Author: Gideon Lasco
The Philippines with 7,107 islands could be considered a part of the Pacific and Oceania islands. From Taiwan, much of the good Austronesian migration can have actually passed through the Philippines, and lots of languages from Madagascar to the Easter Islands are just like ours: while you call out “tulong” in Indonesia, they understand. We share root crops reminiscent of with Austronesian peoples Gabi AND ube; our knowledge of maritime navigation; our closeness to the ocean.
The Philippines is, after all, very much a part of Asia. We traded with our neighbors long before the Magallans arrived. When times were difficult in China, Japan and elsewhere, their people sought refuge in our country, and we welcomed them with open arms (hence many Japanese Pangasinense). More than the rice that nourishes our stomachs, we share with our Asian neighbors values reminiscent of strong family ties and deep respect for the elderly.
The indisputable fact that we were a Spanish colony for over 300 years, governed by Mexico for many of that point, has much in common with Latin America. Is lechon in Puerto Rico; pork adobo here in Peru; chicharron in Bolivia. Don Bosco’s athletes in Ecuador wear yellow, and the people of La Salliana, after all, wear green. We share with Latinos culturally related diseases reminiscent of bands, values like paroleand a warm, relaxed lifestyle.
The Philippines is essentially a part of the Christian world (we’re the third largest Catholic nation), but we’re also a part of the Muslim world with Sulu, Maguindanao, Maranao and lots of other proud cultures in Mindanao and elsewhere. Today, Filipino Muslims proceed to complement our culture and testify to the opportunity of coexistence amongst many religions.
The Philippines was a US colony for 50 years and we’ve deep ties to America. Despite our (justifiably) mixed feelings in regards to the U.S. government and American hegemony, our ties to America run deep, embodied by the three.4 million Americans of Filipino descent, making Tagalog the fifth most generally spoken language within the U.S.
The Philippines is actually a spot where East meets West, where Christianity meets Islam, where the ocean meets the continent. Far from the historical past, these connections live to tell the tale and proceed to grow because the Filipino diaspora continues to complement our ties with other countries. This familiarity with different lands mustn’t only put us in a single place heart of the world; also needs to give us a heart for the world: empathy for the struggles and suffering happening beyond our shores. Not only because Filipinos live there, but since the people living there are our neighbors and friends.
Unfortunately, we’ve not maximized these ties with other nations, each diplomatically and culturally. Our foreign policy is essentially oriented towards the United States, Japan, China, the European Union and, after all, ASEAN. Our cultural imagination is even narrower: we all know Los Angeles, London and Paris higher than Luang Prabang, Lima and Palembang.
What do we’d like to deal with our global disconnect?
Certainly, a really “independent foreign policy” is a step in the proper direction – provided it is predicated on respect. Health Secretary Paulyn Ubiala’s warm welcome in Havana is a testament to the opportunities that open up after we transcend our atypical responsibilities.
But diplomacy can only achieve this much: APEC has not brought us closer to Peru, nor ASEAN to Laos and Cambodia. While we will actually urge President Duterte to look beyond Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, we as Filipinos – not only our leaders – must realize and take responsibility for our place on the planet.
Traveling, as I actually have experienced, helps rather a lot: it was due to traveling to different continents that I learned about our connections with them. Cultural and even culinary exchange can be useful and the identical could be said about teleseries which we Filipinos export to – and import from – various countries.
But most significantly and fundamentally, we’d like a renewed sense of history – or perhaps retelling it. Unfortunately, much of our national narrative portrays us as objects of colonialism. Without denying the suffering and betrayals we’ve experienced prior to now (too many to say), we must always also remember how throughout our history we’ve built connections with people from everywhere in the world; and that always these bonds showcased one of the best of humanity.
We needs to be reminded that 15 American soldiers actually got here over to our side through the Philippine-American War, believing within the righteousness of our cause; and that Americans, like Mark Twain, condemned their very own government’s colonial ambitions. By adding nuance to the best way we view other nations, we avoid generalizations that result in hatred, conflict and suffering.
We should be reminded that 112 Filipino soldiers died fighting for the liberty that South Korea enjoys today; and that we’ve at all times opened our doors to refugees, from Jews during World War II to Indochinese through the Vietnam War.
When we realize that we Filipinos, removed from passive victims of history, have at all times been energetic in creating not only our history however the history of the world, we start to beat the sense of smallness that retracts our geopolitical imagination. Our past should give us not hostility towards those that oppressed us, but empathy towards those that experience oppression.
Our past should give us not a way of victimization or entitlement, however the dignity of a nation that has suffered much but overcome more. –
Source: Rappler.com
Author: Gideon Lasco; doctor, medical anthropologist, commentator on culture and current events. His essays were published, amongst others, by:Philippine Daily InquirerSingapore Times of the Strait, Korean Herald, China Postand Jakarta Post.
