Christmas letters from Muslims

Peace, Kapayapaan, Kalinaw, Kalinong, Salam, Shalom, to you this Christmas.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive letters from Muslims working in Saudi Arabia reacting positively to last week’s column piece, ``The Christmas Story in the Koran’’ (12/22/05).

First, I’d like to say that the Inquirer stylebook spells the name of the Muslims’ Holy Book as ``Koran’’ so the few times in the past that I wrote ``Qur’an’’ I always got a call from the proofreading department informing me that the spelling will changed. I again got a call regarding my title.

At first I was a bit hesitant to run the account on Mary’s pregnancy and the events that led to Jesus’ birth as narrated in the Koran. Was my copy of the Koran an accepted translation? I presumed that like the Bible that comes in different translations, the Koran also has many translations. My pocketsize copy is by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House and published in the US. Its title is ``The Koran’’ I got it from Powerbooks for only P125.75. The Bible isn’t as cheap.

Honestly, I was charmed by the account on Mary giving birth beside the trunk of a date palm. Famished and in pain, Mary heard a voice telling her to shake the tree, whereupon ripe dates fell on her. Dates are a good post-partum repast, I suppose. I thought, we have always associated Christmas with castanas (chestnuts). Why don’t we switch to dates?

I really prefer dates. Some of the best I’ve tasted were preserved ones that were still on the twig. They came from Tunisia. Dates, I was told, are a popular food item for Muslims at the end of Ramadan.

Now, if we go by the ripening of the dates and their falling on Mary, this would mean that Jesus was not born during a winter month but in the summer in that part of the world. Not that the exact date and time matters much now.

Anyway, here are some of the letters.



``I was, as usual, going over the columns and to my surprise, I found your story title to be quite intriguing. However, as I read the story, I was happy to know that even if our times have changed, good people are still not hard to find. Thanks for taking time out to read our Holy Qur’an (correct name) and I am grateful that you have published the story of our beloved Prophet Jesus (or Issa in Arabic). (Peace and blessings be upon him.) Keep up the good work. -alepa@Kfshrc@edu.sa’’

****

``Thank you for your nice article about Virgin Mary and Jesus as mentioned in the Qur’an. Yes indeed, as Muslim reverts we believe in them as well as all the prophets sent by Allah or God. Prophets sent by Allah to teach people to worship only one true God and their greeting is ``Salam’’ (peace). Jesus was sent to Bani Israel and said: `Hear Israel, your God and my God is one, so worship Him only.’ Also Issa (Jesus) said: `And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (alone).’

``That is the Straight Path--Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism which He did ordain for all of His Prophets. [Ayah 36, Surah 19 (Maryam), the Glorious Qur’an.]

``But (Jesus’) birthday is not celebrated by practicing (Sunni) Muslims. When Mary gave birth, fresh ripe dates dropped when she shook the trunk of the palm tree. Here in the Middle East, dates ripen during summer (July-August) and not December.

``Reading the Qur’an and learning Islam is really a good sign for all of us Filipinos in order to bring lasting peace and progress in our country. Peace be unto you. - Ben Manikan, Riyadh, KSA, afiainc1423@yahoo.com’’

****

``Salam! That is how we greet each other in Islam. Peace! And I would like to extend it to you. For me you are lucky to have the chance to have taken a glimpse of the Qur'an and I hope this won't be the last time. Please read it to feed your mind and to nourish your soul. Don't be afraid that you will end up comparing the Bible and the Qur'an. Happy Holidays! - Mary-Ann Amir,RN, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’’

****

I also received a letter from a friend and church activist from way back, now Midsayap-based Pastor Al Senturias, chair of the Mindanao People’s Peace Movement (MPPM). Al and his wife Linda (president of the Southern Christian College) are both involved in forging peace among Christians and Muslims.

Attached with the letter was the ``Summary Report and Recommendations of the Mindanao People’s Peace Mission to Sulu’’(conducted before Christmas).

Among the 13 observations are:

1. The people complain of looting done by the military during operations and being fired at by helicopter gunships.

2. There are American troops in Sulu engaged in bayanihan or civic works. However, the people are not aware of the real purpose of the Americans’ presence.

3. There is suspicion on the part of the military leadership regarding the motivations of concerned citizens, just as there is deepening mistrust among civilians of military presence.

4. There is a strong citizens’ movement capable of working with local government units, the police and the military in building a peaceful, orderly and progressive community.

Even longer are the recommendations classified as short-term (1 year), medium-term (two to three years) and long-term (four to seven years). The long-term has to do with addressing the root of the conflict in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, as well as other Bangsamoro areas in Mindanao and Palawan. This is the about the right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro.

There is so much more to this MPPM report than I am able to mention and which government, civil society and churches ought to pay attention to. There is reason to hope for peace, if only….

The Christmas story in the Qur’an

The Christmas story is not only told in the bible of the Christians, it is also in the Qur’an of the Muslims. I went over the Qur’an which is not familiar terrain for me, I also browsed through an Islamic website where I found interesting stuff.

In the Qur’an one will find an account of Mary’s own birth, the Annunciation and later, the Nativity and Jesus’ public life. Mary is mentioned in the Qur’an 34 times. But before Jesus’ birth is the story about the miraculous conception and birth of John the Baptist, the precursor of the Messiah that was to come.

The Qur’an says that Mary was the daughter of the wife of Imran. When Imran’s wife was pregnant, she made a vow that she would offer her child to be raised and serve at the Temple. She thought she would give birth to a son, but when she delivered, the child turned out be a girl. The mother was disappointed.

She named the child Mary which meant servant. Mary’s father Imran had died before she was born, so her mother brought her to the temple to be reared by the priests. Zakariyya (John the Baptist’s father?) was one of them. Unable to decide who would have the privilege of having custody of Mary, the priests drew lots. Zakariyya’s name was drawn and he became Mary’s guardian.

When Mary reached the age of puberty, Zakariyya saw to it she was protected from the eyes of men. Mary worshipped Allah in a special partition where nobody could enter except Zakariyya. Whenever Zakariyya came in he always found her with food.



``O Mary! Whence comes this to you?’’ Zakariyya would ask. Mary would answer: ``It is from Allah, and surely Allah gives sustenance to whom He pleases, without measure.’’

From the Qur’an here is the word-for-word account on the Annuciation:

This is one of the announcements of things Unseen by thee: To thee, O Muhammad! Do we reveal it; for thou wast not with them when they cast lots with reeds which of them should rear Mary; nor wast thou with them when they disputed about it.

Remember when the angel said, ``O Mary! Verily God announceth to thee the word from Him: His name shall be, Messiah Jesus the son of Mary, illustrious in this world, and in the next, and one of those who have near access to God;

``And he shall speak to men alike when in the cradle and when grown up; And he shall be one of the just.’’

She said, ``How, O my Lord! Shall I have a son, when man hath not touched me?’’ He said, ``Thus: God will create what He will; When He decreeth a thing, He only saith, `Be,’ and it is.’

``And he will teach him the Book, and the Wisdom, and the Law, and the Evangel; and he shall be an apostle to the children of Israel. `Now I have come,’ he will say, `to you with a sign from your Lord: Out of clay will I make for you, as it were, the figure of a bird: and I will breathe unto it, and it shall become by God’s leave, a bird. And I will heal the blind, and the leper; and by God’s leave will I quicken the dead, and will tell you what ye eat, and what ye store up in your houses! Truly in this will be a sign for you, if ye are believers….’’

But this is getting ahead of the story. In a later chapter (vide xix), the Annunciation scene is repeated. Mary gives birth, not in a stable, but beside the truth of a date palm. This is a rather colorful birth scene, what with dates falling on her.

And make mention of the Book of Mary, when she went apart from her family, eastward,
And took a veil to shroud herself from them: and We sent Our spirit to her, he took before her the form of a perfect man.

She said: ``I fly for refuge from thee to the God of Mercy! If thou fearest Him, begone from me.’’

He said, ``I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a holy son.’’

She said, ``How shall have I a son, when man hath never touched me? I am not unchaste.’’

He said: ``So shall it be. They Lord hath said: `Easy is this with me;’ and `We will make him a sign to mankind, and a mercy from Us. For it is a thing decreed.’

And she conceived him, and retired with him to a far-off place.

And the throes came upon her by the trunk of a palm. She said, ``Oh, would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!’’

And one cried to her from below her: ``Grieve not thou, thy Lord hath provided a streamlet at thy feet:--

And shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee: it will drop fresh ripe dates upon thee.

Eat then and drink, and be of cheerful eye: and shouldst thou see a man,

Say,--``Verily, I have vowed abstinence to the God of mercy.—To no one I will speak this day.’’

Then came she with the babe to her people bearing him. They said, ``O Mary! Now hast thou done a strange thing!

O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother.’’

And she made a sign to them pointing towards the babe. They said, ``How shall we speak with him who is in the cradle, an infant?’’

It said, ``Verily, I am the servant of God; He hath given me the Book, and He hath made me a prophet;

He hath made me blessed wherever I may be, and hath enjoined me prayer and almsgiving so long as I shall live.

And to be duteous to her that bare me: and he hath not made me proud, depraved.

And the peace of God was on me the day I was born, and will be the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised to life.’’

This is Jesus, the son of Mary; this is a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.

It beseemeth not God to beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, ``Be,’’ and it is.

Peace be to all the warring Christians and Muslims. Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat!

The milkman of Talavera

Guyito, the Inquirer’s carabao mascot, would be happy to know that his fellow ruminants have transformed the town of Talavera in Nueva Ecija into a land flowing with milk and milk products. Thanks to the dream and the daring of entrepreneur Danilo V. Fausto, carabao’s milk is now making a healthy comeback and finding a niche in the market.

Another thing to moo about is fresh cow’s milk produced by small farmers’ cooperatives also finding its way into café society and boldly competing with imported milk that isn’t fresh at all.

