| Swine Flu Weaponized?
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on April 29, 2009 For the Standard Today, April 30 issue As of this writing, the swine flu virus has killed 159 people in Mexico and hospitalized some 1,600 others. The virus has also infected at least 77 persons in other countries � in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Israel and New Zealand.- almost all of them recent visitors to Mexico. But none of the 77 has died. On the contrary, they seem to be recovering well from the flu, including some 40 school children in one school in New York City who had been in Mexico, according to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a recent presscon. In the state of Texas, where the city of El Paso shares the border with Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, there are only four known victims of swine flu, and none of them has died. . What in the world is going on? The apparent selectivity of the swine flu rang a bell in my memory and I went to dig up an article that I had saved, which may � or may not � have relevance to the swine flu outbreak. I have often referred to this article when I wrote about the neo-cons because it explains many of the policy decisions of the Bush administration: the war in Iraq, the threat of war on Iran, the provocative moves against Russia over Georgia and the missile shields in Romania and the Czech Republic, the recurrent hostility towards China, its dismissive- ness towards the �Old Europe� of France and Germany, even the quasi-permanent presence of American troops in Basilan and Sulu. And now, possibly, the curiously selective swine flu virus. This article was written by Michael Meacher, a member of the British parliament, and was published in the September 06, 2003 issue of The Guardian, a prominent newspaper in London. Read the following excerpts from this article and decide for yourself: �We now know that a blueprint for the creation of a global Pax Americana was drawn up for Dick Cheney (now vice-president), Donald Rumsfeld (defense secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld�s deputy), Jeb Bush (George W. Bush�s younger brother) and Lewis Libby (Cheney�s chief-of-staff). The document , entitled Rebuilding America�s Defenses, was written in September 2000 (one year before 9/11) by the neo-conservative think tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC). �The plan shows Bush�s Cabinet intended to take military control of the Gulf region, whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power. It says �while the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.� �The PNAC blueprint reports an earlier document attributed to Wolfowitz and Libby which said the US must �discourage advanced industrial nations from challenging our leadership or even aspiring to a larger regional or global role.� It refers to key allies such as the UK as �the most effective and efficient means of exercising American global leadership� It describes peacekeeping missions as �demanding American political leadership rather than that of the UN.� It says �even should Saddam Hussein pass from the scene�, the US bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will remain permanently�as �Iran will prove as large a threat to US interests as Iraq has.� It spotlights China for �regime change�, saying �it is time to increase the presence of American forces in Southeast Asia.� �The document also calls for the creation of �US space forces� to dominate space and the total control of cyberspace to prevent �enemies� using the Internet against the US. It also hints that the US may consider developing biological weapons that can target specific genotypes (and) may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool�..� (Emphasis mine.) End of excerpts from the Meacher article. Of course, the neo-cons have been driven away from their positions of power in Washington DC and have been replaced by the liberal administration of President Barack Obama, who has dismantled or reversed many of the legacies of the Bush neo-cons: Abu Ghreib prison, Guantanamo, rendition flights of the CIA, water-boarding, domestic spying, etc. But it is only 100 days since Obama and his liberals ascended to power. It is not possible that it has been able to eradicate completely all the nasty things that the neo-cons had put into play, or even that it knows every single one of those nasty things. If the neo-cons and their allies in the military organization managed to get started their plan to �develop biological weapons that can target specific genotypes,� it is not outside the realm of possibility that Obama and his liberals do not know anything about it. Until now. The current swine flu outbreak was originally said to have started with a 39-year old woman in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca who died in April of symptoms associated with swine flu. But now the first victim has been moved back to February, to the illness of a four-year old boy in the nearby state of Vera Cruz. The