Why are we ‘a nation of servants’?
Features
A lot of Filipinos were agitated from Chip Tsao’s column. How will you respond?
From the Hindsight Column of the
By F. Sionil José
Here we go again, some inconsequential columnist in Hong Kong takes a cheap shot at our unhappy country, calls us “a nation of servants” and immediately an uproar, and magma feelings of hurt are unleashed. Editorials, columnists, politicians are outraged — they demand apology as if one would really salve the bone-deep insult. It was the same sometime back when an English publisher defined “Filipina” as a housemaid. Such insults hurt profoundly but the pain fades quickly and soon after all that enraged outburst, we settle down to the same complacency, we continue sending more of our women abroad to be raped by Arabs, demeaned by Malaysians and Chinese, heckled by the Brits. What has our sense of outrage brought us?
Go to Hong Kong, to Singapore. Visit the Star Ferry environs in Hong Kong or Lucky Plaza, and Singapore’s Orchard St. And there, on Sundays you will see them, hundreds of Filipino domestics, yak-yaking, socializing on the sidewalk, having a pleasant respite from their work.
To the visitors, tourists and the natives, they are a piteous sight, illustrating so clearly and so well how this country has sank. As a Filipino, having witnessed such, I am utterly shamed. I do not blame our poor women for their sorry condition, for I know only too well their plight is the only way by which they can help their families at home and survive.
It is such a boring cliché now, but back to the not-so-distant past: Filipinas was the second richest country in the region, next only to Japan; our universities attracted students from all over Asia, and we had the best professionals, the most modern stores and hospitals.
And what was Hong Kong then? There were slums crawling up those hills on Victoria island, and slums all over Kowloon. Singapore as an English naval base was like old Binondo, with its small squalid shops and equally small houses.
But look at Singapore and Hong Kong now, then look at our country and people.
Sure, you can find in Makati magnificent mansions, the biggest luxury cars, the tony restaurants, skyscrapers. But elsewhere the ugly sprawl of slums, the very poor who now eat only once a day. We must ask ourselves that question, why we became “the hewers of wood and drawers of water” of the world. What happened to us, a very talented and heroic people with a revolutionary tradition?
Once we have answered this question, then we should no longer wonder why there is a continuing diaspora of our brightest people, of our women. It is then the time for us to be truly enraged — not at that Hong Kong columnist — but at the creators of this dismal miasma we call Filipinas. Do not kill the messenger who comes to us to tell the horrid truth about us. Ingest his message, then turn all that outrage, that vehemence, to the Filipinos who turned this beautiful country into the garbage dump of the region: the oligarchs, the Spanish mestizos, the Chinese Filipinos and the treasonous Indios who sent their money abroad instead of investing it here in industries to create jobs for our people. Then it is time for us to rail and condemn the crooked politicians who are the allies of these wretched rich who permitted the relentless hemorrhage of this nation’s capital.
Revolutionary tradition? Ask those rebels why, after 40 years, these leeches are still feasting on our blood!
April 6th, 2009 at 04:36 AM
I agree. This writer would be unknown to us if we had just ignored him. Let him call us names. If we don’t agree even in the slightest, we wouldn’t be this affected. If he had said we were a nation of smelly unhygienic barbarians, it would just roll off. The truth is, we do have a lot of maids. There is nothing wrong with being a maid, but there is something very wrong with a country that allows maids to be abused and mistreated. (Notice. I say country and not government. It is everyone’s responsibility to make sure we uphold our dignity as persons.)
Let’s put all the anger into an united effort to put this country back in order.
April 6th, 2009 at 05:38 AM
Upon reading this article, this article caused a complete agitation to us. To answer the question on how we must respond to the article is simple yet complicated. I will be COMPLETELY HURT at first because it is CERTAINLY TRUE that we are “A NATION OF SLAVES” and that is our way to admit this fact from Hong Kong.
The only thing that lacks in our country is EFFICIENCY. EFFICIENCY, therefore, gives his countrymen an equal footing to serve his country regardless of his jobs so that he will not go out and work overseas unless we work with a company that can assign us somewhere but not this way. We only know is nursing, domestic helper, caregivers, entertainers, call center agents, and celebrities here in our country.
This simply means that we do not love our country due to our courses and jobs existing here. We need more jobs that suit the courses of the graduates and the expected graduates.
April 6th, 2009 at 06:55 AM
This is the purpose of the article of Chip Tsao. He didn’t intend it to be an act of racial discrimination or anything. What we did (rally, forbidding him to step in our country unless he gives public apology, and Unifil cooperating with the outrage of the Filipino’s) just proved the appellation given to us. I was really looking for someone who wills give his/her own insight about this article that understands what does this really mean, that this is not to degrade us but to hit us and wake us up. I’m thankful for Chip Tsao’s article, (what will he gain in discriminating us?)And thanks to this man Mr. Jose. Hope we Filipino’s would just stop and think intensely if ever they had read this article regarding Chip Tsao’s article. We don’t have anything to prove and take back that appellation unless we stop talking and acting mindlessly but prove that we are a nation of “fine wisdom”.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
It’s kinda odd to see Pilipinos, or in this case Filipinos, get irritated on insults when they’re supposed to be resistant to such. Maybe they get more insults abroad than they do from so-called geniuses who think that they are blessed to be part of a rich society who had people did the hard work for them.
And coming from a national artist in literature. It’s sad that I’m not seeing anything positive in his writing but more on anger towards his own kind.
The articles here have been hurtful because they’re all true and yet does it really change anything? Would a politician see all these and somehow have a change of heart?..Do they even read the commentary portion of the newspaper?
How do I react with the “nation of slaves” title given to us from a future world power. At first, I am annoyed by it then later..what would that do to me? Me getting angry over it won’t stop actual thieves stealing from the innocent or would give me a better career than the one I didn’t study for.
And now more un-educated people from them so-called power nations are laughing along with what the HK columnist has said and humbly apologized for..It’s just like Singapore’s history happening to us..only that our president isn’t mourning for it’s people nor does the people with the potential for change.. That doesn’t stop the nurses from thinking twice or for more call center jobs from opening.
It’s just another insult from a arrogant nation and just another page in the newspaper that them politician wouldn’t read.
And still I ask what can I do in all of this? This country hasn’t sink to the seas yet
April 6th, 2009 at 02:37 PM
“What happened to us, a very talented and heroic people with a revolutionary tradition?”-F.Sionil Jose
First of all what is a servant? There are various of definitions, from layman terms to literary to Biblical:
servant, n. (OE. servant,servaunt, F. servant, a person who is employed by another for menial offices, or for other labor, and is subject to his command; a person who labors or exerts himself for the benefit of another, his master or employer; a subordinate helper. A yearly hired servant. Lev. xxv. 53.