Fausto’s ``Dare to Dream: A Filipino Entrepreneur’s Tale of Success in Dairy Farming’’ was launched last Monday at UP’s Balay Kalinaw with believers in the Philippine dairy industry in attendance. It was a small but happy affair. National Dairy Authority chief Salvacion Bulatao gave a national situationer while a nervous little farmer named Ka Henry whom Fausto brought along almost stole the thunder and received a standing ovation with his carabao success tale. But that is getting ahead of the story. People went home smiling and sporting white moustaches.

You might have seen in some malls the dainty DVF Dairy Farm’s ``Gatas ng Kalabaw’’ stalls that sell chilled fresh carabao’s milk in sealed bottles, plain or fruit- and pandan-flavored, as well as pastillas de leche and kesong puti. The promdi in you takes a second look and you wonder if this is for real. Carabao’s milk braving the mainstream?



That is exactly how Fausto’s tale of success has gone so far. Fausto, a UP graduate who used to be in banking and finance is now the president and CEO of DVF Dairy Farm, Inc. He narrates how it all all began:

``At the beginning, I was the laughing stock of farmers in Barangay Sampaloc and nearby barangays…They thought I was crazy, throwing away money when I bought 10 carabaos. As a businessman based in Manila, raising carabaos was alien to me. But I thought that given enough time and technical help from knowledgeable persons, I would be able to pull it off.

``When I bought my first carabao stocks, rice harvest was one and a half months away. There was no available forage so the carabaos’ health deteriorated. The joke then was that my carabaos had piano ribs because they were so thin. After the rice harvest, rice straw became abundant. This gave me the opportunity to stock rice straw in traditional silos or mandala.’’

In no time, people stopped laughing and farmers started asking if they could take care of some carabaos (Indian murrah) and participate in the venture. Things began to happen. Milking carabaos multiplied.

In 1992, the Talavera Dairy Cooperative Inc. was set up and thus began the farmers’ organized venture into dairy farming. It helped a lot that the Philippine Carabao Center in Munoz was just nearby. (That’s the home of the first test tube carabao and where Erap made his now famous ``tubeless carabao’’ quip.)

Fausto figured that ``with improved management, caracow breed and proper nutrition, carabaos can provide farmers with adequate income through milk production.’’ He based this on the estimates of Central Luzon State University technicians. A farmer with three to four caracows could get 20 liters a day with one liter selling at P30. This means an added monthly income of P18,000 or P216,000 on a good year.

Such was the experience of Ka Henry, the farmer with the carabao tale mentioned earlier, who received two heads from the PCC dispersal program. In four years Ka Henry was the owner of six carabaos. He was able to return the initial two heads, pay his debts, renovate his home, buy a tricycle and send a daughter to college. Today his carabaos’ milk earns him an added P21,000 to P31,500 a month.

``I have always believed that in order for one to succeed in business, one has to get out of the box,’’ says Fausto. ``I told members of the cooperative that from the time they were born, they were already poor. Even their forefathers were poor farmers. So there was nothing wrong if we tried something different to increase the productivity of the soil and in so doing increase their income. We could improve the soil’s productivity even without the use of modern technology by simply changing the product. So I convinced our members to plant Napier grass instead of rice.’’ Napier grass is used as carabao feed.

Fausto’s draws the main bulk of DVF’s dairy requirement from the farmers’ dairy cooperatives. Cow’s milk is now also being produced in large quantities. There are a variety of needs to meet and plan for—feeding programs for the poor, fresh milk for the table and coffee clubs as well as the demand for gourmet cheeses. Home delivery has started.

Fausto has even developed a scheme for absentee overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who might want to go into ``passive investment’’ by partnering with farmers.

In his foreword, economist Dr. Sixto K. Roxas has glowing words for Fausto’s groundbreaking work. ``This is an inspiring tale of a venture undertaken for both profit and social purpose by a person who might well be… the archetype of a true development entrepreneur. Beyond merely undertaking a business, an entrepreneur is an innovator whose venture energizes a process of change and development in a nation’s economy. He is the agent of change whose creative vision, skillful promotion, and bold risk-taking transforms the whole production cycle in society, generating for the people new income streams and higher living standards.’’

Inspired and interested? Contact DVF Dairy Farm Inc. at 4157881 or dvfausto@pldtdsl.net.

Oikocredit, small change, big impact

You must have seen a 20-peso bill with a circular doodle with three arrows coming out of it. You must have wondered whether that was someone’s way of venting his ire on the state of the Philippine currency. But when you looked closer, you must have read the words below that whorl--``UN Year of Microcredit 2005, Sustainable Microfinance Services for the Filipino Entrepreneurial Poor’’.

With a big bang, the 2005 UN Year of Microcredit ended last week with the so-called ``Filipino entrepreneurial poor’’, composed mostly of mothers, bannering the theme, ``Tinig ng Mga Nanay, Ating Ipatnubay'' (Let the mothers' voices be our guide). Microfinance beneficiaries, enterprising mothers mostly, from different parts of the country attended the gathering in Quezon City and showed off what has become of the ``small change’’ entrusted them. The delegation from Negros even brought in masscara dancers to provide color.

Oikocredit and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines organized the event that capped the International Year of Microcredit.



``Small change, big impact’’ was the catchphrase used by microfinance institutions (MFI) to trumpet their successful efforts. Indeed, countless mothers who used to be very poor have leapt out of poverty with the help of microfinance, many of them with rags-to-raves stories to tell.

Please pass the Kleenex. Staying dry-eyed was hard to do when the video docu on Virginia Borde, 2005 Citigroup Microenterpreneur of the Year, was shown to the assembly. Abandoned wife and mother of several children, Borde rose from penury, thanks to microcredit, to become owner of farm machinery for rent to small farmers.

A woman from Camarines Sur was able to expand her market stall through a small a small loan from the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD). ``Now,’’ said this poster woman for microfinance, ``my earnings have truly improved. I can afford to send my children to school and I can even save money in case of an emergency.’’

CARD, one of Oikocredit’s partners here, is the conduit of loans worth 1.2 million euros.
Oikocredit is an international church-related private development financing institution. (Oiko comes from the Greek word oikoumene where the word ecumenism was derived. Ecumenism means Christian unity.)

Oikocredit’s 30th year coincided auspiciously with the UN’s International Year of Microcredit. Established in the Netherlands in 1975, Oikocredit is owned by members from around the world. These are churches, church-related groups, local parishes and individuals from developed countries. Oikocredit draws from the members’ ``small change’’ and ``widow’s mite’’ as well as from third parties.

May I say here that many NGO careerists and beneficiaries do not realize that the money they spend comes from the ``widow’s mite’’ of ordinary people in Europe and elsewhere.

Oikocredit is convinced that many of the world’s poor stay poor because they have no access to credit. Mainstream banks think the poor are not creditworthy. So where can the poor get capital to start a small food stall, buy a second-hand sewing machine or a milking cow?

Oikocredit does not lend directly to beneficiaries. It channels the resources to MFIs.
``Walk a second mile.’’ The exhortation from the bible (Matthew 5:41) pushes Oikocredit to go beyond the handing out of loans. The local Oikocredit staff must walk the second mile to monitor the projects and give assistance should problems arise. What are the local realities? What factors contribute to success or failure?

Two friends of mine, veteran church development workers Delle Tiongson Brouwers and Ging Ledesma work with Oikocredit in Europe and Asia to walk the second mile.

In the beginning Oikocredit was regarded with skepticism. There was this belief that economic initiatives of the poor will dissipate and so will Oikocredit’s investments in them. But the unpredictable happened. The poor paid their loans. In all of Oikocredit’s 30 years only 10 percent of disbursed loans were written off. Of course, realities such as typhoons, disease, civil wars and economic meltdowns have to be factored in.

Oikocredit is present in more than 30 countries where more than 400 projects are being assisted. Some 24,000 churches, parishes, religious orders and individuals worldwide have joined and bought Oiko shares.

Investment in Oikocredit is now more than 200 million euros. No investor has yet lost a penny. Investors are not there for the money. They believe in Oikocredit’s goals—to provide the poor access to credit and to give churches and individuals an instrument for socially responsible investments.

Investors could withdraw their investment when necessary and receive a modest dividend of two percent.

In the Philippines, Oikocredit is exposed to 27 MFIs, cooperatives, small- and medium enterprises, fair trade organizations and other groups with proven social relevance. Loan size is from 50,000 to two million euros; term of loan is from one to six years. Interest rate is flexible and depends on the risks involved.

``Let us be clear: microfinance is not charity,’’ UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had said. ``It is a way to extend the same rights and services to low-income households that are available to everyone else. It is a recognition that poor people are the solution, not the problem. It is a way to build on their ideas, energy and vision. It is a way to grow productive enterprises, and to allow communities to prosper.’’

Oikocredit Philippines’ email address is: office.ph@oikocredit.org.

The missing face of AIDS

Today is World AIDS Awareness Day.

Somewhere in today’s Inquirer I’ve written something on the Unicef campaign to help children affected by HIV-AIDS. ``Affected by’’ means these children have parents(persons) living with HIV-AIDS (PLH) or are themselves infected.

By the way, you don’t say PWA (persons with AIDS) anymore. You say PLH. So much for being politically correct.

Children, Unicef says, are the missing face of AIDS. According to the Lunduyan Foundation’s study on Filipino children affected by AIDS, silence, sad to say, best describes the children’s situation. Their parents’ hesitancy to be forthright about the disease is one of the reasons why their children’s plight is not being addressed.

After reading the results of the study I wanted to meet and interview a family affected by HIV-AIDS but I was told that there is a great deal of hesitancy on the part of the families. In fact, out 373 identified children, only 95 were allowed by their parents to participate in the study.

But these children are not totally faceless or voiceless. Some stories in the study gave a face and a voice to the otherwise silent world.



Here is Nina’s story.

