
college.
Today, the Philippines is famous as the
"Housemaid" capital of the world. It ranks very high as the Cheapest Labor"
capital of the world, too. We have maids in Hong Kong, laborers in Saudi Arabia, dancers
in Japan, migrants and TNTs in Australia, and USA, and all sorts of other tricky jobs in
other parts of the globe.
Quo Vadis Pinoy? Is that a wonder or a worry? Are you proud
to be a Filipino, or does it matter anymore? When you see the Filipino Flag and hear the
Pambansang Awit, do you still feel a sense of pride, or a sense of defeat and uncertainty.
If only things could change for the better...
Hang on, this is a job for Superman. Or who do you call,
Ghostbusters?
Joke. Right? This is one of our problems. We say, I love
the Philippines. I am proud to be a Filipino. I send you a joke, you send it to the whole
of your address list if it kills the Internet. But I send you a note how to save our
country and ask you to forward it, what do you do? Chuck it in the bin.
I want to help the housemaids in Hong Kong. I want to help
the laborers in Saudi Arabia. I want to help the dancers in Japan. I want to help the TNTs
in America and Australia. I want to save the people of the Philippines.
But I cannot do it alone. I need your help and everyone
else's. So please, forward this email to your friends and visit the website:
http://www.geocities.com/PilipinasKongMahal
If you say you love the Philippines, don't just say it, do
it. And if you don't agree with me, say something anyway. Indifference is a crime all its
own.
Alex Bello |