boy lived in a village called � I�m not making this up � La Gloria, some 450 of whose residents have been suffering respiratory ailments since February, which they are blaming on a pig farm that lies upwind 8.5 kilometers to the north, in the town of Xaltepec. The pig farm, which has a population of 15,000 pigs, is owned 50 percent by an American firm, Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc. Half the people who live in La Gloria are said to work in Mexico City during the work week, but come home to spend the weekend with their families in La Gloria. If the pig farm in La Gloria is indeed the source of the swine flu outbreak, then the weekly migration of half the village population to work in Mexico City would explain why most of the fatalities so far have been in the federal capital. But why is it that, so far, all the fatalities in the outbreak have been Mexicans? (UPDATE: The first and so far only fatality outside Mexico was recently recorded and identified as a 23-month old boy in Texas. But he turned out to be also Mexican, who fell ill while visiting relatives in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. He was moved to a hospital in Houston, where he died two days ago. So the question remains: Why only Mexicans?) Perhaps � and this is pure speculation on my part � the US Army bacteriological weapons people do have a facility � let�s call it the Big Mike Research Lab - near the pig farm in La Gloria, that is developing swine flu bacteria agents as a weapon that can target specific genotypes, as suggested in the Meacher article. If this speculation is correct, then we have to assume that some of those bacteria somehow escaped accidentally into the air and infected some of La Gloria�s inhabitants who then carried the bacteria to their workplaces in Mexico City. This would not be the first bacteriological weapons accident. In April 1979, some deadly bacteria (anthrax) were accidentally released into the air after an explosion in a Soviet bacteriological weapons facility (Military Compound 19) in the Urals The Soviets, who kept the accident secret until October, said that 68 people were killed, but Western estimates run from several hundreds to several thousands dead. The accident forced the quarantine of the nearby city of Sverdlovsk, now known by its pre-Revolution name Ekaterinburg. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in acabaya.blogspot.com. Tony on YouTube in www.tapatt.org. To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. . OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Swine Flu Weaponized?� Reactions to �Swine Flu Re-examined� Leftists and Chinese Corruption On Feeling Filipino�for the first time "If this speculation is correct, then we have to assume that some of those bacteria somehow escaped accidentally into the air and infected some of La Gloria�s inhabitants who then carried the bacteria to their workplaces in Mexico City." - Tony Abaya Here's another conspiracy angle from an American conservative talk show host: "There is even talk of conspiracy. Savage speculated that terrorists are using Mexican immigrants as walking germ warfare weapons. �It would be easy,� he said, �to bring an altered virus into Mexico, put it in the general population, and have them march across the border.� -MSNBC article Bob Manasan, (by email), Burke, Virginia, May 02, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, If your hypothesis holds, and Manny Pacquiao loses to a Brit tomorrow, we may have to change the name Swine Flu virus to PacMan virus. Bernardo Vidal, (by email), Illinois, May 02, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Dear Noam and Ed: Do you think that there is any validity or basis to this article below by Tony Abaya? Is it plausible? Some of Tony's articles are really fascinating. They provide food for thought. Tony doesn't miss a thing. He's really clairvoyant, to say the last! I think he's a genie who just flowed out of Aladdin's Lamp! Long live Tony! And long live America, Philadelphia cream cheese, Philadelphia jewish hoagie, Virginia Baked Ham, pumpkin pie, mince pie, cranberry sauce, New England clam chowder, California red wine, rainbow trout, Maine lobster, Maine shrimp, Lake Damarascota in Maine, and Idaho baked potato! Shalom, George Patterson, (by email), Quezon City, May 02, 2009 American resident of Metro Manila wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya, Your article strengthened my conviction that we should not overly trust the Americans or any other nation. Remember what the Americans did to Emilio Aguinaldo. He was misled into thinking that they came to help him gain independence from Spain, only to be fooled into doing the fighting on land and handing over the victory to the Americans. The treatment accorded today by the United States to the Philippines (more recently, the VFA) is reminiscent of the treatment accorded to Aguinaldo. And GMA, as previous presidents did, tolerates the maltreatment. Why this is so is discussed in my article: http://macapili-filipino.