Bisdak Babbles

I don’t like to admit it. But like many people out there, I often complain or let the pessimist in me take over when things don’t go well. And many times, I come to think that it is OK to do so, until I see other people.

I got these photos from a forwarded email and I just have to share these with you. I’ve been going through hard times but after seeing these photos made me realize that despite the heavy loads I have to carry, at least I still have both of my hands to carry them…

Please click the Play button to start the slide show

People like this guy are really angels here on earth. If I were in his shoes, I hope I’m at least half as optimistic as he is. I don’t want to give up no matter how impossible it is. I want to continue believing that I am not alone as I go through life’s difficulties.

I was 14 years old when I first visited Manila. Having spent my life in a rural area, I first thought it was really an awesome place: tall buildings, wider roads, more cars, and there’s the train! So my family and I got on the LRT and enjoyed the ride until we passed through the stinking Pasig River.

Ten years later, I visited Manila again and thanks to those Eco-groups, the Pasig river was no longer as stinky as before, and there are now small parks along the river banks. However, Pasig River is STILL biologically dead. According to the Eco-group Sagip Pasig, out of 421 rivers in the Philippines, 50 are in critical condition and half are classed as dead. Is there still hope for these rivers?

I was not surprised to find out that 70% of the pollution load in Pasig River today comes from human waste, and I think it’s the same everywhere in the country. Around 150 tons of domestic waste and 75 tons of industrial waste are still being dumped everyday in the river! If only the government could be strict in implementing the laws on environment protection to those industrial establishments (including rejecting bribery), that’d be 75 tons decrease in daily waste!

Stopping (or even minimizing) domestic wastes might be a very difficult task. The Eco-groups have started environment-awareness programmes in the communities along the rivers, but, people who have empty stomachs are most concerned on survival.

So, if we are to bring these dead rivers back to life, we must also fight poverty.

REFERENCES:
Pasig now one of world’s most polluted rivers
Inquirer.net, Lawrence de Guzman

Pasig River - Life After Death
www.ausaid.gov.au

Swimming in the World’s Most Polluted River
Sunday Mirror, Sarah Arnold

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Last October 15th was Blog Action Day:
“On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.”

I saw this interesting article from Kerygma Magazine (May 2006 Issue):

A Closer Look at the Differences between Men and Women:

• Grapefruit scent will make middle aged women appear six years younger than men. The perception is not reciprocal and the grapefruit scent on men has no effect on women’s perception.

• Women blink twice as many times as men do.

• Women’s hair is about half the diameter of men’s hair.

• In adults, the average brain weight in men is about 11-12% more than the average brain weight in women.

• Tests show that women generally can recall lists of words or paragraphs of text better than men. On the other hand, men usually perform better on tests that require the ability to mentally rotate an image in order to solve a problem.

• Men produce twice as much saliva as women.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” or “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart“… What happened to these quotes now?

Man’s, or should we say mass media’s measure of beauty drove lots of women to plastic surgeries and cause many cases of anorexia. In short, it is spreading discontent and low self-esteem. Though I am far from becoming an anorexic, I admit I had also fallen to such a misleading perception. Of course I agree that pampering yourself from time to time is good… but beauty should always come from within.

I applaud Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Many women nowadays (of course, myself included) needs help in uncovering their real beauty. I have accessed few materials in their website but they sure are eye-openers.

So, how did our idea of beauty become so distorted? Here’s the answer:

Just couldn’t sleep without fulfilling at least one broken promise…

Child labor is a serious issue we have been facing in the Philippines. Despite the meager efforts of the government, children laborers are present almost everywhere, including sugar-cane plantations.

The GMA i-witness documentary: Uuwi na si Udong (Udong is going home) reveals the story of two minors , Udong and Toto, working as Sakadas (plantation worker). This documentary also gives us a glimpse of the harsh working conditions of the Sakadas.

Udong, around 15 years old, and Toto, 16 years old, were both compelled to work as Sakadas to pay off their parents’ debts. Udong’s father is also a Sakada while Toto had been sent alone, his father stayed at home. Everyday, they had to toil under the sun, for 12 hours.
To most of us, our consolations after a long, stressful day at work are good food and a cozy bed. But look at what they go home to: dirty, old container vans used as sleeping quarters which they fondly call as barracks (see picture on the left). Any mats? None. Pillows? A thin layer of folded clothes.

They had to work for 6 months without receiving even a peso. Everything they need, from food to clothing can be obtained from the store run by their employer. Of course, everything else would be deducted from their salary and each item obviously unreasonably-priced. If their family asks for cash advance, that too, would be deducted. Could they still get something at the end of their 6-month contract? Each worker’s 6-month hard labor is worth only Php14,280 (US$317). Please, do the math.

Toto got Php1,065 (US$22) after deducting his father’s debt, his family’s cash advances and his personal consumption. Bye bye to his dream of buying a TV set. But he was still glad. To him, at least he was able to help his family.

The plantation was in a different island so the workers had to take a barge to go home (see picture on the left). The travel might have took hours, the barge so crowded and dirty, but the approaching moment of being with their families again kept the workers in high spirits. What next? This story repeats itself… Udong might not like it… but he had no other choice but to go back to the plantation and work as a Sakada again.

Some of us might blame his parents for making him work. For me… it’s extreme poverty. Hunger does make people act irrationally. Who caused poverty, or who could help or at least initiate means to abolish poverty? We might have a common answer in mind.

But we couldn’t just waste time just blaming others, can we? There should be a little way that we could at least do. Any suggestion? How about something immaterial… a prayer? Yeah, prayer for Udong and his family today… then prayer for other Sakadas tomorrow? Probably a prayer for corrupt government officials?

This image was taken from Wikipedia
I have been watching a lot of i-witness documentaries, one of them was Sisid Barko which was shot in the Babuyan Islands. The place is really awesome… it’s paradise! Aside from its pristine white beaches and clear blue seas, humpback whales abound there. Moreover, there are dozens of sunken shipwrecks around the islands… ships from the time of the Galleon Trade and World War 2. Because of these, the Philippine Government planned to promote the Babuyan Islands as a diving spot. But, how long will it take to implement this, or will this ever be taken into action?

The Babuyan Islands may be rich in natural resources, but the people there are living in poverty. Farmers stopped farming because it’s very hard to transport their produce to a more populated area. Fishermen stopped fishing because fishes are becoming scarce due to dynamite usage. Years ago, the seas were turned into “gold mines” because the residents found gold and silver coins from the sunken shipwrecks. But when there’s no more coins, they turned to salvaging steel from five sunken shipwrecks that are all within humpback whales breeding grounds. To make the task easier, they use dynamites. This doesn’t only destroy the corals, but this scare away the whales! Plus, without the proper diving equipments, these people are always putting their lives on the line.

I couldn’t really blame the locals for doing this. They’re very desperate to survive and to get out of poverty that they’re not thinking about the effects of their actions. Promoting the place as a tourist spot would definitely generate jobs. Certainly the people then would also come to realize that preserving and protecting the sunken shipwrecks and the islands’ natural resources is definitely a good thing.

I hope the government would do what they are planning to do as soon as possible. Rescue Babuyan Islands now before it’s too late…