> I'm curious where you got this Guy. But it truly mirrors the sad state of > affairs in our beloved native land. Thanks. I'll forward it to equally > patriotic countrymen. --- Nanding > > Charles Rodriguez wrote: > > > My Fellow Filipinos, > > When I was a small boy, the Philippine Peso was P7 to the US$. The > president was Diosdado Macapagal. Life was simple. Life was easy. > > My father was a farmer. My mother kept a small sari-sari store where > our neighbors bought sang-perang asin, sang-perang bagoong, sang-perang > suka, sang-perang toyo at pahingi ng isang butil na bawang. Our > backyard had kamatis, kalabasa, talong, ampalaya, upo, bataw and okra. > Our silong had chickens and we had a pig, a dog and a cat. Of course, > we lived on the farm. > > During rainy seasons, my father caught frogs at night which my mother > made into batute (stuffed frogs) or just plain fried. During the day, > he caught hito and dalag from his rice paddocks which were usually > served inihaw. During dry seasons, we relied on the chickens, > vegetables, bangus, tuyo and tinapa. Every now and then, there was pork > and beef from the town market. > > Life was so peaceful, so quiet. No electricity, no TV, just the radio > for Tia Dely, Roman Rapido, Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang and Tawag ng > Tanghalan. Most days on weekends, I played with my neighbors (who were > all my cousins) - tumbang-preso, taguan-pung, piko, luksong-lubid at iba > pa. I don't know about you but I miss those days. These days we face > the TV, the Internet, e-mail, CD-Roms, newspapers, magazines, grocery > catalogs or drive around in our cars. > > The peso is a staggering (and incredible!) P50.50 to the US$. Most > people can't have fun anymore. Life has become a battle. We live to > work. We work to live. Life is not easy. I was in Saudi Arabia in > 1983. It was lonely, difficult and scary. It didn't matter if you were > a man or a woman, you were a target for rape. Salaries were cheap and > vacations few and far between. If the boss didn't want you to go on > holiday, you didn't. They had your passport. Oh, and the agency > charged you almost 4 months of your salary which meant that if you had > to borrow at 20% per month, your first year's pay is all gone even > before you earn it. > > The Philippines used to be one of the most important countries in Asia. > Before and during my college days, many students from neighboring Asian > countries, e.g. Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China went to the > Philippines to get their diplomas. Up until 1972, President Marcos was > one of the most admired presidents in the world and the Peso had kept > its value - P7 to the US$ - until I finished college. > > Today, the Philippines is famous as the "Housemaid" capital of the > world. It ranks very high among the "Cheapest Labor" capitals of the > world, too. We have maids in Hong Kong, laborers in Saudi Arabia, > dancers in Japan, migrants and TNTs in Australia and the USA and all > sorts of other "tricky" jobs in other parts of the globe. > > "Quo Vadis" Pinoy? Is that a wonder or a worry? Are you proud to be a > Filipino? Or does it still matter anymore? When you see the Filipino > flag and hear the Pambansang Awit, do you still feel a sense of pride? > Or a sense of defeat and uncertainty? If only things could change for > the better ... Hang on, this is a job for Superman! Or who you gonna > call? Ghostbusters! Joke. Right? > > This is one of our problems. To Filipinos, it's always a joke. We say, > I love the Philippines. I am proud to be a Filipino. I send you a > joke, you forward it to everyone in your directory - if it kills the > Internet. But I send you a note on how to save our country and ask you > to forward it ... what do you do? Chuck it in the bin. > > I want to help our housemaids in Hong Kong and our laborers in Saudi > Arabia. I want to help our dancers in Japan and our TNTs in America and > Australia. I want to save the people of the Philippines. But I cannot > do it alone. I need your help and everyone else's. > ----------------------------------------------- > So please, forward this email to your friends and visit the website: > http://www.geocities.com/PilipinasKongMahal > ------------------------------------------------ > > If you say, you love the Philippines ... don't just say it, do it! And > if you don't agree with me, say something anyway. Indifference is a > crime all its own. Regards, Michael Vincent Pozon - CIS/CNO/CNI Tel # (+65) 7806569 Pager # 95493318 Mobile/Text # (+65) 94750962 _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