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-filipinos-are-not-patriotic-people.html Macario A. Capili, (by email), Para�aque City, May 02, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, A provocative article for your readers and one that has probably instigated some action plan against you at Central Intelligence Agency. Oscar Lagman, (by email), May 02, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, If you care to laugh about the swine flu, go to the site below - http://www.inquisitr.com/23245/winnie-the-pooh-fears-the-swine-flu/ Raissa Robles, (by email), Hong Kong, May 02, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, While as a general proposition anything is possible under the sun, I choose to remain skeptical about the possibility that those discredited and megalomanic "neocons," including Dick ("Rasputin") Cheney, Donald ("stuff happens") Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Lewis Scott Libby, and others, are behind the present swine flu epidemic which has hit Mexico rather severely. These people are no longer occupying positions of real influence or power whether in or outside the government. Neither can they be said now to have the capacity to muster the kind of financial resources needed to launch a project designed to kill thousands if not millions of people through bacteriological warfare. There is the other inescapable fact that even if assuming arguendo that they are still coherent as a group, and have access to needed financial resources, there is no possible reason or rationale for them to be waging bacteriological warfare against Mexicans. If they do this simply for the fun of it, they must be crazy--but they are not. Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers, NY, May 02, 2009 (I did not claim that these neo-cons were responsible for the current swine flu outbreak. What I am speculating is that some rogue members of the US military, influenced by the neo-cons, may have experimented with the virus and the virus was accidentally released into the air in La Gloria. It has happened before. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, If your "speculation"is true, then western people would be safe, for now. Not really safe, since again the virus/bacteria could mix with other viruses/bacterias and creat muiations which may have completely different powers. In any way, if it could be proven that really all started with bacteria out of a military laboratory, then there should be some court cases with maximum sentences, no matter who is to blame. . If the military think they need bacterial weapons because possible enemies could also have, then the US could easily put such labs midst in a desert where escaping bacteria cannot survive. They did it already with the nuclear bomb facilities. GMA is now up to Africa despite the Swine Flu which caused Egypt to kill all pigs and where she will bring peace to places where is much less war than in her own Mindanao. Was she assured that the flu will not kill Filipinos? Write more, Pedro Lamayas, (by email), May 03, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The first thing that came to my mind after learning of the swine flu, now officially called H1N1 virus, was that it was the handiwork of Iran or the Al Qaeda, considering that it was timed during the spring break of US students where many go to Mexico's beach resorts while others go there to do community and humanitarian work. But of course it was only my suspicious mind that was working. Here are excerpts from two letters I received. "Those of you who were following the news in 1976 may remember reports at that time of a disease known as "swine flu." An Army recruit stationed at Ft. Dix in New Jersey died, and four of his bunkmates became ill. Two weeks later, health officials announced that the virus in question appeared to be very similar to the one that had caused the deadly Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. "More than 15 years ago I began warning about the dangers of epidemics that would start in one isolated part of the world and spread quickly to our doorstep. At the time, I received a considerable amount of flak for making such a prediction. Traveling the world as I have, however, I knew it would only be a matter of time. The Asian flu of 1957-58 and the Hong Kong flu of 1968-69 were the last big epidemics to hit this country. And, despite public health preparedness efforts, we won't know what the next epidemic is until we're already in the middle of it. One example is the SARS outbreak I mentioned earlier. Because the illness was caused by a virus, there was no definitive treatment. The infected individuals were isolated and given the antiviral drug ribavirin and steroids. Although the infection could become quite serious, most of those who died were already in poor health or had another serious illness. Worldwide, there were more than 2,700 cases, and about a hundred deaths. For the majority of us, SARS and this outbreak of swine flu should