I CAN CLEARLY SEE THE SUFFERING OF MY PEOPLE

I CAN CLEARLY SEE THE SUFFERING OF MY PEOPLE

By Frank Hernando

My eyes can see beyond the dark sunglasses I'm wearing momentarily.

Ah, I've seen
on TV, through internet news, Facebook and Twitter how over 2 million of the Filipino people have been suffering in the catastrophic floods, of biblical proportion, e.g. deluge in the story of Noah brought about by typhoon Gener and the convergence of moonsoon rains.

Soon
infectious diseases brought by water contamination will be like the biblical plagues in the time of Exodus.

But I know,
the plague of massive poverty has been there for long, I am a living evidence of that miserable situation, I thought was my parents' laziness.

No, no, no!
The social systems both national and global caused the marginalization of peoples in natural resource rich countries like the Philippines.

Natural calamities
like typhoons are common, but not floods. So much has change in the environment, congestion of buildings, transportation infras, CO2 emissions, mining operations, are some of the causes of climatic changes.

I'm infuriated
by the press statement of Benigno Aquino III on Youtube yesterday how the government has been responding to the flooding in the country.

I can see
that He smiled as if it's okay to suffer. It seems the flooding is a commonplace, trying to hide his incompetence and his connivance in not implementing flood control measures and infras.

I can see
the floods as the measure of the government's economic and political development.

I can see
that Benigno Aquino III is masquerading his vested political and economic interests, profiteering from the international aid which is intended for the people but gets into bureaucratic pouches.

I can see
that the urban poor people have nothing left in the aftermath of the floods; the rich get more revenues from massive purchase of relief goods and bottled water by relief organizations and government agencies.

I can see
the hunger and indebtedness of subsistent farmers intensified.

I can see
the workers in factories have no wages for work stoppage due to floods.

I can see
the empty tables in the homes of jeepney and bus drivers who could not earn their day's wages.

I can see
the scrambling of scaps and whatever has been salvage from the floods by scavengers.

I can see
that people who are capable of giving support are reluctant to give, because they would rather use their extra money for their holidays or fashion or high tech gadgets.

I can see
that the impact of natural disasters will be worse in the coming years, unless the Filipino are prepared; unless the Philippine government consciously and willfully prioritize creating a just society.

I can see
the Filipino rising from the heaps of the ravages of the floods, the organized workers, farmers, youth, faith communities, women and youth, urban poor and other sectors of society committedly respond to the sufferings of the people.+

10August2012