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AWESTERNER
LOOKS
Al THE
PHILIPPINES
Few foreigners have grown to
appreciate this island na tion
as much as the former Manila
office manager of the Plain
Truth. Here is his personal
message to al/ our readers
worldwide.
by
Arthur Docken
T
HE OPPRESSIVE
tropical heat
slowly diminishes when the
sun plunges below the hori–
zon of the South China Sea in a
blaze of golden splendor. The scene
has made the sunsets of Manila fa–
mous. A myriad of lights from giant
neon signs to the ftickering candles
of roadside vendors bring the city to
life again. And the Filipinos take to
the streets and parks to enjoy the
refreshing cool of evening. Laughter
and happy, friendly chatter fill the
air. Children play with excited
squeals of delight. Television sounds
ftoat out of open windows, jeepneys
honk and vendors hawk their wares.
Sound, light, odors - all blend to
paint an impressionistic picture of
city life.
Beyond the confinement of the
cities, life is less hurried. Surround–
ings are quieter. Here and there is a
grove of mango or bamboo; grass
and reed houses stand on bamboo
stilts surrounded by rice paddies.
People also gather in these small
communities. but the conversations
are more subdued. Barrio life is less
hectic. and an overpowering tran–
quility forces the barrio folk to re–
spect the peace and guiet.
As the night deepens. a beautiful
silence prevails. occasionally punc–
tuated by the hushed cry of a child
8
in its sleep. The far-away bark of a
dog and the muffied thunder of dis–
tant surf pounding on the sand–
rimmed shore can be heard.
The evening air becomes heavy
with the scent of tropical ftowers ,
and the brilliant full moon bathes
the scene with a mystical, liquid-like
glow. On nights like this, the aver–
age Filipino is at peace with the
world.
Anyone who has ever experienced
these phenomena will never forget,
and many Westerners envy the Fili–
pinos and their slower paced way of
life.
But most news stories emanating
from the Philippines emphasize re–
bellion, religious war, martial rule, a
high crime rate, disastrous weather,
a sagging economy and crop fail–
ures. Such accounts can be mis–
leading and miss the true
perspective of life in this lovely
country and the feeling and charac–
ter of most of its prívate citizens.
How a country survives the trials
imposed upon it by nature and man
depends upon the character of its
people. And these "little people"
have survived. This is probably true
of what you read concerning most
underdeveloped nations of the
world. These nations remain distinct
peoples, proud of their heritage and
culture even after centuries of eco–
nomic and military invasion. After
every sweeping famine, plague. di–
sastrous ftood or typhoon, they pick
up the pieces and somehow go on
living, stoically perhaps. without
many luxuries, but with a strength
and determination that is missing
from many Western peoples today.
The vast majority of Filipinos are
of Malay stock. with the typical yel–
low-brown coloring. There are doz–
ens of ditferent tribes - sorne tall ,
others short, dark skinned and light
skinned, curly haired and straight
haired. ln addition, there are Ne–
gritos, similar in size and character–
istics to the African pygmy. who live
in the mountainous north. There are
a lso the Igorots - sorne startlingly
like the American Indian. Filipinos
speak severa! languages and at least
eighty different dialects. But the
government is encouraging a com–
mon Filipino tongue to unify the
people. They have their ditferences
of opinion and interests. Sometimes
the differences fiare up into open
warfare, but they are Filipinos first
as they face tria! and tragedy to–
gether.
Nor does this imply that real trou–
bles do not exist. The problems they
face are staggering in proportion to
their ability to salve them. Unfortu–
nately, while many of the problems
are caused by the forces of modero
technology and international eco–
nomics. these people have limited
means of combating the problems.
Westemers have given a Western
way of üfe to the small nations with–
out giving them the depth of educa–
tion, skill and background they need
to cope with such a way of life. The
wealth of technological knowledge
accumulated over centuries by
Western nations is sadly lacking in
peoples who were peasants and/or
nomads a few generations ago. But
technological know-how and finan–
cia! wealth are necessary to sustain
an economy during periods of read–
justment. These things the Filipinos
lack.
The Spanish dominated the Fili–
pino people for three hundred fifty
years and trained only a select few
to master Western methods of
science and technology. Near the
turn of the century, the United
States gained possession of the is–
lands. Shiploads of American teach–
ers and missionaries poured into the
islands. American schools, busi–
nesses and government structures
were introduced , and by the middle
1930s, many felt that the Filipinos
were ready for self-rule. However. it
wasn't until after World War
Ir
that
they gained their independence for
the first time in four hundred years.
Devastated by war and the trauma
of independence. the Filipinos be–
gan to rebuild their nation. Now.
nearly thirty years later, they have
made sorne progress but still do not
enjoy economic stability.
Because they were a poor people,
PLAIN TAUTH June-July 1974