On the 17th of October 1994 at exactly 6:50 am, a little babe wiggled her arms and did a little hurrah dance for successfully surviving the past eight months and seventeen days inside a warm, cocoon-like haven. Ever since she realized she has a brain (and thus, is capable of thinking), she has been imagining the world outside her mother’s womb. Meanwhile, at the same universe and time, a takatak boy gave the red Honda accord (with plate number TMA 741)’s driver the headlines of the day. He said, “Ser, sa Inquirer ho tungkol sa mga kidnaper sa Mindanao. Sa Bulletin naman, tungkol sa mga Arabo. Ano hong gusto niyo?” The balding, middle-aged driver wrinkled his nose, thought for a moment, and replied, “Pareho na lang. Mas gusto kasi ni Misis ang good news.” The boy gave him a toothy grin and held out the two newspapers in exchange for the nine pesos the older man was fishing in his pocket. After their small trade, the sound of takatak chirped again alongside shouts of “Sigarilyo, Dyaryo, Candy kayo diyan!”, the car engines revving up for the green light hummed, and the first cries of a little girl by the name of Chelsea Ericka were heard by the ears of the earth.
At least this make-believe narrative is more believable than my mother‘s story.
My Mama used to tell me that she gave birth to me on an early Sunday morning, with the birds and the flowers dancing merrily in celebration of my coming to the world. When I asked her recently on how the Philippines was on the day of her labour, she said that all she could remember was that the boy band sensation was spreading and the movie of Robin Padilla and Ruffa Gutierrez were highly-anticipated by their fans. She then dismissed me by asking me to just google if I want more information (to which I promptly responded that newspapers of my day are on microfilms, and not on webpages.).
Thanks to the ever-amazing Rizal Library, I found out that I wasn’t born on a bright, Sunday morning but on a Monday morning with a heavy atmosphere looming over the country. People were scared of the rebels in Mindanao because they abducted a total of a hundred and twenty-six (126) men and women within nine months. Fifteen of the victims were killed in Basilan by the infamous group, Abu Sayyaf, while thirty-seven were still missing and presumed dead. (Feliciano, 1994) Next day’s news were not any better. Interpol reported that a Chinese military camp was being used as a shabu factory for the “products” regularly smuggled into the Philippines. This was discovered for NBI had been observing a naval ship’s activity of transferring goods. The Chinese navy officials who were arrested denied the accusations; however, the evidences gathered were too strong. (Burgos,1994)
Saddened by the headlines wrote by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), I sought out a newspaper that would bring me good news. During my search of positive information, I suddenly remembered Manila Bulletin (MB)’s tagline of “There is good news here.” True enough, the headline on that fateful day of October was generally more cheerful than PDI’s. United Nations ordered the Iraqi military to step off the Kuwait boundaries and never return again. The world’s largest organization gathered the heads of states to find a way to resolve the situation between the two countries. They came up with a resolution that declared that countries, including Iraq, must recognize the Kuwait’s sovereignty. (Reuter, 1994) The 18th of October’s headline was even more promising as it expressed that our country was cited by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bringing the inflation down by 8.7%. Former President Ramos and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also got commended by the organization. The Congress and Michel Camdessus, the visiting IMF official, both agreed that the simplification of tax base and the implementation of measures would continue the positive economic progress the country was experiencing. (Villa, 1994)
I don’t want to overanalyse and go all philosophical on the relevance of the headlines to my life yet; I cannot help but think of what my experience on hunting the news brought me. Reading the articles and processing all those names and events made me realize three things. First, I can look at life using two major points of view. I can live using lenses that would only make me see black and white, or I can paint the world with my palette of colours. I have the choice to create a fairy tale out of reality, or to let cynicism blur my dreams.
Second, the cycle of life is fleeting. Questions that I could not find the answers started popping into my mind. Who knows who died the exact minute I was born and who will be alive the exact moment I will sleep for eternity? Why did those innocent people have to die while their murderers live? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Why are those Chinese men wasting their precious time by destroying other peoples’ lives through shabu? Why can’t we live for the good things?
Lastly, it’s easy to dismiss other events when one cannot see how they connect to his life. But, as what our everyday interactions tell us, one’s actions can affect others. One’s story can be the happy ending of another. One’s words can bring meaning to another’s life. It never ceases to amaze me how all the people in this world are connected, but they continually snob each other and only care when death and other horrible things happen.
I’m glad I redid this birthday exercise because admittedly, my first paper wasn’t as fruitful as this. Maybe this is because I had more time to reflect and ponder on this assignment. Or maybe it was the timing. One little question though remains in my head as I am about to end this essay.
When will my life reach the headlines? (In my dreams.)
-----
Sources:
Burgos, R. (1994, October 18). Chinese military men smuggle shabu into rp. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. pp 1, 6.
Felicano , J. (1994, October 17). Kidnappers have grabbed 126 in mindanao since january. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. 1, 6.
Reuter. (1994, October 17). Un orders iraq troop pullback. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 8.
Villa, R. (1994, October 18). Imf official cites rp growth. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1,8.