Men in office have begun to think themselves mere agents and servants of the appointing power, and not agents of the government or the country.
D. Webster.
In a legal sense, stewards, factors, bailiffs, and other agents, are servants for the time they are employed in such character, as they act in subordination to others. So any person may be legally the servant of another, in whose business, and under whose order, direction, and control, he is acting for the time being.
2. One in a state of subjection or bondage.
Thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt.
Deut. v. 15.
A professed lover or suitor; a gallant. (Obs.)
In my time a servant was I one.
Chaucer.
Servant of servants, one debased to the lowest condition of servitude. — Your humble servant, or Your obedient servant, phrases of civility often used in closing a letter.
Our betters tell us they are our humble servants, but understand us to be their slaves.
Swift.
servant , v. t. To subject.(Obs.) Shak.
But when Chip Tsao said we are a “nation of servants” it only has one meaning:DOMESTIC HELPERS. And he even mentioned his own brown servant and the threats he lashed at her. This is true. It’s like saying Philippines is a country of white beaches. The bad thing about us is–we react impulsively; we react without using that gray matter between our ears because we don’t read and ponder. We just read and react.
April 6th, 2009 at 03:39 PM
And we think that because we are not domestic helpers in Hongkong we are not part of this “nation of servants”. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We. Are.
That’s why John Donne said in “Meditation XVII”: No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” And the Nobel Prize winner novelist Ernest Hemingway echoes this theme in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.
Every insult that each Filipina domestic helper has to swallow each “hellish” second in Hongkong, Singapore, and elsewhere around the globe must also diminish the entire Filipino race. Let us not send to know (Chip Tsao) for whom the bell tolls, because it tolls for all of us. The different nationalities are tolling the bell on us. French. American. Chinese. Singaporean. Indian. They are banging the bells right beside our ears and all we do is react and then we go back to our complacent and normal lives again, waiting for another bell toll so we can react again, and the cycle continues.
What’s wrong with Chip Tsao? Nothing. He simply wrote what is already a global matter of fact. We don’t need a Chip Tsao article to know this. Come on! What is wrong with us is we keep sending domestic helpers abroad. Come on! Let us not overstate the obvious because the more we
do it the more we’ll become not just a “nation of servants” but also a nation of nincompoops.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:26 PM
The article was insulting because it came from abroad, period. However, would it have been less insulting if it came from any other local newscaster or journalist? No! Do you remember the article by Malu Fernandez “From Boracay to Greece”? It also had the same outburst. So what are we to do? Stop women from going to Hong Kong and let their families starve? Or entertainers from going to Japan for the same reason? As average Filipinos, we know the hardships, economically, in our country and I don’t personally fault them for the decision to go abroad for “greener pastures” because their qualifications, for the most part, can only afford them those jobs at those rates of income – even lower for the same jobs in the Philippines. For more qualified people, like teachers, who demoted themselves to be domestic helpers in Hong Kong in exchange for lower salaries in the Philippines, those decisions are still worth respecting. Noting that things seemed to be justified, is there NOTHING wrong in our country? Oh HELL THERE IS! BIG TIME! It’s just that, our analysts are just so damn good they haven’t figured it out. Or our distinguished officials are just so damn comfortable, they just won’t do anything about it.
However, it is our also government’s duty to uphold and protect our boundaries – or there will not be any country that we can call our own – whether that territory includes the Spratlys or not is moot and academic. Our Government’s stand of claim to these “shattered rocks in the South China Sea” is the actual point of this Chip Tsao’s disgust, notwithstanding, he couldn’t justify his disgust maybe because our country’s stand of claim is right! And thus he turns to our Kababayans – to spring an issue that would tear us Filipinos apart…and it is working. So allow me to ask this question. Why would we, Filipinos, allow this so-called journalist, who cannot even stand and substantiate his own argument on the Spratlys, to demean our hard-working Kababayans in their country? And more so, why do we have such malice at each other that causes us to break and shatter?
April 6th, 2009 at 11:24 PM
What differs a maid from a nurse? The title? The regulated profession nurses belong to? The pay? The status? The respect nursing profession gets?
Why not the same respect and recognition be given “those maids?” Is it because it is a menial job? Is it because it is servitude at the humblest?
Pictures of pitiful scenes of maids being abused and raped run in our minds? Or the sweeping derogatory comments affect us all? Men and professional women alike?
Do not the virtues of being hardworking, love for family, perseverance and sacrificial spirit be recognized both in the professional and the lowly maid?
Why the discrepancy in attitude to both?
Here, Filipinos are tagged as “the most progressive ethnic group in north america”, hard working people, smart, jovial, happy people. Whether working in Macdonalds, or as a caregiver, or as a server in DQ, cashier in Walmart or as a nurse and technicians in provincial hospitals, an engineer in the oilfields of Alberta, Filipinos are recognized as professional people in whatever job they may be in.
Hmmm…in the Emirates )where I worked in the military hospital for 18 years) Filipinos own the top jobs, if qualified. Yes, horror stories like that of Flor Contemplacion abound. A friend here told of a personal story of a close friend belonging to a well-off family in the Philippines going back home in pieces. Yes, she “chose” to work for a family in Saudi Arabia despite being university trained as a nurse.
Now what do we do about it? Protest in indignation everytime there’s a put down on our “maids” abroad? Take personal slight to articles written by one Tsao? Create a governmental uproar until we manage to bleed an apology from a writer who is “just doing his job?”
I have a friend who owns an agency there in the Philippines. I asked him why for a pittance, people choose to leave their families back home and go somewhere they will be treated rubbisly as “maids”. He answered unequivocably, “it puts food on the table.”
For the father or a mother who needs to put food on the table, do they put indignation first on articles like Tsao’s or food on the table for their children?
For me the better question is: What future generation the Philippines is raising with children being left alone to grow themselves up while their parents work abroad as nurses, engineers, factory workers, maids.
Did we ever stop to think about that? What kind of novel will a “Rizal” write on Filipinas stepping out of their country to work as servants in a foreign land?
What kind of revolution will an “Apolinario Mabini” mastermind to stop the exodus of our women to do the most “lowly” jobs?
Let me tell you, my feelings are ambivalent. Until the time our people will pull together to come up with a government that looks after its people, I say “what the hey” to a “Tsao”. Until then, I salute this fortified women for putting food on the table even if it hurts their whole being. And I don’t care less how other people see them strolling on Hongkong parks, that’s the onlookers problem, not the unsung heroes of their families.
