I realize that it is becoming harder and harder to weave words together like I used to.  Like I used to when I was missing the Philippines so badly, like I used to when I felt my foreign surroundings were too sterile that I was beginning to wonder what it’s like to breathe real air.

It was much easier to write when I just got back to the country and had to adjust to everything:  the train, bus, and jeepney rides, the different set of sensibilities one needs to relate to all sorts of people here, the absence of a Safeway or a Target, missing my car.  It was easy to write about the transition, as easy as writing about being in transit and, of course, about pining for home and my place in it.

Now that I am here, I have gone silent most days, not because there is nothing to write about, but because there is so much to get caught up in.  I find it is more pressing to live the words than to write them.  But I am recovering from a terrible unidentified viral sickness - no doubt brought about by the filthy flood water I had to wade through a week and a half ago, that I truly have no excuse not to pause, sit still, and write.  Not because I miss home like I used to, but because I am home and I must.

I do not have to recount the havoc that Ondoy and Pepeng have brought upon the country; either you have read, heard, or seen it elsewhere, or if you haven’t, you can read an account here and see photographs here.

What I wish to write about is the courage, sincerity, and unity I’ve witnessed among our people, not just during and after the recent calamity, but everyday, through people I meet at work, mostly.  This is by no means a comprehensive account of these extraordinary people, if anything, it is but an overview.

There is a woman who takes streetchildren out of the streets and into a school she founded, where the children get free education, taking them away from the dangers of their previous lives.  There is a group of people who are working hard on implementing a values formation curriculum in all public schools in the country, because knowledge is nothing without good character and decency.  There are young leaders who go to dangerous areas in Mindanao, teaching their fellow youth on how to develop their communities, how to help themselves progress and succeed.  And then there are those who are more privileged who support these people, who extend their reach beyond their circles to make a difference, to do what they can.

And why do these people do it?  They don’t get publicity, certainly not money, nor any other perks from doing what they are doing.  They do it simply because they care and they can.  They have the ability to mobilize resources, and they have the humanity to do so for others.

For the recent calamity, people of all ages and classes are coming together to repack relief goods and deliver these to those afflicted by the floods.  At the brink of another typhoon hitting, a group of my coworkers still went out to distribute goods to those who haven’t been substantially reached by other relief efforts.  Filipinos and non-Filipinos in the US and elsewhere abroad are sending funds to support numerous relief operations.  From Day 1 up to now, the funds are still coming in.

Filipinos are pulling together in the same direction, towards upliftment, towards progress, towards hope.  Filipinos everywhere, in every corner of the world, are holding out their arms, locking their grip firmly around the foundation of our country, and lifting it - together - with all our might.

I’ve spoken to disillusioned Filipinos before, and I’ve heard so many bad things about our country, our people.  But being here, going through so much and discovering so much goodness in our fellow country men and women in so little time, I stand proudly on our country’s soil.  I stand proudly and say that there is hope for the Philippines.  I firmly believe that there is hope.

For most developed countries, citizens travel and live abroad and it is considered a privilege. A wild adventure for many; a search for self for some. Whatever the agenda, citizens of developed countries fly away from their homeland with excitement. They leave by their own free will and they come home whenever they wish.

The rest of the world is another story.

We Filipinos, for example, leave our homeland for many reasons. The lucky ones leave for the rich learning that traveling provides. Other fortunate souls leave for better education or training, some leave for a change of lifestyle, and then there are those who leave to survive. Unfortunately, the reason one might have for leaving the country is largely dependent on one’s social and economic status in our unjustly stratified nation.

It is one of the greatest ironies of our culture: family members living oceans away from each other and elementary textbooks saying that Filipino families are very closely knit. Yes, the closeness can exist despite the distance but one would think that it wouldn’t seem so natural for Filipinos to leave their families behind. The Philippines becomes a distant home to uprooted Filipinos, and after many years of being away, that distant home becomes a vague concept that departs from the world of reality and remains in the realm of nostalgia and memory.

Filipino doctors signing up to be nurses, Filipino teachers selling cosmetics, Filipino engineers securing hotel lobbies – it seems that our current migration pattern is not only taking our people away from their families, but it is also taking them away from themselves, from what they set out to accomplish in life. Filipinos are transforming themselves just to get out and stay out of the country. Worse, it is the very Filipinos who are much needed in the country who are leaving.

