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A
choice for greatness or smallness
These days, the Philippines is again at the center of media attention.
CNN's morning news flashed a series of footages on the Philippines:
Abbu Sayyaf bandits brandishing their military ware with a grin
that defies government threat to annihilate them; foiled military
plot to overthrow the government of Arroyo; and refugees fleeing
the eruption of Mt. Mayon.
Overseas Filipinos react with both pain and embarrassment. Filipinos,
who do not have the luxury of distance to contemplate their ill
fate, can only experience the pain.
Again, Filipinos at home and abroad are asking themselves: Is it
worth being a Filipino? Is it worth staking a national flag on a
land upon which all natural and man-made disasters seem to have
been heaped?
For Filipinos in foreign lands, the question is: Is it worth standing
up to questions on our race's barbarism, what with media reports
of beheading of hostages?
Such questions chafe one's nerves even more when they follow it
up with disbelief at "people power" staged by Estrada's
supporters that came close to overrunning the gates of Malacanang.
Filipinos overseas dream of returning to their homeland one day.
Meanwhile, they raise their children in the legends of their hometown,
and talk to them in their native dialect, hoping to impart the Filipino
soul to them. But seeing horrible images of death and disasters
on prime time news, the young ones can feel very little connection
with the land their parents weave fantasies about.
Meanwhile, the lines are getting long at the passport section of
the Department of Foreign Affairs. Famous composer Ryan Cayabyab,
author of "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika," has joined
the queue of migrants to the US, expressing hope that he could get
a wider recognition for his talents there. Filipino professionals
are also making an exit in droves to foreign lands in search of
career fulfillment. Ordinary Filipinos are selling their houses
and lands to pay for overseas employment as domestic helpers, drivers
and factory laborers.
A national trauma, brought about by natural or man-made disasters,
usually ushers a new wave of migration. For the most part, the motive
is economic. But outbound Filipinos try to ease the pain of leaving
by venting their anger for their troubles on the abstract person
called "the Filipino". In the past, national artist Nick
Joaquin belittled the Filipino as having a "heritage of smallness."
Filipinos are wont to go through self-flagellation in times of national
distress.
But a change of nationality or residence cannot change our soul.
Ironically, the worst slur we hear about being a Filipino comes
from Filipinos themselves. Successful Filipinos abroad pay little
tribute to their being Filipinos. But their success belies all notion
that the Filipino is inferior or even barbaric. Perhaps, the Filipino
only needs to see himself in a better light. Instead of being shaped
by what he sees or hears, he should shape the events of his life.
Just like anyone else, we both have a capacity for greatness or
smallness. The choice is ours to make.*
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