As I write this, my tears are rolling down my cheeks. I too have indignation over the matter, but one day, one day, we will rise up again as a nation. Let us do our part by raising our children well, and go back, go back to our native land and bring forth change.
Oh, btw, that is why I didn’t teach my kids to do the “mano”. It is a reminder of the friar’s abasement of our people. I teach my kids to shake hands strongly as an equal to anybody.
April 7th, 2009 at 02:58 AM
Paano kaya nagsimula ang mga pagpapadala ng mga DH?
Sinu-sino kaya ang unang DH? Ano na kaya ang nangyari sa mga pamilya nila ngayon? Ano kaya ang masasabi nila tungkol sa kanilang mga sarili? Yung mga anak nila ay ganun din ba, DH? O mga apo na nila ang DH ngayon? Sana naman hindi para sulit ang sinakripisyo nila. Buti pa ang slavery noong Amistad e kasi talagang mga prisoners sila, wala silang freedom. E etong mga DH natin kusang nagpapaAMISTAD.
April 7th, 2009 at 03:01 AM
masakit man tanggapin pero ito naman talaga ang katotohanan eh..hindi pa kaya ma insulto si Madam President nito?! i wonder ano kaya ang naging reaction ni madam..
April 7th, 2009 at 03:12 AM
I hope F. Sionil Jose is not suggesting rebellion… The comment made by Chip Tsao is truly degrading..and its the truth. The painful truth! Does it make me furious? Should I be angry at “this government” or to whoever creates this “dismal miasma”? No. I don’t know how “getting angry at whoever or whatever we want to be angry at” would help.
The “ugliness of our nation” did not happen over night. It is a product of..what.(?!) hundreds of years of cultural evolution?! So, I don’t think change will happen in a snap. Is there hope? Yes! I believe there is..101%! The fact that we have this site and people are responding…it’s something. Change will start here. It may take a while..but it will come. There are no quick fixes in life. No overnight solution. So, what should we do? I think we just need to be patient. Let us refrain from getting discouraged. Let us work in our country and for our country. Let us work with dignity and honor. Let us work for God. Advocate for this movement. Take steps (even small ones). And most importantly PRAY!
It is “we” who turned this country into what it is now..and it is only “we” who can turn things around. The change we envision may not happen in our lifetime ..but it will in the generations to come. Kaya dapat talaga ang tutukan natin ay ang mga youth natin. Sila talaga and pag-asa ng bayan!
April 7th, 2009 at 04:33 AM
The one thing we battle with are perceptions. Perceptions of what is good vs what is bad, what is right from what is wrong, and the conclusions that we draw based on these perceptions.
People like Chip Tsao and the American who referred to a waitress as a ‘monkey’, continue to get away with these because we let them get away with it. We are too accomodating with the whims and desires of foreigners who prostitute our women, who hire them as domestics, and for whom the government will not intervene unless direct pressure is placed on them.
The POEA was set up to protect the rights of OFW’s to ensure that their employment conditions were safe, and yet, how many Filipinas are raped in the Middle East and stay silent about it because they know the embassies will not help them.
The principles of ‘maka Diyos’ and maka tao’ seemed to be slowly fading over the horizon. It only does this because we let it happen. It’s time to take our history in our hands and say this far and no more. It’s time to build a clean slate to wrought out corruption and return an sense of dignity and honour to all those who serve either professionally or voluntarily.
As one nation, the Filipino can achieve an amazing contribution to our region and to our world, but it starts at home.
April 7th, 2009 at 05:28 AM
I think its good and healthy na paminsan-minsan makakabasa or makakarinig tayo ng mga ganung remarks galing sa ibang lahi. Para naman magising tayo. Feeling kasi natin, ok lang tayo. Cguro okay lang yun kung nag-iisang bansa at nag-iisang lahi lang tayo sa mundo. Hindi eh! Natural lang talaga na may pupuna. Ganon naman talaga di ba? Eh kung yun ang tingin ng mundo sa atin..yun na yun. period. Pwera na lang kung di talaga totoo. Eh, totoo naman. Whatever Chip Tsao’s motive was..it doesn’t change the fact that we are what some nations think we are. Wag na sanang defensive. Let us take it is a challenge. Let us show the world we have the capacity to change and then let’s do our part. Sino bang nagsabi tapos na ang laban? Its not over yet..we are still running the race.
April 7th, 2009 at 08:07 AM
To grasp the spirit of Sionil Jose’s words read his other writings. Marami na po siyang sulat from fiction to nonfiction available po sa Powerbooks, NBS, at Solidaridad.
May kasabihan nga:The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Kunin lang natin ang spirit that gives life and fuels our nationalism when we read Sionil Jose and NOT the letter that kills or that one which suggests rebellion (according to your response as a reader)
Mas mainam po talaga basahin natin mga iba niya pang isinulat so we’ll know where he’s coming from.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Sorry for those who disagreed with F. Sionil Jose. But he is undeniably one of the few sages left in our country. WE SHOULD LISTEN to what he has to say because he saw the Philippines in its glory days (1960s) and back. He saw how our neighboring nations rose up one by one until we got left behind.
He is angry. But one thing we must notice is that this anger comes from his seeing our country sinking to dismal depths of a social time bomb without seeing any remedy. It has become worse, and here in the Brown Raise we say, WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
So I shall try to reply on each of the comments that struck me:
Soc_JP_Canete:
F. Sionil Jose is not ‘tearing us Filipinos apart’. Truth is a painful thing especially if you say it directly and without holding anything back. You exclaimed: “So what are we to do? Stop women from going to Hong Kong and let their families starve? Or entertainers from going to Japan for the same reason?” The thing about the statement that disturbed me is how it implies that we can never do anything to regain the honor and dignity we have before. The question above implies a loss of self-determination and ownership for the future. Let me tell you something about our Asian neighbors. INDIA is still going through poverty and famine brought upon by the British Raj. CAMBODIA when it was the killing fields, would exile all the people fighting for human rights a decade ago. KOREA, when they went through tremendous pain after World War II, Koreans were forced to work as overseas workers in Germany. What happened to these countries? These overseas workers, exiles, and refugees really had no choice but to leave. But they all came back. Why? They loved their country. And right now these nations are rising. WHATS THE MOST PAINFUL in all of this. The FILIPINO MIDDLE CLASS, those who can eat three times a day, instead of risking and dreaming for their country, would remain blind into seeing how BLESSED WE ARE WITH OUR LAND but instead would leave it be and search for greener pastures abroad, while the country wears away with each passing moment as it suffers from BRAIN DRAIN. This is the question we have to ask, and we do not demean our OFWs in any way. But ARE WE CONTENT TO BE LIKE THIS? ARE WE CONTENT WITH OUR COUNTRY HANGING BY THE THREAD BECAUSE OF thousands of our DOMESTIC HELPERS keeping our country afloat? ARE WE CONTENT THAT THEY LEAVE OUR COUNTRY FOR GOOD AND BE ABUSED? In a country, is this even normal? I don’t think so. A country cannot be sustained by outside forces. It must be self-sustaining from within. The problem is beyond politics, beyond government forms, beyond anything else. Because as F. Sionil Jose once said, “WE ARE OUR OWN ENEMY.” Gone are our colonizers. The government has been like this for decades. What is the problem? It’s us. We don’t love the Philippines as much as an Indian loves India, or a Singaporean loves Singapore, or a Chinese loves China. They loved their countries while they were the BASKETCASES of the world.
