Something today made me think.
The Philippines isn't the safest place in the world. I know that. Everyone knows that. I don't want to sound bad, but after having lived in Japan for quite a while now, I look at home and see a hostile world. Especially Manila. No one is safe. The only thing that saves one from being tragically murdered is overpopulation. In a scientific sense, there is safety in numbers. But still, the fact that anyone could just get stabbed seven times because a criminal wants your car, as in the case of Pilar Pilapil recently; or a maid you hired that you thought you could trust would turn against you and shoot you and your girlfriend dead in your own house and steal everything as in the case of Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc; or even the occasional vehicular accident whether caused by someone's carelessness or not as in AJ Perez; is a scary thought. Dare I mention the Maguindanao massacre in Mindanao. Just look at countries in South East Asia. Comparing isn't encouraged, but if one looks at the preferences of tourists on which country to go to, the Philippines often lands around the bottom of the list. One factor is its geography. It is not nestled near any other country unlike in the Indochina region. One has to really want to go to the Philippines to get there as it requires a completely different travel approach. But more particularly, foreign tourists see it as a hostile world. How do I know? Because I've heard them talking about it. Being away from the Philippines and living in an international community has given me access to how other foreigners see my country. It has been a struggle trying to change their perspectives of a poverty-stricken, dangerous, developing country. It has been a challenge. I keep saying that that is not the general case, in fact, the Philippines is a wonderful country, and an amazing host to tourists. But then again, news of tourists robbed or mugged by hungry criminals keep on coming. When I and a couple of my friends from around the world gather, the conversation often leads to one's own countries. But nobody really cares about the Philippines that much. It could be that I am doing such a bad job at introducing it to them, but what I'm saying is they already have this preconceived idea of how it is there. When it becomes my turn to talk about the Philippines, I do not have the flurry of talking about how British people gobble down fish n' chips everyday and think it's hilarious, or say oh, you should visit Moscow and visit the Kremlin, or just be there and say I'm American and everything is understood. I usually end up teaching them the proper way of holding one's bag when walking through a crowded sidewalk or in the mall in the Philippines, or how do not talk to strangers is the golden rule on Colon street, or when I tell them that they should go to the Philippines, they would say something like wouldn't we get shot there? or something to that effect and here's me trying say that that will never happen. Of course I couldn't be sure. I know this isn't only limited to the Philippines but the image of the Philippines to some isn't pretty. Not even the amazing beauty of a scenic Palawan beach can overlap the strong image of a mega-capital surrounded by hectares of rundown shanties with dangerous neighborhoods. Not even the enticement of a lovely dive adventure can erase the image of a completely random foreigner like Nika Bohinc shot multiple times. I remember in one of my CWTS classes, the Dumaguete chief of police was invited to give the lecture. I clearly remember the topic: How to be unpredictable so as not to be a target of criminals. He mentioned about incorporating in your weekly routine a constant change in the time you get out of the house, the time you get in, and the route you take so as not to become a potential victim for criminals who often look for patterns to predict your next move. I never really gave it much thought until I realized that we were taught how to evade criminals in our day to day lives! In Japan, nobody bothers about such things. Heck, one can frolic in the wee hours of the morning anywhere without anything happening to them. Crimes are rare. In other words, the Japanese are naive about any sort of danger and here we are in the Philippines living with the constant threat of death. I mean come on, this shouldn't be happening at all! Being taught about trying to be unpredictable in college isn't encouraging a well-lived life at all.
I would like to believe this is all not true. I would like to believe that the Philippines is a wonderful country PERIOD. I know how blessed it is with natural wonders but put in an unsustainable population and a useless pathetic corrupt government and you have what I'd like to call an unfortunate beauty. To see is to believe, others would say, but in this case, nobody would dare without his or her life being threatened. That's just the way it is here. I can't find any other to blame but the government. What are they really doing with all those fancy ranks and titles anyway? Selfish gits.
I could be very wrong about this. I might've interpreted things the wrong way or what but I just wanted to put this down. I am heartbroken about the ineptitude of our leaders right now. Those who try to break the norm gets murdered. Those who know better are afraid. There are those young ones I know who can do great things and we can't wait for those in positions now to die and be replaced by them. The waves may still be calm, but the earthquake has already happened within many of us. The tsunami of change will follow soon. Time for me is running out. I want to see a country free from nega vibes (lol) but I don't think it will happen in my lifetime. I do not want to be just a spectator to the movement for change. I too will help with the push, but only in the far corner of my field of work.hehe
I need to make sense of everything pa..lol
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