A personal journey
I rejoice — reading Patricia Evangelista does me good. Her evolution both as a writer and a person is so evident in her recent columns. A personal and a political transformation that’s unfolding in the opinion pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This young woman who used to write fluff– well-written fluff, but candy floss all the same — now writes about social realities in a way that reveals her heart and how she is affected by the things she is learning and seeing.
To truly know what is happening in your country, to your people, one must really go out and speak and learn from those who experience the harshest and most brutal conditions; the victims of social circumstances and the ruthlessness of those who call themselves rulers. Belief is tested, theories verified or junked, and one begins to see more clearly because the contrast is provided, the differences between facts and allegations; truth and fabrications.
It is always a journey of self-discovery when one chooses to learn about the history and the current circumstances and condition of one’s nation and people. What we are and what made us us stand out in relief against a background of our new understanding of what is and what needs to be done in a country where those who speak out in defense of their rights are — with the ease of a hot knife cutting through butter — silenced with bullets.
It’s also an awakening, but it’s not the kind that one gladly welcomes. It’s like sleeping during high noon and being rudely awakened at the middle of the night, and you wonder why there is no light anywhere. You begin to try find a way to see through the darkness, carefully, cautiously; and then you find that there are others too who wish the darkness to end and you become a little braver. Soon, however, your courage is replaced by something stronger — indignation, outrage, the shock of learning the truth is a force that takes over you and directs your throughts, your actions, and how you feel about the world.
It’s to be hoped that Ms. Evangelista will continue to analyze Philippine society with her new eyes, with her senses and logic and empathy honed and sharpened by her new awareness of the harsh reality faced by most Filipinos. We wish her well on her journey.
Why do we choose to write about the tragedies that happen on a daily basis? Why be harbingers of doom?
Well, here’s a simple answer: for every writer/reporter/columnist who writes about political, economic events from the standpoint of patriots and nationalists and with a strong bias for the poor, exploited and politically disenfranchised, there are maybe 2,000, 3,000 other writers/reporters/columnists who toe the government/military/business elite line and support the maintenance of the oppressive status quo.
It’s like trying to write short stories on a concrete wall the length of the Great Wall of China. With a pencil.
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This is my last issue as editor of Hong Kong News. Hence I have filled the pages of the features section with reports about the human rights situation — I included Alexander Martin Remollino’s article on Palparan.
Is there anything worse than seeing Palparan feted as a hero of democracy? I can think of a handful of things, but just a handful.
It’s a twisted Twilight Zone story, Palparan being hailed and showered with praises. It makes one’s stomach turn. It’s like being witness to a Black Mass, and the hooded congregants are laying down live sacrifices at the feet of the high priest with the inverted crucifix.
How dare he say that he defends human life? How dare he speak a word about freedom and democracy and righteousness?
How dare he say that he bled for the people he ordered killed!
“I value human life, the very essence of what we protect as soldiers,” he insisted. “I bleed for lives lost as collateral damage in armed conflicts. Yet, I cannot be waylaid by the use of human rights to cover up armed attempts to destroy and grab power from the state.”
The maturity and humanity (as well as the immaturity and cold inhumanity) of the Philippine government can be gauged in the kind of people that run it — their values and methods, and how they justify their acts and decisions and policies.
The Macapagal-Arroyo government uses the most barbaric methods, employ the most twisted logic, and the most stupid, transparently self-serving arguments to defend itself, its greed and lust for power. Palparan is its symbol, Palparan stands for everything the Macapagal-Arroyo administration believes in.
I am against torture, but whenever I think of Palparan and what should be done to him, my stand on torture collapses like a sand castle.
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It’s also my luck (gad am so lucky) that David is going to Malaysia tomorrow and won’t be back til next week. I’ll be home by then and I will never have to deal with him again
oh heck — he just walked in.
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