Of course we should defend our OFWs if they are being demeaned. But more than that, it is time for us to realize that Chip Tsao won’t be the last. And like what F. Sionil Jose said, we can be angry now as what happened when we were being humiliated before. But anger is different from pain. We should walk the talk. Galit ka ba o punit? Galit ka ba dahil sa mga banyagang humuhusga sa atin o punit ka ba dahil alam mo na ito’y totoo at dapat mo itong baguhin? Those are two different reactions that we should choose. Me, I would choose the latter.
We can choose to squeeze Chip Tsao to apologize all we want (and he did, without any remorse for what he did) but the thing is Sionil Jose is right. The problem is the government, the apathetic rich people… but more than anything, it is you and me. Rizal said, “Tal pueblo, tal gobyerno.” Whatever the people are, so will the government be. Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror and think. Remember what Rizal once said, “There are no tyrants where there are no slaves (WALANG NANG-AAPI KUNG WALANG NAGPAPA-API).
Rizal did not demand respect when he was being called a ‘monkey’ (worse than being called a ‘servant’). He earned it by being the best in his field. WHat is his motivation? He loved his country. He was broken for the Philippines.
This article is not to make us “break and shatter”. Rather this article should force us to look in the mirror and see us for who we really are. F. Sionil Jose may have given up. But should we? WHEN DOES A NATION BEGIN? It begins when people begin to have a stake for the country’s future. It begins when WE SWALLOW EVERYTHING, with all our country’s warts and faults and say that we have a problem. Only then can we be truly healed.
Miraluz: It is indeed admirable to see you having a heart for our country, however I do not see any problem with doing “MANO” with our elders. Let us be careful not to lose our Asian-ness–Filial Piety as our Oriental counterparts would say–respect for elders remain deep in our Asian roots. To shake hands with an elder for me is a loss of respect to the person who held more years of experience than the child. It’s like what the liberals are practicing in America–to not call your Mom ‘Mom’ but call her by her first name. Doing MANO is beyond friar influence. It is respect to one’s lolo and lola and to one’s nanay and tatay. Shouldn’t that be a heritage worth passing on?
April 7th, 2009 at 10:34 AM
If I would be given a chance to have dinner with F.S. Jose (or Frankie as what his fellow novelists fondly calls him), I would ask him a thousand questions. And I would also tell him that the reason why we are a country of servants is this: we don’t read. And I think he would agree with me because he wrote this in “Why We Are Poor”, p. 289: Today, I am addressing Filipinos who have very little sense of the past, who are still in the process of shaping a national identity. AND THE SUPREME IRONY IS THAT WE HAVE A NATIONAL HERO WHO WAS A NOVELIST BUT WE DO NOT READ HIS NOVELS, EITHER IN OUR OWN LANGUAGES OR IN THE BORROWED IDIOM WHICH I USE.
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Walang epekto lahat ng ginagawa natin hanggat di natin basahin ang Noli at El Fili.
Di tayo nationalistic hanggat di natin binasa ang Noli at El Fili. Kasi buhay, dugo, pawis ang binuhos ni Jose Rizal sa dalawang aklat na ito. Kaya siya binaril sa Bagumbayan dahil sa mga aklat na ito. Kaya servants pa rin tayo. IF We don’t read Rizal’s works, WE won’t understand nationalism at all.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:10 PM
permission to crosspost an entry from jessica zafra’s blog:
Weaponizing literature
We bemoan the general lack of interest in books in this country—my book publisher weeps at the statistics—but we forget that the Revolution that ended 300 years of Spanish rule was triggered by a pair of novels. Yes, books. The first is a scathing social satire, the second a revenge drama reminiscent of The Count of Monte Cristo (and according to Benedict Anderson, influenced by the scandalous avant-garde novel A rebours (Against Nature) by Joris-Karl Huysmans). The colonial authorities knew this, so they shot Jose Rizal for writing Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
In France, critics of President Nicolas Sarkozy have weaponized The Princess of Cleves, the 17th century novel written by Madame de La Fayette (probably with a committee). Sarkozy brought it on himself. Two years ago, he criticized the ’sadist or idiot’ who included questions about The Princess of Cleves in a civil service exam. (The novel is required reading in French schools.) Sarkozy was trying to sound populist/anti-elitist/cute; it got him a few laughs. (Allo, we know about playing to the masses. We elected Erap Estrada.)
Last year Sarkozy mocked the novel again, adding that he had ’suffered’ through it as a schoolboy. Most schoolchildren past and present may have felt the same way, but the French are dead serious about their culture. Suddenly The Princess of Cleves has become a symbol of political resistance. There’s a new film adaptation. University teachers and students on strike have organized marathon readings of the novel. The book sold out at the Paris book fair. There are ‘I’m reading The Princess of Cleves’ buttons.
You have to hand it to the French: who else says Frak You by reading a 17th century novel?
During the Lenten holidays let’s remember that our national hero was a fiercely anticlerical writer. Perhaps it’s time to take another crack at the Noli and Fili.
(end of quote)
April 7th, 2009 at 11:52 PM
reply to Florante: (is that your real name?) Thank you for reading my commentary and even taking the time to send me a note. I really appreciate that. To your opinion,I say, to each his own, right? When the history of ‘mano’ was discussed in our university spanish classes, that convinced me not to teach it to my kids. But hey, we have our ways of seeing things. If you think that is a great heritage to hold onto, well, go for it. Not my cup of tea. And shaking hands to an elder is never disrespectful, again, it depends on how you see it.
Thanks Florante. I appreciate your comment.
April 8th, 2009 at 02:10 AM
I read the front page issue of Star Newspaper yesterday and it was ‘shouting about the 80,000+ of nurses who graduated and are licensed. Now what? I’m expecting another article from a foreigner regarding nurses and probably a Japanese writer or a businessman regarding the new America for nurses-Japan. But I think it would be difficult for them to work there because I heard they require them to learn their language.