How have we as a people allowed ourselves and our nation to come to this?

The government and its enthusiasm in exporting Filipinos in exchange for remittances is an easy cop out. It is true that they are worthy of such blame, but we should also be pointing our fingers to ourselves. It is our country, our homeland, and yet we turn our backs on it now that things are not so sunny and abundant. We have become too complacent – perhaps too exhausted – to exert the mental, emotional and physical energy to really own our country and take care of it and improve it.

But let us remember that we Filipinos are a people of passion and conviction. We are capable of believing in something greater than ourselves, beyond ourselves, and we stand up and fight for our beliefs. We Filipinos have innovative minds, diligent hands, and big loving hearts. We can lead and we can nurture. We are versatile people.

We just need to step back, re-evaluate, and give more, sacrifice more, go above and beyond ourselves. Wisely direct our passion and conviction towards rightfully electing a trustworthy government, truly believe that our country can still get better, welcome and accept foreign help without condoning exploitation of our people and resources, and nurture what is left of our youth’s idealism. We need to accomplish all these with commitment – unfailing, wholehearted, steadfast commitment. We need to have a firm grip around hope. Because it will be hard and it won’t come easy.

We must take it upon ourselves to make the Philippines the sort of country we want to have. We can help remind and inspire one another to be better and wiser citizens. We can also generate and support innovative ideas sprouting in different communities all over the country. In certain places in the Philippines, passionate and dedicated individuals are rising up, heeding the call to serve their fellow Filipinos. Be it for equality in health care, technological advancement in agriculture or the improvement of our small sari-sari stores, there are outstanding individuals pursuing goals bigger than themselves. These individuals – social entrepreneurs as Ashoka would call them – spend their days and nights working towards a better Philippines. With the wisdom of the old and the promise of the new, each one of us can contribute and do our part in rebuilding our country.

We were truly a great nation once – our neighboring countries looked to us for ideas and models to improve their own economies. We cannot say the same thing today, but that doesn’t mean that we should just leave. We are responsible for our country and where it is heading. It is not just the government or the elite members of society who have the power to change things for the better. All of us Filipinos are responsible for that change and we are capable of making it. We cannot expect for our country to take care of us if we are not willing to care for it first.

This is not a commentary on whether the Filipino diaspora is right or wrong. It is neither entirely one nor the other. But we can take action now to rebuild our country and ourselves as its people. We can take little steps forward until we are home again.

*This was published last November in Inquirer.net.  Might be worthwhile to share it here.  You can view the original article here.

Return from Exile, from Ninoy’s undelivered statement at the Manila International Airport, August 21, 1983

Yellow Guard, taken while waiting for the late President Aquino to pass by Ayala Avenue

Ninoy

Laban, while singing Bayan Ko

Mrs. President

There is an initiative by Ayala Foundation, Inc. that you might want to support.  I will understand if you have other causes that you already support, but if you aren’t supporting any specific organization or movement, and would like to give back to the motherland, this is a very doable effort that has huge impact on the lives of kids here in the Philippines.  For $7 or P300, you can feed one child for a month.  Feeding programs may be a temporary solution to the various social ills of our country, but while we continue to work on permanent solutions, our children still need to eat.  There are many options to donate (listed on the page linked to below).  Please know that you can also pledge a monthly donation (for example, you can pledge to give $7/P300 every month for one year); you just have to write me an e-mail pledging that and we can work out the details.  The kids we are directing your support to are children of The Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (CENTEX), a project of the Department of Education and Ayala Foundation, Inc., that offers bright students from marginalized communities quality education comparable with the best private schools in the country.  I know the people who run this program, and I can vouch for their commitment and passion to help these talented but financially-disadvantaged kids.

We cannot count on the Philippine government to address all the issues of our fellow Filipinos; organizations like CENTEX and Ayala Foundation, Inc. give ordinary citizens like you and me the chance to do our part, give back, and take part in nation-building.  We aim to engage Filipinos everywhere, as a better Philippines starts with responsible and active citizenry.  If you are interested in other causes in the Philippines and would like more information or direction, please do not hesitate to e-mail me.  Please keep in mind that money is not the only type of contribution you can give to the country, you can give your time, knowledge or expertise, and other intangible resources you have; I’d be happy to help you help the Philippines in any way you can.

For more information on Feed the Future, please visit http://feedthefuture.centex.org.ph/.