Nina was born in a foreign country where her father was working. Her mother was a former health care worker.

Nina was about four years old when her mother was first hospitalized. When she turned seven, life for her and her parents changed dramatically. Nina described it as a roller-coaster ride that went straight down.

``That was when my mother became sicker than before,’’ Nina recalled. ``She stayed long in the hospital. After she left the hospital, she moved into a house near the hospital. I had to change school in order to be with her. When Mama lost so much weight her friends stopped visiting.

``I was about 10 when we returned to the Philppines. Mama did not get better but at least she was happier here. Her relatives were within reach and the health services were better.’’
Nina’s family was just trying to settle down in their new home when her father accepted a job in the country they had just left.

``I was very sad because I needed Papa near me. I was afraid I would not be able to take care of Mama very well. I felt too young. But Papa had to go. We needed the money for Mama to get well.’’

Nina’s father left and she wouldn’t see him for a long time.

``The first few months after Papa left, Mama found the energy to attend to my needs,’’ Nina narrated. ``She even engaged in business and earned extra money to send to my aunts and uncles in the province. I adjusted to my new home, school, friends, and to Papa’s absence.

``But this did not last long. Mama became increasingly cranky and hotheaded. She seemed to be always angry with me. Nothing I did was right for her. She blamed me for the unpleasant things that happened between her and Papa. I felt guilty and sad. Maybe she was right. Because of my needs Papa had to go away to work.’’

After some time, Nina found out that her father had stopped sending money and he was having an affair. The financial burden had shifted to Nina’s mother. To make a long story short, Nina’s mother sold the house (which she had saved up to buy) and moved to the province.

``One time my mother arrived home from the hospital with papers that had the words HIV and AIDS,’’ Nina recalled. ``I asked her what they meant and she replied, `Someday you will understand.’’’

Nina’s mother went to Manila often for treatment, sometimes staying there for more than a week at a time. ``I had to amuse myself whenever I was left alone in the house. I often wore my superhero costumes and stood on my bed, pretending I had enemies or bad people to fight and drive away.

``One time, while she was packing her things before leaving for Manila Mama said to me, `Nina please bear with me. I just need to get well.’ I did not want to add to Mama’s worries so I told her that I was not a crybaby and that I was not afraid of ghosts. But what I really wanted to say was that I did not want to her to leave me. And that I was afraid for her. That night, I prayed so hard that Mama would get well soon and be with me.

``One day, Mama finally told me what was ailing her all these years. She also informed her brothers and sisters. There was not much time left for us.’’

Nina tried to locate her father. While doing this she felt her love for her father diminish. At her mother’s bedside things were just as bad. ``During those times that she was in the hospital Mama would be as cranky as she could be. She would often tell me or her friends that I should not have been born. Or that it was my fault that my father left us. It hurt but I knew she was going through an awful time.

``When Mama;s friends came by and asked how life would be when she’s gone, I would say, `I hope Papa takes me.’ I didn’t want to be with my aunts and uncles because they didn’t seem to like me. I’d rather be alone. I’d like to go on studying. Someday, I might become a good artist.’’

After her mother died, Nina was placed in the care of an uncle who had drinking problems and a troubled family life. Nina continued her studies until an NGO was able to track down her father. He was, it turned out, living with another woman who was pregnant with their child.

Nina now lives with them and takes care of the baby.

``In the end,’’ the study on children affected by HIV-AIDS says, ``the silence with which these children live is not only silence about HIV and AIDS but about many aspects of their lives... Their burden of silence is heavier, as they too often do not have the tools to understand HIV and AIDS and its impact on their families…’’

Deadly playgrounds, cold numbers

I had looked into their eyes. I had watched some of them cock their rifles and aim at an imaginary enemy lurking behind the trees. I had aimed my camera at them and captured the resoluteness in their gait as they carried the heavy weight on their frail bodies.

I saw these so-called child soldiers for the first time in the 1980s in a rebel training camp in the mountain fastness of Samar. In Bicol I also saw a young girl, maybe all of 16, carrying a rifle.

My body ached after that journalistic foray in the jungle but I did come up with a long story. We used the photo of the young boy carrying a long firearm, marching with grizzly rebels in the Sunday Inquirer.

That was many years ago but the images still burn in my mind. What a heavy burden for these children, I thought. I had tried carrying some of the heavy metal that the rebels carried and wore a bandoleer of bullets across my chest for a photograph of myself bristling with bullets. But that was for the fun of it. I still have that photo. In the background, heavily armed rebels played dama.

Now the law says you can no longer use the photographs of minors in a publication, show their faces on TV or identify them if they have been involved in illegal activities or are victims of crimes.



I recall these things again because of ``Deadly Playgrounds: The Phenomenon of Child Soldiers in the Philippines’’ published by PhilRights. According to PhilRights, a human rights research group, the book ``presents the sociodemographic profile, reasons, circumstances and effects of involvement, dreams and aspirations, of the 194 child soldiers (CS) interviewed in the study.’’

PhilRights does not claim that the results and conclusions of the study are representative of the whole population of child soldiers in the Philippines, but the study should be able to give an idea what the world of these children is like.

PhilRights says that the ``major finding in this research is the absence of force or the voluntary nature of children’s involvement in armed groups.’’

In its harsh editorial a few days ago, the Inquirer questioned PhilRights’ statement that the children joined the armed conflict without coercion or with freedom. PhilRights finding: ``Children join armed groups for reasons that include, but are not limited to, poverty, government neglect and apathy to the plight of the poor, ideological beliefs, secessionist advocacy and support for holy war, affiliation of family members in armed groups and pursuit of justice to avenge atrocities and abuses.’’

But even as PhilRights points a blaming finger at the government for its failure in addressing social problems that give rise to rebel groups, it also reminds non-state actors with children among their ranks about children’s rights. PhilRights does point out strongly that the CS phenomenon is an outright violation of children’s rights.

PhilRights sure has a long list of recommendations for the government and for civil society and stakeholders in the peace process.

For non-state armed groups who have children in their ranks PhilRights’ recommendations are a measly two paragraphs—that they respect the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

PhilRights’ research (funded by Bread for the World-Germany) is heavy stuff because of its academic and scientific approach. It groans with statistics, tables, graphs and numbers that buttress the findings and conclusions. This is not for inspirational reading. It is not for bleeding hearts. It sounds like a doctoral dissertation. Is this because PhilRights’ executive director has a PhD?

It leaves me cold. The children are never quoted or allowed to tell their story. I thought, what a pity. Weren’t PhilRights’ field researchers also made to gather the personal stories of the CS? What a world they could have explored. Or did they stick strictly to the checklist type survey instrument (shown in the Appendix)?

I have an appreciation for the weight of statistics but, as I said, they leave me cold. I’d like to see numbers but I’d also like to hear voices. PhilRights did use some children’s drawings only for one of their chapter breakers.

The Philippine Coalition to Stop the Use of Children as Soldiers did it differently. They made us listen to child soldiers. One said: ``I often carried an M-16. The heaviest I held was an M-14. It was so hard to cock and load. It was even made heavier by the bag of bullets. I once carried an M-203 with bullets as big as batteries. Upon joining, we were trained to fire, disassemble and clean guns. M-14s, M-16s, M-203s, and what to do in an ambush.’’

Voices from ``My Gun Was as Tall as Me: Child Soldiers in Burma’’ published by Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group:

``I left home and joined the armed group because I wanted to run away from my family because it was so bad and noisy. There was so much trouble and I hated getting hurt by my own family.’’

``I carried an armalite, an M-16. I was trained to use a gun, how to fire it, how to dismantle and assemble it. The training included hopping over rocks, crawling, rolling. That was for three weeks.’’

A few years ago the Inquirer had for a banner photo that of a young rebel girl seated among the ferns in the jungle, looking bewildered and frightened. A dead rebel lay beside her. It was the aftermath of a bloody encounter.

A soldier shot that photo. It spoke a thousand words. It stunned me, moved me. I wrote a column piece on it and still it haunted me for days.

Rape a violent crime of conquest

Man's discovery that his genitalia could serve as a weapon to generate fear must rank as one of the most important discoveries of prehistoric times. From the prehistoric times to the present, rape has played a critical function. It is a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear.

-Susan Brownmiller, Against Our Will

Stereotypical rape scenes as depicted in movies and komiks do happen in real life. Ginahasa sa cogonan (raped amid tall grass) or ginahasa sa sagingan (raped in a banana grove) aren't imaginary scenes used to simply add color to lewd narratives, they actually and quite commonly take place in those proverbial places.

Tricycle drivers waylaying and then raping their young passengers has become stereotypical. Not that tricycle drivers are generally the raping kind. Maybe they just easily make it to the news because they have nowhere to run. They end up beaten up by the victims’ kin at the police stations and in front of the TV cameras, unlike the powerful types who could run away aboard their SUVs.

US servicemen raping ``the natives’’ should now be stereotypical too if we go by the statistics that Sen. Francis Pangilinan cited—3,000 rape cases against Americans have been dismissed in the Olongapo City court. I would presume that the cases were mostly against uniformed men.



Lawyer Katrina Legarda (who sent a congressman to jail for rape of a minor) who is handling the case of the young woman allegedly raped by five US soldiers last Nov. 1 has reason to worry and seek the transfer of the case to Manila.

There have been reactions to the media’s stress on the fact that the victim was not, repeat, not a sex worker. Women’s groups have repeatedly pointed out that prostitute or not, drunk or not, a woman does not deserve to be raped. The Inquirer had clarified that the headline that said the victim was not a sex worker was merely a reaction to an American’s argument that the victim had it coming.

Years ago, I went to Bilibid’s Death Row to interview convicts on the crime of rape that they had been convicted for. Of the 11 that I interviewed only two owned up. I could get so lucky. Facing the prospect of death (the death penalty had then been revived) or a long life behind bars didn’t seem to change their views.