Oh! I almost forgot we have a gift in language pala.
It’s no sweat.
April 8th, 2009 at 09:31 PM
upon reading the article i’ve thought of one thing, i knew how the filipinos have reacted. for me, it’s really anguishing to hear and to know how other countries would give descriptions to us, which we should accept because they’re right in some ways. we should learn how to accept and to do something of what’s wrong. we keep on saying and asking of who’s fault it is why our country is falling apart but we don’t and can’t seem to see that it is ourselves, it is us! we are the ones who must see things and we must change! we don’t need people from other nations to tell us of what’s wrong with us because the only way we’ll do is to react and after that settle down! now how do you expect us to rise if we keep on doing the same thing, if only we filipinos know how to accept mistakes and wrong things and turn them into something great then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
April 8th, 2009 at 09:54 PM
Mga kapatid at kapwa ko Pilipino…lahat ng sentimiyento ng bawat isa ay totoo, ngayon, isa lang ang dapat nating tanungin sa sarili natin…ANO ang ating GAGAWIN? PAANO TAYO MAKAKATULONG? PAANO NATIN ISASAGAWA ANG PAGSUSULONG NG LAYUNIN NG BROWN RAISE? ARE THERE CONCRETE ACTIONS HAVE WE DONE SO FAR? If there is, please let me know because I am at a lost…
April 8th, 2009 at 10:05 PM
ang isa pang nakakalungkot na katotohanan ay ang likas na pagkakawatak watak ng bawat Pilipino…dito na lang sa BROWN RAISE BLOG AY NAGSUSUMIGAW ANG PAG PAPAGALINGAN NG BAWAT ISA…MALINAW BA SA BAWAT ISA ANG TUNAY NA LAYUNIN NG BROWN RAISE MOVEMENT? ANO ANG MAKAKAMIT NG PAGPAPATUNAY NG BAWAT ISA NA TAMA ANG KANILANG PUNTOS? MAY KINABUKASAN KAYA AT KATUTUNGUHAN ANG BROWN RAISE MOVEMENT KUNG ANG MAGTATAGUYOD AY MGA INDIBDWAL NA DI MARUNONG MAGPARAYA SA BAWAT ISA? NAKAKALUNGKOT…NAKAKALUNGKOT…
April 9th, 2009 at 03:32 AM
the other countries give us names likeTHE NATION OF SERVANTS BUT IKNOW we are not we are reacher than them we are rich in natural resourses♥the FILIPINOS should be proud of them selves and their COUNTRY♥
April 9th, 2009 at 05:18 AM
each and every one of us needs to choose our battles, again i agree i have nothing against filipinos who work as domestic helpers, but not all of them doesn’t have any other choice the ‘main thing’ is even our graduates need to lower down their status and be called DH. doctors turning out of their professions to be nurses. don’t we have any guts to prove that doctors are doctors, teachers are teachers, engineers are engineers. but who are we to our own fellow filipinos. true we have a gift of language as wu te says we can learn almost all our dialect and foreigner languages better than any other nationality, the enunciation, phonetics and grammar. we can converse and imitate their way exquisitely with no flicks of our fingers that is the reason why we are everywhere literally. we have our own gifts, be who you are called ‘professionals’. we are asians, asians are much smarter than any other race, we can adapt to any given circumstance, we excel in even the littlest thing moreover we have a strong sense if values, moral and good behavior, however we filipinos need to step up. we are ‘nation of servants’ i am and we all are, and i am proud of it! for us to become a great leader we need to be great in serving. as it is said ‘if you are a street sweeper, sweep as if you sweep like leonardo give out his all on masterpiece’ we are great in every way we badly need to step up because you won’t become a leader if you stay as a servant. a master is dependent on his servants because he cannot do it by himself. and being a ‘true master’ unlike the mediocres are compassionate and knows how to rule and educate his subordinates. we need to learn on how to respect in be respected. be a rizal in our own way we owe our nationality alot.
April 9th, 2009 at 05:38 AM
WAKE UP BROWN..WERE NOT SERVANTS..
ina agaw na nla ang ating sariling bayan..
cnu nag tatayo ng negosyo d2 sa pilipinas??kundi mga instik..magkano ang sweldo??150 per day??fuck…d makaka buahy ng pamilya yan..cla lng ang yumayaman..palayasin ang mga hindi pilipino sa ating lugar..
salot cla lahat…kung hindi cla aalis violence ang dapat d2…AGGROO…+CEBU PILIPINAS NATIANLA FRONT+
April 9th, 2009 at 09:00 AM
^^ hmmmm.. i’d rather comment on another comment about…”ito na lang sa BROWN RAISE BLOG AY NAGSUSUMIGAW ANG PAG PAPAGALINGAN NG BAWAT ISA…”
first things first… “ASAN NA MAN UNG PAGPAPAGALINGAN?” common sense po.. and no offense but thats why its called a blog and comments… its just a comment on the article?… when you read, specifically a COMMENT, hw can you say na nagpapagalingan? that’s why its called a comment to understand and discuss different point of views and own interpretation of ideas on a certain topic. you comment on what you yhink the article implies to you after reading it. i doubt pero please read the article then you read the comments.^^i’m sure you have po your own understanding and stand towards the arguments..
plus… again… naghahanap ka po ng pagpapatunay sa mga stand na ito…. again…. comento po ito… walang tama at mali dito… and please… ndi marunong magparaya?… in what ways?… paraya saan?…clarify things properly…
oh well… if thats what you’ve understand from it..then why not respect you diba..hehehe
nyways… although i’m not that much informed about the issue…. ung statment na nation of slaves is enough for me to understand it…and stop asking on what to do…..for me why not prove them wrong… we are asking for an apology but what he said is somehow in someways true…why don’t we just prove him wrong. it’s not enough for us to suggest and ask an ask on what to do… we know what we should do…we just lack the initiative to do our actions…
that’s all..^^
April 9th, 2009 at 10:40 AM
nobody else will help us but ourselves….its not only us who are being name names…..we have to open our eyes and ears and mostly our brains. pity to those who prostitute themselves, make themselves seem lower than the lowest…the brown race will always be special…not overcooked and not raw as the legend says…..
one only has to think…he who is clean and innocent, cast the first stone…..people like cheap-tsao will be in all kinds of race and color, even one belonging to our own race…
April 9th, 2009 at 08:16 PM
There is nothing wrong with being a maid if that is your calling. I also understand that a lot of poor people don’t have a choice but to leave the Philippines to work as domestic helpers in a foreign country.