serve as a "blessing in disguise"�a textbook example that illustrates a serious problem we need to be prepared for. Like the threat of increased terrorism, potential epidemics need to be addressed. Here's the other excerpt: The truth is, our government has been preparing for a global flu pandemic for years, stockpiling medications and working on new vaccines. Obviously, this is a windfall for the companies that manufacture these drugs. Their profit potential is enormous, yet their accountability is limited. Thanks to government intervention, any claims of injury caused by vaccinations must be filed through the Federal Court of Claims, which will require years of bureaucratic red tape. Furthermore, individuals can only sue if they have proof that a vaccine manufacturer did intentional harm. By the way, just like in the Philippines, La Gloria residents in that Mexican pueblo are suffering from poverty and neglect. Narciso Ner, (by email), Davao City, May 04, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Interesting....Could this possibly be a test run? Who's the real target? Edel Anit, (by email), May 04, 2009 (I am more inclined to believe that, if anything, it was an accidental release. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, You have read about and watched events very well and lengthily . Thank you for sharing to us what you know. Incidentally, some of us had similar thoughts (wild) as our imaginations worked unintentionally to novels and movies about chemicals that cause mutations accidentally coming out from military research facilities. It scares some of us to learn that these can be real. First there was the Wall Street virus.Nnow comes a literal virus - the Swine Flu. Any more surprises coming? A naughty comment and a bit of a joke-joke-joke: our country has had swine disease for many years and it's called "pork barrel". Victor Ma�alac, (by email), May 04, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Sir Tony, Conspiracy theories aside - I'm just disgusted that intellectuals use their brains in such a manner. What a waste of talent. If indeed the H1N1 virus (swine flu) is a biological weapon tested on Mexicans - I'm just appalled at the audacity of such people to see other people as guinea pigs. IF this is indeed true and IF this indeed happened - whether it was released accidentally or intentionally, coinciding with Barack Obama's visit to Mexico - then I guess logically speaking - the new Nazis are the Americans (not all of them) with the core leaders named in your column since they spearheaded this one... IF it is true. Either way, the fact that PNAC wrote something like this - they're a bunch of Nazis and the rest of the nations are "Jews" to them. Just because some personalities are "out" of the White House does not mean they've lost their clout with people who are totally against the new administration. May God have mercy on their souls. Regards and God bless, Jenifer Aquino-Xavier, (by email), May 05, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you so much for this column, Mr Abaya. And let me salute you for your courage in speaking up about such a sensitive issue. Ethel David, (by email), May 06, 2009 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Forwarded to Tapatt by Erick San Juan) H1N1 was engineered in "Jurassic Park" bio-labs By Wayne Madsen Wayne Madsen Reports Informed sources have revealed to Wayne Madsen Reports that the H1N1 virus, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, could become a global pandemic, was reverse engineered from genetic material obtained from the remains of victims of the deadly 1918 "Spanish flu" influenza pandemic that killed 50 million people worldwide. WMR has obtained information from biological researchers that the 1918 Spanish flu genetic sequences were "manipulated" in order to effect transmission capability. The current H1N1 virus, called "swine flu," is reportedly a combination of two forms of human flu, two forms of swine flu (North American and Eurasian), and avian or bird flu. There are now reports of species hopping from humans to pigs in Canada. The scientific name for the current H1N1 virus that was manipulated is "Influenza A virus (strain A/Brevig Mission/1/1918 H1N1)." It is called Brevig Mission because, as WMR previously reported, U.S. Army biological warfare specialists recovered the genetic material from the fairly intact corpse of an Inuit woman who died from the 1918 flu in Brevig Mission, Alaska. WMR has learned that work on manipulation of the Brevig Mission flu strain began in 1997. Two bio-safety laboratories have been associated with the genetic reverse engineering of not only A-H1N1, the current "swine flu" strain, but also the deadly Ebola virus. They are the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada. The Associated Press reported on September 20, 2007, that the Madison laboratory was cited for safety violations: "University of Wisconsin-Madison research on the deadly Ebola virus was conducted for a year in a less-secure