``But I paid her,'' related Alex (not his real name), 38, a convicted rapist serving his sentence (reclusion perpetua). Alex said it rather casually, with nary a hint of remorse or indignation. He seemed to have accepted his prison sentence with resignation.

Alex, a jeepney driver, raped Nina, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, inside a jeepney parked in a cogon field. ``I was plying the Cubao-Antipolo route,'' Alex narrated. ``I picked up many passengers along the way and as I was nearing Antipolo, the passengers started to get off one by one. It was late in the afternoon and it was raining.

`` When I reached the end of my route I noticed this schoolgirl who hadn't gotten off. She had taken the wrong jeep. She asked me for directions, where she could take a ride back. I said I'd bring her to a waiting station.''

Alex didn't. He brought her to a cogon field. According to him, he parked his jeepney and offered the girl money--P50--if she would have sex with him. She refused repeatedly. ``Later, she consented,'' Alex said. He didn't have to force her, he claimed. It took all of 10 minutes.

Alex drove back to town with the girl who was near tears. He remembered dropping her off in front of a restaurant. Unknown to him, the girl sought the help of the restaurant owner who lost no time and brought the girl to the police. A few weeks later Alex was nabbed.

Alex and 11 other men were lined up before the victim for identification but Nina failed to identify her rapist. The line-up was reduced to six, then to three and then to two. Still Nina could not identify the rapist. ``It was when I spoke that she identified me,'' Alex said. ``She recognized my voice.''

Alex pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape, arguing that the victim had accepted the money. But he was found guilty just the same. It was proven that Alex had sex with Nina against her consent. She may not have had the telltale signs of struggle to ward off her molester, but Nina’s lawyers argued that she had been intimidated and ran the risk of being harmed had she refused.

And why did Alex do it? ``It just suddenly entered my head.'' It wasn't premeditated. He's had nights out with prostitutes, he told me, and so it wasn't as if he was so ``starved.'' But, he wanted a virgin, he added. And what did Alex think of women in general? ``They are weaker than men,’’ he answered. Violence against women has been perennially committed because of that thinking.

Rape is no longer a ``private crime.’’ The Anti-Rape Law of 1997 classifies rape as ``a crime against persons’’. For so long rape had been considered merely as ``a crime against chastity’’. This seemed to suggest that persons who were unchaste were fair game.

The crime of rape should have nothing to do with the chastity of the victim. Rape is not merely a sexual offense or a crime against chastity but a crime against persons and against the State. As one feminist lawyer had said, ``Rape is not a crime against the hymen. It is a crime against the whole person.’’

It is a crime of the strong against the weak, a crime of conquest. Speaking of conquest, the crime takes on a metaphorical color because the alleged perpetrators are citizens of a former colonizing nation.

We will be watching. We wish Katrina Legarda and her legal team strength of heart, endurance, light.

Women’s letter to rape victim

``We believe in you. We do not have to behold your face or know your name in order to say this.’’

Thus began the short but moving letter of 28 women’s groups and their allies to the 22-year-old victim of rape allegedly committed by five US servicemen last Nov. 1 in Subic.

The letter, expressed profoundly in Filipino, offered solace and solidarity with the woman from Mindanao who met her tragic fate while visiting Subic. Some members of the women’s groups that sent the letter are rape survivors themselves.

``We are with you while you weep, because your experience has been the experience of many of us. We are with you as you nurse the pain, because we also feel the pain when your dignity as a woman was trampled upon by US servicemen who had done the same to women in Angeles, Olongapo and other places. We are with you as you seek justice…We know that your healing will depend on many things, one of which is getting justice.’’

Those excerpts are for English speakers who do not understand Filipino. But there is nothing like reading the whole letter in the national language. It stabs deep into the heart. I hope the rape victim, whoever she is, wherever she is, would be able to read this and be convinced, really convinced, that she is not alone. Her kabaro are reaching out to her.



``Naniniwala kami sa ‘yo, kabaro.

``Hindi namin kailangang makita ang iyong mukha o malaman ang iyong pangalan para masabi namin ito.

``Sa matagal na panahon ng aming pagsama at pagtulong sa mga biktima ng panggagahasa, alam namin kung gaano kahirap ang lumantad bilang biktima. Lalong hindi madali sa iyong kalagayan dahil ang iyong isinusuplong ay anim na sundalong Amerikano. Alam namin na hindi ka magrereklamo kung hindi totoo ang iyong sinasabi.

``Kaya naman sa tapang na iyong ipinakita para simulan ang hakbangin tungo sa hustisya, sinasabi namin na naniniwala kami sa iyo at nandito kami para tumulong sa abot ng aming makakaya.

``Hindi kaiba sa marami sa amin ang matinding pinsala sa kaisipan at pagkatao na bunga ng pang-aabusong ito. Ilan sa amin ay naging biktima rin. Marami sa amin ay araw-araw na humaharap sa mga biktimang gaya mo at tumutulong bilang counselor, therapist, doktor, abogada, tagataguyod, kasama, kaibigan.

``Kasama mo kami sa iyong pag-iyak, dahil ang iyong karanasan ay karanasan ng marami. Kasama mo kami sa matinding sakit na iyong nararamdaman, dahil ramdam din namin ang pagyurak sa iyong dignidad at pagkatao, gaya ng ginawa ng maraming sundalong Amerikano sa maraming babae sa Angeles, Olongapo, at iba pang lugar. Kasama mo kami sa iyong paghangad ng hustisya, dahil ito ang nararapat at ito rin ang inaasam ng marami nating kabaro na naging biktima gaya mo.

``Alam namin na ang iyong paghilom at paggaling ay nakasalalay sa maraming bagay, kasama dito ang pagkuha ng hustisya.

Sana ay maging matatag ka sa mga susunod na araw. Sa iyong pakikipaglaban para sa iyong dignidad at karapatan, taos-puso kaming nag-aalay ng aming tulong. Nandito kami. Handang samahan ka.’’

The women’s groups, led by Women’s Education, Development, Productivity, Research and Advocacy Organization (WEDPRO), said they are willing to walk with the victim. ``Nandito kami. Handang samahan ka.’’ (We are here. Ready to be at your side.)

Aida Santos of WEDPRO however stressed that ``despite the women’s outrage over the incident, and being reminded of past incidents, we need to take into consideration what the 22-year-old woman and her family want to do. She is the most important person in this case. We are trying our best to make a personal and hopefully quieter way of reaching out to her. This is a political issue, but most of all, this is a very personal issue.’’

Santos cited examples of victims opting to retract or for an out-of-court settlement leaving outraged sympathizers out in the cold. But rape being a public crime, there is no way suspects could avoid prosecution if the evidence is strong.

I agree that this is a grave personal and national issue. The initial protests against the perpetrators of the crime and the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement are to be expected. But I also think that women’s groups should not do an overkill without first hearing from the victim herself. Pressure from many sides could leave the victim confused and feeling that she is but a fodder in a raging issue.

What does she want for herself? How does she want the case resolved? What form of justice?

Santos pointed out that media’s overemphasis on the fact that the victim was ``not a sex worker’’ seemed to imply that if she were a prostitute or a loose woman it was okay to abuse her.

``Prostitute or not, drunk or not, no woman deserves to be used like a piece of commodity and thrown away,’’ Santos said.

A visiting US national had earlier twitted women at a protest rally and in front of the media that the victim was probably a prostitute and therefore had it coming.

In a separate statement, the same women’s groups demanded that the Philippine government pursue all means necessary to immediately prosecute those who committed the crime. ``This is not the first time US soldiers showed pure contempt for a Filipino woman and, in effect, Filipino women in general.’’

Among the 28 signatories of the letter to the rape victim and the statement were Kalayaan, Likhaan, Women’s Legal Bureau, Women Step In, Women’s Rage, Women Working Together to Stop Violence Against Women, Nagkakaisang Kababaihan ng Angeles City and International Women’s Network Against Militarism.

It has been announced that the next US ambassador to the Philippines is, for the time, a woman. We are eager to know how she views the case.

VCO as bird flu remedy?

News flash.

If coconut oil proved effective for HIV-AIDS cases, it might also be good as a H5N1 (bird flu) remedy. Studies must now be made on the oil’s efficacy against this new disease that threatens to become a worldwide epidemic.

This urgent proposal came from Dr. Conrado S. Dayrit who helped make virgin coconut oil (VCO) a popular dietary supplement and medicine here and abroad and helped remove it from the ``bad oil’’ list.

Dayrit, hale and active at 86, is a known pharmacologist, cardiologist, internist, science researcher author and University of the Philippines professor emeritus. He was former president of the National Academy of Science of Technology, the highest scientific body in the country.

The team Dayrit directed in the early 1990s proved that HIV-AIDS cases responded to coconut oil. The highly promising results are now the bases for continued trials meant to alleviate the suffering of millions HIV-AIDS patients countries especially those in Africa.

Dayrit outlined his proposal and rationale in his Oct. 24 letter personally delivered to the office of health secretary Francisco Duque III.

Dayrit’s proposal was for ``Southeast Asian countries affected by H5N1 (bird flu) to conduct clinical, animal and viral studies on the effectiveness of coconut oil (either RBD copra oil or virgin coconut oil) which the Philippines can supply.’’



RBD refers to the refined, bleached and deodorized oil used for cooking. VCO is the result of the cold-press method that uses either no heat or little heat for moisture removal.

Dayrit’s proposed studies which, he said ``we cannot do in the Philippines as we have neither the virus not the patient’’ is as follows:

• Protocol I – Laboratory test: H5N1 cell cultures treated with a range of concentration of (a) RBD or copra derived oil (ex. Minola brand) (b) virgin coconut oil (Oleum brand)

• Protocol II – On infected birds (chickens, geese, ducks). Add coconut oil to their feed and drinking water and monitor any beneficial effects

• Protocol III A – On patients with H5N1 virus. Administer VCO in doses of 30 ml every 8 hours or 3 times a day as sole antiviral agent (monotherapy). In case of availability of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), patient’s consent and choice will have to be considered

• Protocol III B – Patients with H5N1 infections. Duotheraphy with Tamiflu and VCO.