But we have to ask ourselves (especially the middle class): is the lack of money really the problem or is it the inability to wisely manage our finances? Those are two entirely different things. If you earn a lot but you don’t spend your money well, you still won’t be able to save up much for yourself and your family. We also need to ask, am I going to take on a job that is not in line with my calling because we can no longer put food on the table OR my family and I are just not contented with what we have, even if we can already live comfortably? If the primary reason for “not having enough” is bad management of finances or discontentment, then going abroad to take on a job just for the sake of earning money will not solve anybody’s financial problems. In cases like this, the problem lies with the attitude of the person and he will keep on consuming all his resources until there is almost nothing left regardless of how much money he’s making.
I’m all for providing for one’s family. I think it’s absolutely hypocritical for a person to neglect his family in the guise of “building the nation”. But providing for our families is becoming a sacred cow in our society. We are forgetting that it’s more important to discipline the members of the family in being good stewards of their resources than to give in to their every whim. I appreciate parents who are generous in giving gifts and privileges to their children. But it is far more important to teach kids to earn what they want to have through discipline and hard work. And it is also far more important to teach them that happiness must not rely on having a lot of material possessions.
April 10th, 2009 at 02:24 AM
I agree. For those Filipinos who got outraged in the ‘insult’, just as what is said in the article above, don’t get or maybe even feel affected at it. Instead, stand up and do our best to prove that they/he is wrong. In fact, being some maid in some country is not wrong, but a country full of it, now that’s the problem. As what our pastor said in church, try to imagine a lost man in a sidewalk, isn’t it pitiful to look at? Now, imagine a country full of these kind of people, now what do you see? This is the problem we have to face, not the petty thing that columnist said to us. Starting with our fellowmen, we must need a leader who will stand up with his fellowmen no matter what. People who not depend on the government but has some thought in their mind that “We can do it! We were the second richest a long time ago, one of the world renown in Asia, the one with the best hero in the country, then why cannot we make that happen again?” The adrenaline, the spirit, the guts, is it lost or did we just sweep it on the back of our minds? Can you give me a reason why have we become a nation of slaves when a long time ago we produce the best men? Arise from the ashes Philippines and prove the columnist wrong!
April 10th, 2009 at 08:48 AM
In my own viewpoint, I believe that the proper response to the insults and downgrades from foreigners to us, is to better and excel in whatever endeavor we are striving , or I would say whatever our mission in life is, in order to prove to all nations that we can also give a significant contribution to this world we live in, that we are not a mere provider of Domestic Helpers, Nurses, and Caregivers. There is nothing wrong with these professions so long as they are your mission in life, not because you want to earn more money in exchange for dignity and pride as Filipinos. When I first heard about this insult, I never got mad, but rather I got so sad because we have never learned to react correctly. If our response to this is just outrage, I would say that we are just driven by our emotion, and not because we love our country and our race. And how do we know that this is just emotion, in the past there were insults to us, but have we become much better than before as Filipinos? As a country? Have those insults truly affected us to prove them that they were wrong for defining “Filipinas as domestic helpers” in the dictionary? How have we become like in the eyes of other races after those insults to now? Now ask these questions to ourselves, why then our doctors want to become nurse? And why our teachers want to become domestic helper? Now, we are so outraged by this insult. Just expect for more insults to come as long as we do not change our perspective in life as Filipinos. Let us prove by our works that WE ARE NOT NATION OF SLAVES.
April 11th, 2009 at 11:37 AM
As i was reading F. Sionil Jose’s column last Sunday, I couldn’t agree more. He’s definitely right about everything. The first time i got to read Chip Tsao’s article, kumulo rin dugo ko. I couldn’t help it. But later on, I had admit to myself that it’s the bitter truth… “we are a nation of servants”. It was only a day or two after my trip from Singapore when i read his article. The things that i got to see during my trip was still very fresh in my memory. The plane I got to ride going back home was full of domestic helpers. When I was still in Singapore, I got to see huge advertisements about Filipina maids. How can we blame anyone if everytime they see a Filipino, they think of us as slaves?
But there’s more. When I went to Kuala Lumpur, I met a Filipino guy. I went to see the Petronas Towers alone so I asked someone to take a picture of me. I happened to ask the favor from this Filipino guy and that’s when he discovered I am a Filipino too. I haven’t even known him for 5 minutes and there he was offering help to find me a job in Malaysia. By his stature, I’m guessing he’s a utility personnel at Petronas. I had mixed emotions towards that person that moment. I was insulted because I was there to have a walkabout and not to look for whatever job available. I also pity the man because he obviously seemed lost and confused with his life. I wanted to talk to him and help him but I had a trip to catch.
As I was on my bus, I was wondering why my fellow Filipino thought I was looking for a job in there. If that’s the case, then it’s not only the foreigners who think we are but slaves… we Filipinos have that mentality ourselves.
It wasn’t very long too, after reading Chip Tsao’s article, when my dad started to push me to go to Canada as a caregiver. Of all the people, my parents know very well my accomplishments. He even told me that he was very proud of me when I topped the national boards. I wanted to explode! My very own father even see me as a slave material despite of everything I have been through and accomplished?
Now that it’s clear to me how my fellow Filipinos and even my own family think about me, what rights do i have to be mad at a foreigner saying what he thinks about my country as a country of slaves?
April 12th, 2009 at 02:59 AM
“What happened to us, a very talented and heroic people with a revolutionary tradition?”-F.Sionil Jose
I am not an activist, I am an advocate. Huge difference between the two.
Revolution without arms, I say. Revolution Rizal’s way. Thru brains not brawn.
April 12th, 2009 at 06:06 AM
yeah, that is true . i have been to Singapore, and to think about it, my ‘tita’ was excited to show me Orchard . i didn’t know it was flaming with Filipinas . once i was buying cologne, then a filipina suddenlt approached me and then spoke tagalog .
people inside orchard aren’t really that bad . but outsides, you can see filipinas at night. sitting in the bench. waiting to be picked up.
April 12th, 2009 at 08:14 AM
It is so tragic to hear these kinds of news. Being a part of the young generation of this country and being the next in line, it just pierces my heart in seeing my fellow youth being focused on their love lives rather than knowing about these things… rather than making a movement in the pursuit of excellence for the country we are fighting for. It is just so painful being in the situation where your classmates talk either about boyfriends or havaianas. I just can’t take the pain in my neck seeing my fellow young people in school smut about rubbish things, not aware of the things more worthy to talk about. Our generation really need Brown Raise. I’m so afraid that our generation would be the future slaves of other countries, worse being slaves in our own country. There will be no other persons to be blamed other than ourselves. But blaming ourselves will not make things better, rather we really need a movement, though one life at a time, that will equip the youth the things we need in our battlefields. Just realizing these things wouldn’t be enough… waking up, opening our eyes is neither enough… We are running out of time, that’s why i am so excited about radical solutions like Brown Raise Youth Org (BRYORG). I’m so excited to be part of this movement, to be a contribution… a part of the solution. I hope my fellow youth would be more enthusiastic with this kind of movement so we can be instruments of light to the people we are working with.