laboratory than required, until the National Institutes of Health alerted the school to the problem. The deadly virus itself was never present in the laboratory, said Jan Klein, UW-Madison biological safety officer. Instead, DNA copies of the virus were being studied to better understand one of the world's most dangerous pathogens." The report also stated that the Madison research facility was involved with combining "materials": "Klein said no one was ever at risk, though an infectious virus could have been produced if the research material had been combined with other components. But that was not part of any planned experiment and would not be done by accident,' she said." The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reportedly shut down the Ebola research at Madison but it was reportedly moved to a Level 4 Bio-Safety Laboratory at the National Microbiology Laboratory at the Canadian Science Center for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 2007, macaque monkeys were infected with the 1981 flu virus at the Canadian laboratory by some of the same researchers who were involved in the risky Ebola research in Madison. The research in Madison on Ebola had been conducted in a Bio Safety Level 2 laboratory when it should have been conducted in a Bio Safety Level 4 laboratory, the most stringent for pathogens like Ebola and H1N1. At the time of the safety violations, Madison has less stringent Level 3 labs but no Level 4 labs. In early 2008, Madison again conducted work on Ebola, but in a Level 4 lab. Science Daily reported the following from Madison on October 7, 2004: "Using a gene resurrected from the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, recorded history's most lethal outbreak of infectious disease, scientists have found that a single gene may have been responsible for the devastating virulence of the virus." The Winnipeg laboratory figures into the November 15, 2001 disappearance of noted Harvard University virologist Dr. Don C. Wiley in Memphis, Tennessee after his attendance at a banquet honoring his service as a scientific advisory board member of St. Jude's Hospital. Wiley's body was found one month later in the Mississippi River in Vidalia, Louisiana. The Shelby County medical examiner ruled Wiley's death a "suicide" from jumping into the Mississippi River from the west bound lane of the I-40 Hernando de Soto bridge. Wiley was heading back to his father's residence in Millington, northeast of Memphis at the time of his disappearance. This editor reported on the Wiley death extensively at the time. And the Canadian facility became involved in the investigation. From "Mystery in Memphis," published in "Abuse Your Illusions, 2003, edited by Russ Kick: "While the Memphis Police and the FBI continued to handle the Wiley case as just another distraught "jumper" hurling himself 135 feet into the Mississippi River, other law enforcement agencies were not as sanguine. On November30 [2001], [Memphis Police Sergeant Robert 'Bubba' Shemwell received a call from Detective Paul McKemmie of the National Security Investigation Unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Ottawa. McKemmie advised Shemwell that his unit was responsible for protecting scientists with Level-3 and Level-4 clearance at the Canadian Science Center for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian center houses the National Microbiology Laboratory, where scientists deal with the most dangerous and contagious human and animal pathogens and diseases, which are categorized as Level-4. These include hantavirus, hepatitis, influenza, and hemorrhagic fevers such as the Ebola virus, Marburg virus, and Lassa Fever. In another hghly-protected laboratory, scientists work with Level-3 agents, which include bacteria such as anthrax that, although not contagious, can be transmitted through the air and can cause death or serious illness. The center's tight security is overseen by the RCMP and Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. McKemmie told Shemwell that someone had posted an email suggesting that Dr. Wiley was not the target for a kidnapping to obtain anthrax but that a scientist working at the Winnipeg laboratory was a more likely target for a kidnapping by bioterrorists. Nevertheless, the RCMP wanted to know if Memphis hadany information that would indicate that Wiley was the target for an abduction by terrorists. Shockingly, Shemwell fed te RCMP the same line he was feeding the Wiley family and the media: There was no evidence to support the theory that Wiley's disappearance was the result of foul play and that suggestions to the contrary were being mentioned only in the media. Obviously, not buying Shemwell's line, the Mountie indicated that the RCMP, like the FBI, also would continue to monitor Wiley's disappearance and check out any leads from Canada." The idea that Wiley's body could have been in the fast-raging Mississippi for a month seems fanciful. When his body was discovered in Louisiana, Wiley's clothing was intact. Recovered