Dayrit’s rationale: ``Coconut oil fatty acids are predominantly (67-72%) medium chain (MC) saturated, not long-chain saturated. MC fats (C8, C10, C12) have been shown by Kabara and others to kill enveloped lipid-coated viruses, gram positive bacteria, fungi and some protozoa with lauric acid (C12) being most active. C14 myristic acid has additional activity.

``These four fatty acids working in synergistic natural combination are present in coconut oil, not as free acids but as glyceride esters. While triglycerides and diglycerides are inactive, their monoglycerides are strongly antimicrobiologically more active than their free fatty acids.’’

Dayrit is the author of the fast-selling book ``The Truth About Coconut Oil: The Drugstore in a Bottle’’. He also wrote a book on the history of Philippine medicine and is preparing a book on pharmacology for rational drug use.

Dayrit reminded Duque that he directed a team in treating 14 HIV-AIDS cases in San Lazaro Hospital with coconut oil. Their study later proved that coconut oil could lower viral count and raise CD4 lymphocytes as effectively as monolaurin (monoglyceride of lauric acid).

``Minola brand was the oil we used then,’’ Dayrit told the Inquirer, ``as there was no VCO yet.
Therefore coconut oil is anti-viral as is, Dayrit stressed in his letter, and this explains why there are now so many testimonials of colds and flu being put under control by those taking VCO.

``VCO might even be more effective than RBD copra-derived Minola or Baguio oil,’’ Dayrit added. ``Since H5N1 is a flu virus and lipid coated, it very likely will be also susceptive to CO viricidal action.’’

Dayrit added: ``The Philippines has very few HIV-AIDS cases, as you well know, and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) never took off here although we had some SARS patients traveling around on their return (from work abroad). Could this resistance be due to our CO consumption?’’

Dayrit listed reasons why CO should be considered. CO is a food and has no known side effects or toxicity level. Peoples of South Pacific have been regularly taking more than 50-60 percent of caloric intake as coconut fat and have no widespread heart disease or toxic symptoms.

There have been no reports of developing resistance to the cidal effects of CO.

Lastly, Tamiflu itself is untested for its effectivity against H5N1 and for adverse reactions.

Dayrit knows Duque personally. Duque succeeded Dayrit’s son Dr. Manuel Dayrit, as health secretary. The former secretary, known for his efforts to stop the spread of SARS in the Philippines, is now with the World Health Organization in Geneva.

Dayrit added in his letter to Duque that he has talked to his son about a WHO endorsement. The younger Dayrit suggested an ethics committee approval from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

The bird flu virus has reportedly infected 118 people in Asia, of whom 61 have died. Cases in Europe have been reported. The virus could spread fast via migratory birds. Millions could die if the virus spreads, world health experts said. Health officials from 30 countries recently met in Canada to prepare and coordinate efforts.

Why don’t we give this a try?

Enriching the earth with our bodies

``You are nothing but an infinitesimal combination of earth's rocks, water and air; these are two billion years of evolutionary explorations, new trials, new combinations, new forms of life.... beauty comes in knowing what you are and where you came and why you be, earth child.'' – Walt Whitman

During the long weekend ahead when we honor our dear departed, it behooves us to ponder on our mortality and immortality.

In the film ``The Lion King’’, King Mufasa gives Simba, the future Lion King of Pride Rock, a lecture on life and death. ``When we die,'' he tells his only begotten son, ``our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat grass. Then we become part of the great circle of life.''

Human beings are the most notorious when it comes to the disruption of ``the circle.'' By opting not to go back to the earth, humans have cut themselves off from the great circle. Burial practices have deprived our living planet of the enrichment it deserves.

Die-hard ecologists tell us that the best way to bury the dead is to dig a hole in the ground, gently lay the dead in there and cover it with soft, warm earth. There the dead breaks down into different elements and participates in the earth's life-giving process. Why consign a corpse to an airless, concrete tomb where it cannot enrich various life forms?



In the Christian religion, there will be a Final Resurrection, sure, but in the meantime people could help make little resurrections happen every day. Doesn’t the Bible say: ``Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies....'' So what better way to show reverence for the sacred body than to give it back to the earth's great embrace?

Until some decades ago, Christianity, Catholicism in particular, eschewed cremation because of the literal understanding of the resurrection of bodies on the Final Judgment and reverence for the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. But environmental awareness worldwide and the new fields of theology of creation and creation spirituality are changing the old thinking.

In the magnificent cycle of life there is no place for cemeteries where the dead are imprisoned forever in impermeable boxes. The elements in dead bodies are not able to go back to the earth from where these came from in the first place.

Sister Gloria Martires, a Franciscan nun who had a doctorate in bio-science was a strong proponent of direct burial in the ground. (She passed away some years ago and was not buried in the ground.) She said it is important to understand what happens to people's bodies when these go back to the earth from where they came. ``The minerals from the dead bodies will be incorporated in green plants and grazing animals which will again enrich new living organisms--plants, animals, people--with the help of the power of the sun. Matter is not destroyed, it is only transformed. This is the transformation of matter from the abiotic to the biotic, with the power being supplied by the sun's energy, and then again to the abiotic (minerals in the soil). Rejuvenation is then accomplished.’’

The human body is composed of some 40 elements and 75 percent water. The moment a body becomes lifeless, decomposition sets in. Decomposition is simply the breaking down or simplification of organic matter, as when proteins are digested in the stomach and the small intestine. Decomposition as accomplished by bacteria (an essential part of any ecosystem) releases the minerals or nutrients locked up in dead bodies so that recycling can be accomplished.

Martires challenged the belief (of those against cremation) that on the Last Day God will reassemble people's bodies like houses made of prefabricated materials. This is not her idea of the Final Resurrection. ``We must bear in mind that our bodies are developed for nine months in the wombs of our biological mothers and that all the elements and atoms in our bodies came from the earth that has undergone evolution for billions of years.''

So building palatial tombs to enclose bodies is out. Not only do cemeteries and memorial parks destroy what should be productive land, they also run counter to sound ecology.

So is cremation the thing? If the ashes that come out of the incinerator are kept in urns and bottles and not returned to the earth or sea where food could grow, they serve no purpose.

In India, the Parsis (the Parsi religion had its beginnings in Persia) give their dead a ``sky burial'' in Towers of Silence. (I’ve watched this from afar.) The vultures feast on the human remains that then come out as bird shit that could fertilize the earth.

Martires winced at this ``consumer-to-consumer'' thing. Humans are on top of the food chain and, for her, and being eaten by carnivorous birds didn’t seem right.

Martires wanted to be buried in a rice field. People's repugnance for ``katas ng patay'' (corpse juice) going into their food is foolish, she said. If we bury dead pets near trees so they would bear much fruit, what's wrong with doing the same with human remains? When they break down into elements, they are as good as any other. It is not the katas that nourishes the tree, it is the soil that has been enriched that nourishes the tree.

Remember, ecology is interdependence, interconnectedness, relationships. As Chief Seattle said: ``All things are connected like the blood that unites one's family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.'' And whatever is given back returns again and again and lives forever.

`Shameful episode’ in Australia

A visiting friend from Melbourne brought with her an October copy of the Australian newspaper The Age that has the Vivian Alvarez Solon case as banner story. The ombudsman’s report on the bungled immigration case has been released and the axe was expected to fall.

The banner article, Vivian’s huge photo, blurbs and cartoon occupy three-fourths of page one of the daily (which, in this age of shrinking broadsheets, maintains a size that is two columns wider than the Inquirer).

Inside are three more articles, Vivian’s photo as a missing person, and other related items.
The Age doesn’t have a one-liner for a headline like the Inquirer does.

The banner headline is long: ``It is a `shameful episode’ (in red) in the history of immigration in Australia. The management of Solon was `catastrophic’ (in red). The unlawful removal of one of our citizens is `almost unthinkable’ (in red).

The small kicker above it says: ``The Alvarez Solon verdict: A damning judgement against the Immigration Department.’’



A small cartoon, similar to those in the Inquirer, shows a reporter with mike in hand asking a woman, ``What qualifications do immigration officials require?’’ The interviewee, a look-alike of immigration minister Amanda Vanstone, answers, ``A degree of ignorance, a degree of stupidity and a degree of cruelty.’’

And the online question: ``Should Amanda Vanstone resign over Vivian Alvarez Solon’s deportation? Cast your vote at theage.com.au.’’

The Australian media have given this case a lot of mileage. This is not just any human interest story, this has brought to light lapses in immigration law enforcement. This could stoke issues of racism, discrimination and stereotyping.

The investigation of Vivian’s case came in the heels of another damning case--the detention of mentally ill Australian resident Cornelia Rau.

Some months ago, the Inquirer also had Vivian on the front page when it was discovered that she had been wrongfully deported.

Vivian was found wounded and disoriented in a park in the New South Wales town of Lismore. She could have been in an accident, was assaulted or had fallen into the drain. An immigration officer wrongly assumed she was a sex slave and an illegal immigrant despite Vivian’s statement that she was an Australian.

In 2001, Vivian, an Australian citizen, was ``removed to the Philippines’’ and placed in a Catholic hospice in Olongapo City, there to heal in loneliness and anonymity. The persistent search of Vivian’s former husband Robert Young was a big factor in uncovering the wrong. The Age called him ``the lone hero’’.

Former Victorian police commissioner Neil Comrie of the office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman who prepared the investigation report described the case as a ``shameful episode’’ in the history of the immigration department.

Here are the Ombudsman’s findings as summarized by The Age:

• The unlawful removal of Vivian Alvarez Solon was a consequence of systemic failures in the Immigration Department including inadequate training programs, data base and operating system failures, poor case management and a flawed culture.

