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Those who are planning to declare, or have already declared a fatwa on Chip Tsao, the Chinese columnist of HK Magazine who called the Philippines “a nation of servants” and several other very demeaning things, please rethink your move. His splattered blood and brains are not worth your effort. Thou shalt not kill.

The guy just happens to have no class, no breeding. He could be a survivor of amniocentecis, melamine milk poisoning, or a horrible childhood. Have mercy. We are a nation of compassionate carers, remember?

Tsao’s words about Filipinos translated as “patay-gutom,” the ultimate insult the “mata-pobre” haves could inflict on the have-nots. Oh, but we have not been diminished. Tsao and his HK Magazine have. I bet our humorists will have a field day making us laugh at Tsao and the Filipinos’ Hong Kong “masters.” As we say, if you can’t beat them, laugh at them. Filipinos are great at getting back by laughing their detractors to Kingdom Come.

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Think of the many possible gag scripts around the theme, “What did the ‘mata-pobre’ say to the ‘patay-gutom’ and what did the’ patay-gutom’ say to the ‘mata-pobre’?” Paging “Bubble Gang.”

The HK Magazine publisher has apologized, but the magazine will have a hard time living down the racist, class-ist slur that has been inflicted on Filipinos. They have poured a bucket of their own spit on themselves. Mwahaha.

Let’s put that behind us, okay? To declare Tsao persona non grata is just giving him importance. As the Ilonggos would sweetly say, “Waay gani nakalibot sa dapog.” I bet you don’t know that that means. But you would know an answer to the question, “Why did the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) cross the street?”

We are a smart, hardy people. We, the wretched of the earth, will inherit the earth, and this includes the Spratlys.

As we move toward Holy Week, it behooves us to remember the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) burdened by the cross of separation from their families and working in hostile environments and uncertainty in their jobs. Daily they are on a via crucis, on a via dolorosa.

Those of us who have never been OFWs should do the Stations of the Cross with the OFW theme. There are so many stories about the OFWs — their travails, their triumphs. Many have been brutally treated, betrayed, killed in foreign lands. Still millions continue to go out there to earn money for their families, to give back. They contribute much to the countries that hired them and have learned to love.

They do not deserve insults from ill-bred people like Tsao. And we must not fail them by speaking up on their behalf, by making them feel that they are not alone out there.

You see them in hotels and restaurants, in shops and ships and streets, in the most unlikely places in foreign lands. You meet them in airports and airplanes. You know they’ve come from somewhere you’ve not been to. You are amazed at their courage and their strength to carry the cross for family and country.

* * *

Natural farming seminar. Many readers sent e-mail after they read the column piece on organic/natural farming/sustainable agriculture and asked how and where they could learn the natural methods. Here’s something for those interested:

Susi Foundation Inc. will hold a seminar/workshop on April 14 to 16 on the essence and practice of sustainable agriculture. The short course is called Balanced EcoSystem Technologies (BEST). It covers the basic agricultural practices of different sustainable technologies that use materials and methods that are natural and in harmony with natural laws. The venue is Bahay Tuklasan, Barangay Behia, Tiaong, Quezon, which is a two-hour drive from Makati.

Topics to be discussed are: human development and eco-friendly agriculture (socio-cultural, economic, political, ecological and ethical aspects), organic farming (a balanced ecological system, value and effects of raising crops and livestock the natural way), the soil food web (the micro-allies of the botanical world), soil management (structure, environment and organization of soil), fertility and crop and livestock protection management (ecological standards of soil amendments and pest and disease control methods) and planning and organizing an ecologically balanced farm.

There will be workshop activities on composting, soil restructuring, nursery and grow-out phase, EM and concoction production, natural livestock feed production, and farm planning and budgeting.

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The BEST seminar/workshop is a hands-on training on the essence and practice of farming that is in harmony with nature and in unity with the biotic community to which we all, as humans, belong. For those of you who do not farm but do gardening as a hobby or would like to take part in protecting and conserving the natural resources of our only home, Planet Earth, what you will learn might help you live a purposeful, long and healthy life.

I know a group of farmers who attended the seminar and until now they are still raving and talking about it like it was one of the best things that happened to their lives as farmers. Many of the things they learned are not taught in agriculture school.

download The Steam Experiment dvd For directions and reservation contact Sr. Isyang at The Susi Foundation Inc., +6342 5456359, +63928 2612952, +63915 286722. Or you could write to my email address and I will forward the info.

3 Responses to “We are not diminished”

• 1
  Dr. Antonio Gestosani
  April 3rd, 2009 08:11

  As we work in a foreign land, we get questioned and sometimes under-rated as less qualified; but take it in stride, and prove them wrong. It worked for me and take my word for it. And believe me, when I get criticized, I take it as a positive criticism and work to better myself. You get better respect when you face your adversary squarely.
  Don’t be a “nation of whiner”. Tsao’s comments about the Philippines as the “nation of servants” is hard to pass, but my friends, truth sometimes hurts.
  Take the G20 protest in London. This group blames the world leaders for the global economic meltdown and causing recession and depression all over the world, but there violent protest is uncalled for. Use your brain and not your fist to solve your problems.
  Let me quiz you:
  Why many Filipinos leave the country?
  Answer: Unemployment.
  Whose fault is that?
  Answer: Your leaders
  What is your solution? YOU THE PEOPLE IS THE ANSWER.
  Next election, reject the money of the candidates who buys your votes. Get it!
  GOOD LUCK!
• 2
  danny salvador
  April 6th, 2009 02:41

  Nice one Doc!
  But I beg to disagree to your premise that the reason why many of us find employment abroad is because we cannot find one at home.
  We decide to work abroad to earn more and because we are capable and qualified. Do you think that prestigious companies all over the world would hire us if we state in our resume that our reason for working abroad is because we cannot find work in the Philippines?
  Besides, I don’t think that working abroad is a bad thing at all. Even people from advanced countries like the US, UK, canada, and australia are also working abroad. We have a lot of these nationalities here in the middle east.
  Having said these, I agree that most of our counties’ problems are the fault of our leaders and it is up to us the PEOPLE to put a stop on this by choosing wisely come 2010.
• 3
  Dr. Antonio Gestosani
  April 6th, 2009 20:16

  Well said Danny.
  We can can bring CHANGE in the Philippines by reaching to our friends and relatives. Tell them that we care for them and they have our support from abroad.
  No more “POLITICAL PATRONAGE”, and no more “VOTE BUYING”.
  Let’s get involve in the political process; and put honest and hard working politicians back in the government.

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