from Wiley's clothing were his watch, wedding band, belt, wallet, and even a piece of hard candy that managed not have dissolved after an entire month in water. Wiley co-wrote a paper on the structures of H5 avian flu and H9 swine flu that was published in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences in September 18, 2001, just some two months before he went missing in Memphis. However, Wiley's expertise on the 1918 influenza was longstanding. In 1981, Wiley co-wrote a paper, titled "X-ray structures of H5 avian and H9 swine influenza virus hemagglutinins bound to avian and human receptor analogs," that defined the crystal structure of the 1918 influenza virus, a step that made it easier to conduct "forensic" analysis on the origin of precursor viruses and their naturally-occurring or man-made genetic off-shoots. Although virology, not bacteriology, was Wiley's area of expertise, it was revealed during my investigation of Wiley's death that he had become quite concerned about the mailing of anthrax through the postal system. A week before his disappearance, Wiley attended a session on "Bioethics and Research" at a meeting of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland. At the time of the conference, four people had already been killed from being exposed to anthrax-laden letters sent through the mail. It was later discovered that the anthrax originated from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Wiley had also received a letter from a failed PhD student at University College in Dublin, Ireland that sought to warn him about the origins of anthrax. In October 2001, a series of "white powder" samples were discovered at University College. Irish Army specialists transferred all the samples to Britain's Porton Down bio-warfare facility, the UK's equivalent of Fort Detrick. Based on Dr. Wiley's expertise in tracking down the origins of viruses and, with his speciality in crystallization of samples, bacteria like anthrax, as well, it is clear that whoever is benefiting from the outbreak of a A-H1N1 flu that has been resurrected and genetically "manipulated" in a "Jurassic Park" laboratory had a very good reason to murder Dr. Wiley and make it appear to be a suicide.***** wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Leftists and Chinese Corruption Dear Mr. Abaya, I truly enjoy all your articles archived in your blogs and I always look forward to reading your latest additions. May I suggest an article explaining why the leftist groups never demonstrate in front of the Chinese embassy despite the massive corruption involving Chinese companies doing business with the Philippine government? Is it an indication of old ties that still bind them together? Warmest regards, Chito Gregorio, (by email), May 03, 2009 (There is no love lost between the local Communists and the Chinese. The NPAs have been known to burn road-building equipment belonging to a Chinese company doing a project in the Visayas. Local Communists consider the Chinese �stinking capitalists.� See my article �Stinking Capitalists� (January 01, 2006), archived under the category On Joma and the Communists in www.tapatt.org. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Forwarded to Tapatt by Aurora Pijuan) On Feeling Filipino�for the first time It was the morning of the fifth day. The loudspeaker roused the Zamboanga builders from their tents. Team Ateneo haven�t had breakfast yet but a magical force pulled them towards the entrance of the build site. Having been injured two days earlier, from a sharp rock poking out of the septic tank we were digging, I was left behind. I had no time to sulk and curse my helpless leg because the next few minutes held me captive to an amazing sight that would change me tremendously. My own version of Felix Bautista�s The Anatomy of A Filipino goes this way: I like to think that I am a Filipino, that I am as good a Filipino as anyone. But my heart does not thrill when I hear the national anthem being played, and my blood does not race when I see our flag fluttering in the breeze. And yes, very often, I find myself asking: How Filipino am I really? Ever since I was a kid, I never felt I was really Filipino. No, I do not have blue eyes and blond hair. In fact, I am a pure blooded Balangao, an indigenous group filed under the Igorots. And for someone who comes from a tribe in the northern mountains of the Philippines, nationalism is a foreign word. Growing up, I learned to put up with the strong ethnic bias of this country. Wherever I go, I come face to face with the derogatory attitude of Filipinos toward the indigenous people. I endured years of humiliating Igorot jokes and spiteful articles written about us. At first I learned to fight, to speak out when conversations about ethnicity becomes offensive. But this led to more laughter and unbelieving retorts. Kung Igorot ka, e bat maputi ka? I pitied their ignorance and rudeness. Still, I was the one called �minority�. I became silent yet watchful. I discovered that the ethnic people