• Alvarez Solon’s serious physical and mental health problems received insufficient attention.

• The chance to find Alvarez Solon (who had been bundled up and sent to the Philippines) was by then was lost because of the limited ability to connect names using immigration Department data bases.

• Case management was catastrophic, beginning with the assumption Alvarez Solon was a sex slave.

• The fact that in 2003 and 2004 senior (immigration) officials knew an Australian citizen had been removed in 2001 but failed to act is inexcusable.

The Australian government is responding to each of these. $50.3 million for College of Immigration, Border Security and Compliance to train staff and enhance skills; $17.9 million for improved immigration detention health services, referral of alternative detention and improved mental health services; introduction of a single-entry client search facility for all Immigration Department IT systems. Plus a few more.

Vivian’s case has shaken the establishment.

One of the stories on the case, ``A victim, plenty of villains, and a lone hero’’ by The Age political editor Michelle Grattan details how Vivian’s nightmare began and worsened.

``On July 12 (2001), Immigration officials collected her from the rehabilitation unit; next day she told Immigration she was an Australian citizen and wanted to stay here. But arrangements for her removal proceeded apace, despite her being disabled enough to the need help with dressing and hygiene.’’

The Philippine embassy, according to the story, was deeply concerned Vivian wasn’t well enough to travel and refused to issue a travel document. But Immigration got someone to declare Vivian as medically fit. And so this Australian citizen put on a plane headed for Manila.

Wrote Grattan: ``A Philippines consular representative and members of the Philippine community visited (Vivian) on July 18-19 (2001) at the Brisbane motel where she was detained. She told a Filipino social worker she’d been married to a Mr. Young, but the information wasn’t passed to Immigration.’’ Why?

The Australian government seems to have done a good investigation. But there should be some lessons for the Philippine side.

Didn’t our own immigration bureau and embassy officials have a way of knowing that Vivian was an Australian citizen? Don’t we have a way of checking who are and who are not our citizens? Should we allow foreign governments to dump back former Filipino citizens (especially the mentally disabled and infirm who have no way of claiming their rights) on our shores?

Remembering poverty

October is the month when the world is supposed to pause, remember and confront the issue of poverty and hunger. Oct. 16 is World Food Day while Oct. 17 is the Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty--the latter by virtue of a UN Resolution and a presidential proclamation.

October is Indigenous People’s (IP) Month in the Philippines, and the IPs being among the poorest and hungriest in the country, the whole of October should belong to them.
In Southern Palawan, IPs and long-time settlers are undertaking a ``Solidarity March for Land and Life’’ that will cover the distance from Rio Tuba to Puerto Princesa City. It started yesterday, Oct. 12, and will last till Oct. 17.

The march will highlight the IPs’ call to the local, provincial and national government to look their way. The issues being raised are the slow processing of ancestral domain claim applications, government neglect and unfair local and national laws that threaten the culture and livelihood of indigenous communities. Among the marchers are members of the Palaw’an and Molbog tribes and fishermen from the towns of Bataraza and Balabac.



In 1974, when the country was under martial law, the Palaw’an and Molbog tribes were driven away from their ancestral domain in Bugsuk and Pandanan Island. It was so easy then for the dictator’s cronies to point to and claim the areas of their choice. Well, the IPs are now claiming back their land.

In 2001, the IPs filed an application for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). They have complied with all the requirements. The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) had promised to conduct the delineation survey if the communities would raise the funds to cover the expenses. As of last year, the communities have raised the funds but the survey has not yet been started.

Meanwhile many of them have to contend with the 5,000-hectare pearl farm of Jewelmer, one of the biggest South Sea pearl producers in the world, owned by Danding Cojuangco. The local government has declared the area a no-take-out zone, meaning no fishing is allowed there so that marine life could thrive and flourish. The fishermen now look like the destroyers of the environment. What is good for the fishermen is not good for the pearls.

According to Task Force Bugsuk, an NGO helping the fisherfolk, the story of displacement, disenfranchisement and marginalization is duplicated in many areas in South Palawan. TF Bugsuk reports that in Aborlan, those who refused to give up their land for a golf course were sued by the government itself. In Rio Tuba, communities near a nickel mining operation are suffering from diseases caused by water pollution.

An NGO that has made remembering poverty a yearly activity is the ATD Fourth World-Philippines, an international movement that started in France and is involved with the poor. Its main projects here are street libraries for children and value formation for adults. This is commendable indeed but I wish ATD would also go into sustainable livelihood projects that would directly and materially improve the lives of poor families.

ATD recently came out with a study ``How Poverty Separates Parents and Children: A Challenge to Human Rights’’. It profiles six countries—the Philippines, Guatemala, Haiti, Burkina Faso, the US and the UK.

The chapters on the different countries gave complementary views of families whose children are in the custody of social services.

The Filipino parents profiled were more likely to voluntarily entrust their children to orphanages in hopes that they would thrive better in that environment than at home. Although the institutional and legal frameworks vary in different countries, there are striking similarities among parents who are faced with a series of obstacles. Too often, the outcome is despair.

A child in the US blames her parents for not having been able to protect her from the child welfare system; a child in the Philippines runs away from an orphanage to search for her parents. ATD says these are symptoms of institutions gone awry. And yet, there are also important ways for institutions to strengthen the bond between children and their families. ATD cites the US’s Child Welfare Organizing Project that proposes an approach that would enable parents to examine issues together and contribute to the planning of the child welfare system.

The children living on city streets in Burkina Faso have often been going in circles. They suffer from the rootlessness and the risks to health and well-being that result from their fending for themselves. Institutions have helped to protect some, but they have also left many of these children disoriented, not knowing how they can grow up and participate in their community. Here, the work of the Courtyard of 100 Trades is an innovative model that demonstrates how it is possible to reintegrate these children into the lives of their families and rural communities.

If you have time for reflecting on poverty, join the gathering around the Commemorative Stone in Honor of the Victims of Poverty (near the Chess Plaza) at the Rizal Park on Monday, Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Every year, on Oct. 17, in different parts of the world where ATD is present, activities are held around the commemorative markers. (There’s one near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.)

The Luneta ceremony will be followed by message writing and recreational activities for children and adults. I’m interested to know the thoughts and feelings of the children.

Poverty is most cruel to the young.

Pamulaan, a sign of life

While our national leaders continue to engage in verbal and political acrobatics and while many of us are suffering from political diarrhea and dementia, there are special Filipinos who continue to dream dreams and do their own part as if there indeed is hope for this benighted nation.

Somewhere in bullet-riddled Mindanao, a special tertiary school or college is rising. The school is named Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples Education. Ground breaking will be held next week, Oct. 13. Program partners will sign an agreement after which the construction of buildings will begin. These should be finished in time for school opening in June next year.

By the way, October is Indigenous Peoples (IP) Month. For many years now, the Catholic Church here in the Philippines has been celebrating the second Sunday as Indigenous Peoples Day, focusing attention on the concerns of the IPs, especially the marginalized groups in remote areas.

Pamulaan means seedbed. It is a college education program for the IPs in the Philippines and is a response to the IPs’ dream of an educational program that is rooted in their life, culture and aspirations as a people.

One of the main driving forces behind the endeavor is 42-year-old Benjamin Abadiano, 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership and, at present, executive coordinator of Assisi Development Foundation. A dreamer and doer, Abadiano pulled all stops to make the Ips’ dream come true. He was not disappointed. Help came quietly like spring water flowing to seeds waiting to burst into life.

Pamulaan is the fruit of the partnership of various government and non-government agencies. The partners are the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples, Assisi Development Foundation, Cartwheel Foundation, the Office of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and Ilawan Center for Volunteer and Leadership which Abadiano founded.

Pamulaan aims ``to create a culturally appropriate and relevant pathways of professional training and formation for indigenous youth and leaders.’’

As a program, Pamulaan is under the President of the president of the University of South Eastern Philippines. USEP president Dr. Julieta Ortiz and Abadiano are Pamulaan’s co-directors. The site is in USEP’s Mintal campus in Davao City.

Pamulaan is the first of its kind in the country, said Abadiano who also dreamed and founded the successful Tugdaan Training Center for Mangyans in Occ. Mindoro, now ably run by the Mangyans themselves with the help of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS).

Unlike Tugdaan (which also means seed bed) which is for high school and livelihood training, Pamulaan offers degree programs such as BA Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development, BS Indigenous Peoples Education, BA Peace Building and Multi-Cultural Studies, BS Indigenous Agriculture. Pamulaan also offers ladderized and modular courses leading to an associate degree as well as short-term courses for community leaders and development workers.

Assisi Foundation under Ambassador Howard Dee and Cartwheel Foundation have pledged scholarship funds. Scholarship means full tuition, miscellaneous fees, dorm stay and full board and lodging and travel expenses to project and practicum sites.

Important features of Pamulaan are the heritage house and library that will showcase the richness of indigenous culture. The dorm within the campus will give IP students the chance to live together, exchange experiences and go through value formation programs.

Pamulaan is not just for the IPs of Mindanao. It is open to IPs from Luzon and Visayas and to non-IPs working for IPs.

Pamulaan is indeed a great dream whose time has come.

But why is Pamulaan attached to USEP, government institution? Abadiano said USEP is one of the top 10 government institutions in the country. Making government one of the stakeholders, he said, would give Pamulaan a better chance for sustainability. Pamulaan ``is not a fund-driven’’ project, Abadiano stressed. There was no funding in the beginning but the moment the project was made known, funds just poured in. Of course, part of Abadiano’s RM Award prize money (more than a million pesos) was earmarked for this project.