April 12th, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Sa mga kapwa nating Filipino na minsan ding lumaban at nakipagbatbatan ng husay at talino para sa ating bansa, ngunit napagod na sa kahihintay ng resultang inaasam, ang BROWN RAISE Website na ito ay isang patunay na napakalaki pa ng pag-asang mamulat ang mga mata ng ating kababayan. Harinawang mabasa din ni Ginoong F. Sionil Jose ang mga nilalaman at komento dito. Masakit mang tawagin na “Nation of Servants” tayo pero yaon na ang ipininta nating imahe sa buong mundo. Tama lang na mabasa natin ang mga masasakit na katotohanang nakasulat dito kung heto naman ang susugat sa ating puso at magtutulak sa atin na muling bumangon at ibalik ang dignidad nating mga Filipino. Mga kabataang patuloy na tumatangkilik ng website na eto, gisingin nyo pa ang iba pa nating kalahi. At sa mga taong malapit ng magtakip-silim, hwag tayong mapagod. Hindi pa tayo lugmok. May tuhod tayo at mga kamay. Kilos na tayo!
April 13th, 2009 at 02:32 AM
are you a filipino? if you are your born to be a servant, a servant without dignity, justice and almost every thing. Your like a disposable spoon after using you will be disposed without having any justice. But there is always time for a change, a change that will make us strong, that will change everything in philippines, from being poor. And that time is now. But actually its not yet now. You must first answer the question, Are you ready for it? and are you willing to sacrifice like our hero’s? Filipinos are born to have their dignity and justice even if they are in other states or countries.
April 13th, 2009 at 04:13 AM
IT IS SAD, REALLY, REALLY SAD.
THE TRUTH ALWAYS HURTS… LET’S LOOK AT IT AS A CHALLENGE, TO CHANGE OUR NATION FOR A BETTER COUNTRY.
April 13th, 2009 at 06:55 PM
Tanga kasi ang gobyerno… kaya ganun… iniisip lang bulsa nila…
April 14th, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Honestly, I’m not mad nor outraged at Chip Tsao’s article only because he’s just saying the truth. And yes I agree with the cliché “Truth hurts” but “only the truth can set you free”. Our problem is, which is devastating, we don’t know our problem or perhaps mostly are just being apathetic about it so how can we solve it? I like what my professor said today on one of my summer classes, “Well, how can you solve the problem when in the first place you don’t know what it is? Identify the problem first”. Most of us knows what our problem is but the thing is, most of us are fooling ourselves that it is not. Just asking myself “When are we going to pay attention and act on it?” makes me want to bang my head on the wall.
Truly thanks to God for this amazing site and all the wickedly wonderful blogs here!
April 14th, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Sometimes it really requires a hard slap on our faces to make us realize the truth.
Nakakalungkot isipin na talagang nasa Survival stage pa lang ang karamihan sa ating mga kababayan – hindi natin iniisip ang paglago at pag-asenso ng ating bayan.
Isa pa rin sigurong malaking problema sa ating mga Pilipino ay ang hilig natin sa “easy money”. Dahil mahirap ang kumuha ng Ph.D. o M.A/M.S., mas pipiliin pa natin na maghugas ng kubeta sa ibang bansa kaysa magsikap at mag-aral upang umasenso. Mas madali nga naman ang sumali sa mga TV game shows o tumaya sa Lotto kaysa magsikap na magtrabaho sa pabrika o sa opisina, o magtayo ng sariling negosyo. Nakakalungkot isipin, ano?
Nasa bagong henerasyon talaga ang sagot sa ating mga problema. Tama na’ng pagsisi sa ating gobyerno – sabi nga ni Rizal, “tal pueblo, tal gobierno”.
Mabuhay ang Brown Raise!
April 14th, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Huh huh huh! Aray ang sakit. It really hurts. The truth hurts. I have not been yet to Hongkong but a lot of stories would tell how our kalahi were treated and also how they behaved. They spend their day off in a place where all the DH met and leave their basura scattering throughout the plaza. They looked like a people with no dignity and self respect. Because we’re also doing same thing here in our own country. Masakit man aminin but for me we are a people lack of discipline at kulang sa malasakit para sa sariling bayan.
We can’t blame the government alone, each of us is to be blamed. We are a people na tamad magtrabaho. We want easy money and we’re getting materialistic. I heard parents pushing their children to go abroad so they could have beautiful house, appliance, etc. dahil ang kapitbahay nila meron padala ng anak or asawa galing abroad.
We still have time to make amends. Let’s rise and prove that we’re honorable people. Mga kababayan magbago na tayo!
April 17th, 2009 at 10:28 PM
Do we really see the real identity of our country? Or better yet let’s ask ourselves, “In who’s eyesight do I see the reality behind my country’s countenance?”
April 18th, 2009 at 07:54 PM
It breaks my heart to tears with this truth.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:28 PM
This is not over reacting. This is truth. How long are we going to going to be insensitive and blind? Or maybe we just don’t mind being a laughing stock of other nations… This is difficult to realize this things if you don’t truly have Christ in your life who promises great and mighty things.
April 20th, 2009 at 04:07 AM
“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” Jackie Chan said in an interview. “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.”( http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/jackie-chans-china-comments-prompt-backlash-ap)
Kakatuwa naman si Jackie Chan, meron syang ganyang realization. Sa comment palang nya mababasa mong MAHAL NIYA ANG BANSA NYA AT KABABAYAN NYA.Although he was criticized by Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator pero para saken tama sya..Look at Philippines, we have so much freedom…kaya kahit di nakakatulong sa bansa ginagawa, pagsusuwayin lumalaban, what’s the weapon?
Human Rights.hindi naman sana masama ang human rights pero inaabuso natin.
Siguro nga tamang sabi ng mga nakakatanda samin di pa natin kaya ang democratic form of government.
April 20th, 2009 at 03:37 PM
i was alarmed after reading this article. it is really true and it’s heart breaking trust that you just impart to us Filipinos!
It started from our Ancestor and it was pass on to generations .. this continually happen if WE will not start it to OURSELVES AS A PURE BLOOD FILIPINO!