have become important to this country in two ways: entertainment and tourism. What the people see in TV are the cultural dances, the half-naked natives in ethnic attires, the strange customs and Marky Cielo. We become subjects of postcards and tourist manuals. Amusement overshadowed the hard life behind these colors. Many of my people are suffering from poverty, insufficiency and degrading self-worth. We have always been the least priority of the government and any help that came from the outside is not quite sustainable. In the end, we remain detached and isolated, waiting for our next 15 minutes of fame. Somehow, this made me a person who constantly sought for belongingness. Through the years, I developed a strong animosity and indifference for this nation. I wanted to be proud I was Filipino, but I had no reasons to hold on to. As I stepped into college and entered the big city, I grew closer to the theater of scandals, corruption and immorality. Scenes of political bickering and social destitution stirred me. The drama between the rich and the poor disturbed me. I wanted to join people rallying in the streets. All the repressed anger and bitterness inside me was raging to explode. But I saw how ineffective the method was. Also, the Atenean�s apathy and lack of enthusiasm to get involved was contagious. I became frustrated with this country that all I wanted was to flee and start a new life abroad. After all, why should I toil for a nation that did so little for my people. I diagnosed my country, hopeless. A few days after graduation, the Ateneo Alumni Association gave me the chance to join the 2009 Gawad Kalinga (GK) Bayani Challenge in Zamboanga. I controlled myself from jumping up and down in childlike delight. Building the nation was the last thing in my mind. Building houses was my target. This kind of work interested me. One of my favorite things when I was a child was to watch my lolo or my father build bahay kubos back in the mountains. Going to Zamboanga, I had no idea what awaited me. The theme Only for the Brave did not scare me at all. What I joyfully anticipated was the workout and the pleasure of finishing a house. For five days, I worked hand in hand with the Ateneo team and for five days I was slowly transformed into a different person. As I learned more about GK�s mission-vision, my perspective changed. The moving stories of beneficiaries and the powerful testimonies of volunteers ignited the long-gone hope inside me. The sincerity of fellow Ateneans in my team inspired me. I finally found something I can do that can ultimately make a difference. It was more than feelings and emotions for in my sunburned hands I held tangible hope. Fueled by this passion, I worked like I have never worked before. I wasn�t just pilling up hollow blocks, I was building dreams. I wasn�t just digging a septic tank, I was laboring for change. With shovel in hand, I was helping build a nation. There is hope for the Philippines. The last day held the final awakening for me. I sat in my tent and watched the builders run to meet the teams from Sulu. Big trucks with soldiers and builders came driving in. It was like a war scene in the news, but this time there was neither gunshots nor apprehensive reporters. Instead, there were claps and shouts of joy. Smart and Globe announced their arrival. The Ateneans and La Sallians cheered side by side. Soldiers and civilians clasped hands like old brothers. Christians and Muslims hugged like old friends. Builders from all over the country welcomed team Sulu, especially the Tausug youths, many of which have not travelled outside their islands until now. The scenic mountains of Tulungatung, Zambonga served as backdrop to the images of peace, friendship and love that played in front of me. An overwhelming sense of pride flooded me and I knelt on the hard ground sobbing in great release. For the first time in my life, I was proud to be a Filipino. That day I had a vision - a dream that someday, my people would be welcomed by fellow Filipinos in this same way. I desire for the destruction of the ethnic barrier and the building of friendship without prejudice. I yearn for the tribes to be empowered individuals, have stronger families and live better lives. I long for the ethnic community to feel pride that they belong to this country. I pray that through others, they would feel God�s hands and rest in the knowledge that He is still sovereign. Through Gawad Kalinga, I see this dream reachable. In Gawad Kalinga, I found where I can belong. For Gawad Kalinga, I continue to dream. I am one of the thousands who have been changed. This is the new rally of my generation � lesser talk, more work. I am proud, very, very proud because underneath my Igorot psyche beats a Filipino heart. Indeed, now is the best time to be a Filipino.***** Violet Lucasi, May 01, 2009 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to [email protected]. To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. |
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