Abadiano is one of a kind, a rare find indeed. A couple of years ago I wrote a front-page feature on him and his life journey, and last year, on his winning the RM award. Deeply spiritual, this Jesuit-educated development worker is ever on the go. In a few days, he will fly to Laos and then New Zealand for some IP-related activity. The IPs are the love of his life. It is among them that he experienced epiphany and enlightenment. Someday, I hope, he will find time to write a book.

There is an estimated 12 million IPs in the Philippines. They could be classified into 120 ethnic groups. Abadiano said they have little or no access to ``a culturally sensitive, appropriate and relevant education.’’ It is their right, both God-given and by law, to receive basic services, including higher education.

The IPs’ rights are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. In 1997 Congress passed the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) which strengthened their right to be duly recognized and protected.

But some things are easier said than done. Many IPs continue to find difficulty in relating personally, culturally and academically with mainstream realities. It is hoped that education, such as is offered by Pamulaan, would put the IPs in step with the mainstream while being affirmed as proudly IP or PIP (!).

Pamulaan hopes to see the IPs proudly ``owning’’ the education program that drew from the life-giving wilderness and communities whence they arose.

`The Philippine’s undiscriminating embrace’

`Everyone has the right to a nationality.’’ Article 15, UN Declaration of Human Rights

``They hope to tell the world about the boundless love that returned to the remaining boat people their inalienable human dignity. That boundless love is none other than the Philippines’ undiscriminating embrace.’’ That moving statement is in a document written on behalf of the Vietnamese boat people who had opted for permanent settlement in the Philippines.

I shed Filipino tears when that was read at the inauguration of Vietville in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan in 1998.

For so long, they were without a country. There was no room for them in the inn. It was the Philippines that made their long wait bearable. It was, in fact, the Philippines that gave many Vietnamese boat people a permanent home when no country out there wanted them.

``16-year stopover finally over,’’ the Inquirer said two days ago of the Vietnamese boat people who had made the Philippines their temporary home. Finally, they were winging their way to the US that had for so long denied them entry. They were just the first batch of 229 from a group of 1,600 stateless individuals who were swept away here. The rest will be flying too in the weeks to come.

But many will be staying behind—either by choice or by force of circumstances. Many have settled in Vietville in Palawan.



It had been a long complicated story. Remember the messy forcible repatriation in 1996. That happened after the so-called ``receiving world’’ wanted to see the end of the exodus of boat people from the Vietnam. The Philippines, home to the United Nations-run processing camps for about two decades, was left with stateless people in its hands. The Philippines had done its part to provide hospitality and services.

In 1996 the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) set up restrictive policies to drive the asylum seekers home. A rigid and prohibitive regimen was imposed on the Philippine First Asylum Camp (PFAC). Self-help projects, education and skills training set up by church NGOs inside PFAC were abolished. Voluntary repatriation was the UNHCR’s offered option. This resulted in hunger strikes and suicide attempts in the Bataan and Palawan refugee camps.

The Catholic Church hierarchy thought of a more humane solution. A memorandum of agreement with the government gave the remaining boat people (RBP) options better than repatriation to Vietnam. But the RBP had to move out of the camps to an open site under the church’s jurisdiction. This arrangement allowed many to continue studying and earning a living like legal residents. They could also opt for repatriation or wait for visas peacefully.

In July 1996, the so-called chapter of the Indochinese phenomenon in the Philippines came to an end. More than 700 persons chose to be repatriated to Vietnam while 1,589 registered for residence. Some 350 applied for temporary residence while waiting to be reunited with their kin abroad. The rest opted for permanent settlement. They are the ``Vietnoys’’ in Vietville.

And so began the efforts to set up a village. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People raised $1.3 million from concerned individuals (many of them Vietnamese boat people who had made good abroad) and from funding institutions.

At that time there were the so-called ``ODPs’’ who had come under the ``orderly departure program’’ but who remained in limbo. These were the ones who departed from communist-ruled Vietnam through the auspices of the US government. They were not boat people. They were brought here by the US military for processing and had been promised residence in the US or a third country. They did not think they should be repatriated. They were the hold-outs in the Puerto Princesa camps.

Those who came after 1989 via the South China Sea or any route were no longer going to be considered asylum seekers but economic migrants and would need to go through the regular immigration process. Worse, they could be suspected as criminal fugitives.

Such was the dilemma of the Vietnamese here. During the intensive repatriation drive, some Filipinos took pity on them and took them in.

Well, now the time for many of them to fly to the country of their dreams has come. Will the Philippines remain in their hearts?

In 1995, I did a feature story ``Citizens without A Country’’, for the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. This was about Vietnamese-Filipino families who were in limbo. They were the so-called DPs or displaced families.

Le Thi Khanh came in 1975 with her Filipino partner German and their children. German worked in Saigon for seven years. The war between the US forces and Vietnamese communists forced many people to leave. What happened next was something straight out of a movie melodrama. Khanh and the children found themselves sharing a roof with German’s first wife and seven children. But there was no turning back. Vietnam was in flames.

German soon died and Khanh was left to fend for herself and her children whose status was always problematic. One grown son could not take the board exams.

I don’t know how the DP families whom I wrote about are doing now. They were, at that time, living in a low-cost housing project of the Archdiocese of Manila. I remember Khanh looking so aged at 53, showing me a photo of herself in Vietnam, looking so svelte in a low-cut dress.

She was pounding pandan leaves when I came, extracting its juice for the bansuse (like our suman). The smell was sweet, a reminder of the old Saigon she knew before love and war changed her life forever.

Why isn’t it tipping? (2)

I received varied and interesting feedback via email on my Sept. 15 column piece ``Why isn’t it tipping?’’ The piece was on Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller and page-turner ``The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Difference’’ and why the much-awaited or much-dreaded (depending on which side you are) tipping point that would make the Arroyo administration fall was not happening. Gladwell’s book presents events in history, real-life examples and studies that show how the tipping point phenomenon works.

I thought I’d share portions from some letters which show the writers’ take on the tipping point.

From ``Xcathedra’’:

``Social cybernetics is one specialized field of discipline that might give other interesting leads on why there was (and still is) a prevailing `social feedback stasis’ before and following the `oust Arroyo’ initiatives.

``In mathematics (fractals and Chaos Theory) and physics, that `tipping’ point is known as the advent of entropy/chaos. I think you might want to read James Gleick's book (it's old in today's standards, but still grippingly enlightening) titled `Chaos’. There you can have a whiff of an analytical framework for dissecting social change. Personally, I suspect that the stasis has something to do (partly) with the current state of equilibrium of the `system’ (public reaction and feedback). To explain: For every introduction of a (change) variable that would induce disequilibrium (or `chaos’) leading to an adjustment or total change of a system, the adjusted or changed system will always emerge stronger than before (whether in the negative or positive sense).

``Having been exposed to several `EDSA events’ and propaganda of agitation, the usual recipe to induce the tipping point/entropy/chaos will not work. It has to have something more potent, something that can weaken the `inured’ (or stronger) new state of equilibrium of the ordinary people's collective response. The pond has endured too many small stones that another one will just create small ripples. You need a bigger stone or a new object that can induce the pond's waters to roil.

``Whether consciously or unconsciously perhaps, the collective response system of ordinary people has adapted and has been inured by too much reference (classic Philippine politics since Quezon sought a country governed like hell by Filipinos) to the quest for truth and morality (by the politicians, bureaucrats, members of the civil society, church, et al). Truth with the capital T matters. But the collective response system of ordinary people is in a stronger state of equilibrium in the different versions of truth--tired as they are of the long, wasteful string of investigations accusations, and lawsuits (all of which led to more lies) that characterizes how their leaders run the country.

``In the story `The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, the farmers' response system have adapted to the boy's incessant false alarms by incorporating `focused deafness’ and apathy. Along came the real wolf and killed the sheep. The story tells us that the boy was remorseful. Sadly though, both the boy and the farmers were the losers.’’

From Ronald Cagape, IT professional:

```It’, the bid to remove Pres. Arroyo, is not moving because it doesn't have all three elements in place.

``First, there are no people who fit the Law of the Few. Now it can be said that former Pres. Aquino and Susan Roces actually have minimal impact. Whoever is backing them ought to notice that by now. With the passing of Cardinal Sin, the influence of the Catholic Church has diminished. The church is currently being led by committee. I didn't watch the televised grandstanding during the impeachment vote but I could bet the opposition congressmen confirmed to the world that recycling cliches do not make a genuine leader. Sadly, there is no one in the opposition who could proclaim himself a Connector, Maven or Salesman.

``Actually, there are people who fit the Law of the Few but they work for the President. Speaker De Venecia is a potent Connector and Salesman in political circles. So is former President Ramos. I'm sure, the Mavens in the presidential think-tank worked tirelessly to ensure the impeachment vote didn't go the other way. This is the team that has to be overcome if you want to tip the movement to the other side.

``Second, the Stickiness Factor in the movement is not compelling enough. All they have is `Hello, Garci’. It doesn't evoke an image repugnant enough to move people to action. All I remember is a disgruntled former NBI man with personal grudges proclaiming he has the `mother of all tapes’. He could be a Maven, if he could be called Maven, but he did not stand for anything. He was not an embodiment of principle or integrity or honor. He had no credibility. I could argue that he was just a bad joke. Which probably led to ‘Hello Garci’ spawning a bevy of text jokes. I couldn't even remember his name (was it Ong?).

``If (they) want the President removed, they should find something despicable and make it sticky, such as the dancing Tessie Oreta-Aquino in EDSA 2. Now THAT was sticky. Or `Tama na, sobra na’ of the original People Power movement. These sticky factors riled people enough that they vented their anger in the streets. Which leads me to think, maybe the President isn't doing anything vile after all. Is cheating really all that bad? Which leads me to the last point.

``The Context has no Power. In an environment where everyone knows that all politicians cheat anyway, finding out your President cheated is not powerful enough to generate anger. So what if she cheated to be President? Every senator and congressman bidding to remove her also cheated. So why are they casting stones…?

``Besides, if there was widespread cheating, the Namfrel or (the PPCRV) should've caught it during the election. They essentially gave the election a clean bill of health. It was generally accepted as a clean and orderly election…

``I don't see this tipping anytime soon.’’

From Ernie Adaya:

``Why isn't it tipping? The answer is very simple: `Because she's tipping’ and tipping generously for survival. In the Philippines, politicians, the influence peddlers, etc. are always on the lookout for the tipping point, because, like the waiters and waitresses in restaurants, they know that at the tipping point, the `tips’ will start flowing generously.

``Gladwell fails to realize that in the Philippines, there is a fourth rule of the Tipping Point, that is the Power of the `tip’ or the `Tipping’ Factor.’’

From someone named Jori, for bleeding hearts out there:

``ma'am, where can i possibly find the book `The Tipping Point’...the one you're referring to in your column… i found it interesting… nabasa ko rin mga reviews about the book sa net. kaya lang baka di ko kaya ang price (in the red kc ako sa ngayon). i'm only good at second-hand books right now. can i possibly borrow one from you? sorry po... wala kc ako kilala mahiraman. thank you po.’’

Why isn’t it tipping?

``The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire… The tipping point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point…It is the name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all that once.’’

Those definitions are from the bestseller and page-turner ``The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Different’’ by Malcolm Gladwell. (His latest is ``Blink’’.)

I think of the tipping point this way: Imagine holding a tray with a handful of marbles on one side. You tip the tray at an angle but the marbles seem unwilling to roll over to the other side. You tip some more. Then at a certain angle of the tray the marbles suddenly all roll in unison to the other side.

At that tipping point, movement takes place. This example, similar to the seesaw, illustrates in a physical way the so-called tipping point phenomenon which political watchers—in barbershops and beauty salons, political circles, cockpits, churches, academe--are anticipating.

When would it happen? How would it happen? Why isn’t it happening? ``It’’ is some kind of People Power 3, reminiscent of the previous two that saw a long-staying dictator and a president, just two years in office, removed dramatically.

Just an aside. ``The tipping point’’ has found its way to the lips of politicians who love the phrases ``at the end of the day’’ and--this one will make Einstein and editors cringe--``at this point in time’’.

Since Day One of the political crisis engulfing the Arroyo administration, spawned by the so-called ``Hello, Garci’’ tapes, people have been anticipating, either with eagerness or with dread, PGMA’s downfall. Many thought it would be in early July when a series of events happened in one day. There were bold moves, such as cabinet resignations, protests in the streets and louder calls for PGMA’s stepping down, with no less than former Pres. Cory Aquino in the lead.

That day the clamor seemed to be peaking and the balance seemed to be tipping. And if you based your predictions on the way things appeared on TV, it was just a matter of hours or days, even as loyal local government officials from the provinces made the opposite move and came to the President’s rescue.

PGMA didn’t resign. The tide against her wasn’t forceful enough to topple her.

The impeachment process in Congress took place. The much-watched process was nipped in the bud early on during the longest-in-history plenary session. More than 200 valedictories with immortal quotations–from Mother Teresa, Saint Paul, Aristotle, Newton to Cardinal Sin--yielded 158-52-6.

Again, street protests, led by Mrs. Aquino and a mix of ideologically and politically incompatible and divergent bedfellows linking arms, ensued.

Still, the balance didn’t tip. People Power 3 wasn’t happening. Why?

Tired of waiting for it to happen? Relieved that it hasn’t happened? Baffled and befuddled?

Maybe we can learn a thing or two from Gladwell’s explorations on how social epidemics spread, whether these are fashion trends, diseases, behavior patterns or crime. As journalist Deirdre Donahue said: ``One of the most interesting aspects of Gladwell’s book is the way it reaffirms that human beings are profoundly social beings influenced by and influencing other human beings, no matter how much technology we introduce into our lives.’’

That seems to be telling us not to trust the texting brigade too much that we forget there are other more effective ways like, um, word of mouth and having the right people say the right things. The right people to cast the first stone.

Gladwell does not just propose answers from out of the blue. He explains away by investigating true-to-life events that showed how the tipping point phenomena occurred. How did Hush Puppies regain its popularity in a spontaneous way? Why did the Baltimore syphilis epidemic peak? What was it about Paul Revere and his midnight ride across Boston in 1775 that resulted in the routing of the British and the start of the war known as the American Revolution? Why did Paul Revere’s warning tip while another crier’s did not?

Gladwell also expounds on the results of experiments conducted by social psychologists, such as the one by Stanley Milgram who wanted to find an answer to what is called the ``small-world’’ problem. How are human beings connected? Do we all belong to separate worlds or are we all bound up together in an interlocking web? How does an idea, or a piece of news—the British are coming!—travel through a population?

The results were confounding.

Gladwell summarizes the rules of the Tipping Point into three: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context.

The Law of the Few says that through social connections, energy, enthusiasm and personality, word spreads.

The Stickiness Factor says that there are specific ways of making a contagious message memorable; there are relatively simple changes in the presentation and structuring of information that make a big difference in how much of an impact it makes.

The Power of Context says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem.

So why is it not tipping? Or to use another situation, why is the cake not rising? Maybe the ingredients are old, stale and spoiled. Maybe the ingredients are incompatible.

``The Tipping Point’’ is also about changing one’s way of looking at the world. I did that two weeks ago by attending a seminar on the Quantum World under Dr. Ibarra ``Nim’’ Gonzales.

'Prothom alo', first light

One night last week when some members of the so-called ``Hyatt 10’’ (five to be exact) who wanted the President removed from office were at the Inquirer to talk to editors and to also complain about an editorial that did not put them in a good light, a guest in another room was sharing with some reporters and columnists his experiences as an editor of the biggest daily in Bangladesh.

Our esteemed guest was Matiur Rahman, 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. Rahman is not just a newspaperman, he is also an advocate of women’s rights who actively uses the power of the media, the written word in particular, to help end violence against women.

Rahman and four others from different fields received their awards (cash included) at solemn ceremonies on Aug. 31.

Rahman was awarded for ``wielding media for constructive social change’’. Sorry, no Filipino awardee this year.

In the media, this year’s RM awards and related activities were clearly eclipsed by all the ado about the impeachment process against the President.



Rahman has been described as ``the navigator of positive social and cultural change’’ in Bangladesh. He founded the Bangla language daily newspaper Prothom Alo (which means first light) in 1998. The daily broke all previous circulation records and before its first anniversary, it peaked at a circulation of 1.2 million. It has now averaged at 225,000.

Why the amazing start? Prothom Alo satisfied readers who were thirsty for authentic news, bold revelations and a popular stance to side with the nation and its people. But Prothom Alo went beyond journalism. It has crossed over to advocacy, something most media practitioners and believers in so-called objective journalism (if there is such a thing) are not wont to do.

How did this start? One day a senior sub-editor on women’s issues came in so sad and sick of what has been happening. Here was another acid throwing incident.

Rahman thought: ``How often have I gone mad for breaking news in the bizarre forest of politics and economics? All those strikes and speeches, do they mean anything? In fact, how important are they compared to this tragedy? And how many times will this continue? Why should one burn someone’s face with acid?’’

Rahman left the office with the sub-editor and rushed to hospital. He recalled seeing doctors, the police and reporters gathered around. Rahman was one of them, a spectator. He could smell the burnt flesh. The victim’s face had third-degree burns from hydrochloric acid.

The girl was just 15. As the story went, she refused the advances of the son of a local don. Slighted, the guy made good his revenge by throwing acid on the girl while she was studying by the window of her home.

``Can’t we do something?’’ Rahman challenged his staff as soon as he got back to the office.

Prothom Alo continues to loudly cry against acid throwing, a crime committed against women who are supposed to have offended their male attackers when they denied them sex, marriage or suitable dowries. Many women are also maimed and disfigured in this manner because of family feuds, land disputes or local rivalries.

When splashed on the face, the acid burns the skin and affects the facial bones and eyes, leaving victims permanently disfigured. Acid commonly used in jewelry, tannery and battery shops is highly corrosive.

According to Rahman, some 300 people are disfigured in acid throwing incidents every year. Unlike bride burning (by throwing gas) in India which has been a criminal practice for a long time, acid throwing is new to Bangladesh. The number of cases has grown in the past decade.

Through Prothom Alo, Rahman has called on the nation to respond. Through daily appeals, Rahman declared war on acid throwers and pleaded to readers to contribute to the Prothom Alo Aid Fund for acid victims.

With scarred and disfigured acid victims lending their voices, Rahman solicited donations at rallies and press conferences. He also called upon celebrities and volunteers to spread the appeal throughout the country. In no time, word spread and Bangladeshis at home and abroad gave their share. Rahman acknowledged each small share in the newspaper and channeled donations directly to the victims.

Donations were used for burn treatments, plastic surgery, legal fees, living expenses, new dwellings for some and income-generating assets such as milking cows, sewing machines, land, shops, etc.

Prothom Alo also kept the pressure on the government to strengthen laws against acid attacks and the unregulated sale of dangerous chemicals. In 2002, Bangladesh’s Acid Crimes Prevention Act and Acid Control Act stiffened penalties for acid throwers and tightened licensing requirements for acid sale.

The public’s response to Prothom Alo’s appeals affirmed Rahman’s belief that ``society is not sleeping.’’ By June 2005, some 8.2 million taka had been coursed to over 100 acid throwing victims.

Rahman has since widened his advocacy and has taken up issues related to HIV-AIDS, drug abuse and Muslim extremists. His vigilance does not come without a price. Rahman is regularly harassed and threatened and the government has withdrawn advertising from Prothom Alo and even haled him to court for the paper’s critical reporting.

A man with an easy smile, Rahman takes it all in stride. For him, Prothom Alo is the people’s ``hope against hope.’’ He says: ``I work to use it for the cause of the people.’’
Hold on to your prothom alo, your first light.