April 20th, 2009 at 10:27 PM
………….. Last month, thousands of graduates marched the stage.. What happens next? I don’t know.. What I know is that all of them for sure will look for a job.. And where? All of us are employee-minded. We always look for employers. We always want to be under somebody.. We’re always dreaming of being on the top of a corporate ladder rather than creating the ladder ourselves.. We don’t know that more than anything, we Filipinoes have the qualities of becoming an ENTREPRENEUR… We Filipinoes were entrepreneurs back then… We had just forgotten it.. Too, bad…
I want to start to become one.. I haven’t finished a degree yet but I know what I want to do—- TO PROVIDE JOBS TO MILLIONS OF FILIPINOES SO THAT THEY DON’T NEED TO GO ABROAD TO FIND ONE…
A maid is no different from a nurse when one works abroad…. They’re both far from homes.. They both missed their families..And those families that they left missed them all the more..I knew it because my father is an OCW before….
I dare you all… Let’s do it all together. We can do it, I know with God’s help, we can make it…
April 22nd, 2009 at 07:48 PM
hindi naman natin sila masisisi kung iyon’a nation of servants’ ang tingin sa atin ng ibang mga bansa kasi un din ang pinapakita natin sa kanila imbes na gumawa tayo ng way para maiangat natin ang ating bansa mas gusto pa ng ibang mga filipino na mag paalila sa ibang bansa. Nung nagawi ako sa hong kong nakakalungkot isipin na napakaraming Filipino ang na andoon para magpaalila at kikita nga naman sila ng malaki don pero the point is hanggang don nlang ba tyo habang buhay na magpapaalila sa ibang bansa kaysa manatili dito sa ating sariling bansa at gamitin natin ang ating Talino at kakayahan para ang ating bansa ay umunlad naman grabe tlga pag nakita mu sila don one of the place na makikita mu tlaga na napakaraming Filipino ay sa ‘world wide’ most especialy pag Sunday’s sobra tlga nakaupo sila sa karton tpos kanya kanyang grupo yan at kanya kanya din ang kanilang ginagawa merong nagkukwentuhan nagbabaraha may nagpapapedicure at kung anu anu pang maisip nlang gawin alam mu un mas gusto pa nila magstay sa ganun lugar at pinagtitinginan ng mga chinese imbes na magstay sa church meron ngang nangyari habang nag iikot kmi sa ifc mall meron kmi nakasalubong na 2 Pinay ang lakas ng tutug ng iPod ata ung dala at lam nyu pu ang tugtug ‘DAYANGDAYANG’ nung narinig at nakita ko sila di ko alam kung maiinis o matatawa sa ginagwa nla kc imagine nsa loob sila ng Mall tpos marami din mga chinese ang naandoon syempre pinagtitinginan sila ng ibang lahi so lam mu un pag titignan mu sila prang “proud na proud pa sila’ grabe tlga ask ko nga ung kasama ko actualy nagwowork sya don sabi nya ganun daw tlga don kasi ung mga chinese daw nagpapatugtug din daw ng malakas hindi naman daw nila maintindihan so ginagawa daw ng ibang kababayan natin nagpapatugtug din daw sila syempre sila rin sila lang ang makakaintindi lam mu un sobrang nakakahiya ung ginagawa nla na lalo nilang hinihiya ang ating bansa so many expirience tlga don na sobrang maiinis ka sa mga pinagagawa ng mga Pilipino nung time namn na pauwi na ako dito sa ating bansa syempre may proper seat po tlaga pag nakasakay ka sa airplane pero po ung mga katabi ko mga Pilipino din po mag ina po un mga nakataas ang paa habang nakaupo nung nakita ko nga napailing nlang ako.grabe! marami tayong pweding gawin para maiangat ang ating bansa at mag iba ang tingin sa atin ng ibang lahi na hindi tyu ‘a nation of servant’s kaya natin ito dyan si God para iguide at tulungan nya tyu sa giants na kinakaharap ntin ngaun.KAYA NATI…
April 23rd, 2009 at 06:24 AM
panalo etong website na to. keep up the good work
April 24th, 2009 at 07:49 PM
I have read almost all the comments here, not one of them pointed to the source nor the solution to this “Nation of Slaves” that we have loved and named Pilipinas. If anyone here search the internet and find out how many Filipinos are there in the world, you might be surprise at the number. The Philippines alone ranked 13th in the world population count per country, mind you that number does not include all others who have migrated to other countries. Do you know that the area of land in the Philippines can fit inside the State of Texas ? Now count that against the number of mouths that amount of land mass would have to feed, do you really think that finite amount of land mass can sustain feeding the amount of Filipinos ?
Consider this, when the Spaniards introduced their religion to us, and they emphasized “Go and multiply..” Don’t you think they wanted to have as many slaves as they can possibly harvest ! And yet, we went ahead and multiply, even though most of us know we can not possibly sustain food on the table, let alone provide a good education for our children.
We are nothing but a ball of sardines being chased by a pack of hungry tuna. Whether we remained sardines or become tuna is up to us. We have to change our habits, our mentality, our principles, other wise we will all remain in that ball of sardines hoping that others get eaten first.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:02 AM
bakit nga ba tayo nagpapa alipin sa kanila? ang problema kasi sa ating mga Filipino, masyado tayong mabait sa mga taga ibang bansa………… kaya nga tinawag tayong “nation of servants”
April 27th, 2009 at 12:06 AM
dapat hindi tayo nag papa alipin sa kanila!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 29th, 2009 at 02:57 AM
Wait, my Philippines, wait
Your Golden Age will come
Your children are waking from thire slumber
They are wiping the sands off their eyes
Just wait some more, a wee bit more
As you face the rising sun
The dawn of redemption lurks on the horizon
Waiting for the signal to come
April 29th, 2009 at 03:12 PM
totoo naman talaga eh. masakit pero totoo.
April 29th, 2009 at 09:18 PM
I felt hurt when I read the article about this but it also made me think and ask as my mother always taught me that there are two sides to a coin, “What made them write such an article” and “What gave them the idea of thinking that we are a servant of nations…”
My only rationalization is that people perceive us as to how we represent ourselves to them. For me this article is a wake up call that we as one people should wake up and realize the disease that Rizal had seen in our nation in ourselves.
To the international community as a majority, we have not really represented ourselves that well, we have a corrupt government, which we allow to be corrupt, we have our fellow brothers running to other countries to work despite the degrees and talents they have that can benefit our country so they can just support their families… a whole lot more i can think of really.. and in conclusion, it is because we have become so complacent with things that are happening around us that is why these things are happening, resulting kaleidoscopic catastrophe of this article.
To me, that article is a wake up call for us to rise up and act one more.. If we want the world to say something good about us then we should show to them what an awakened Filipino is made of.
April 29th, 2009 at 09:23 PM
To quote Rizal in relation to the reply which I have written above: “There are no tyrants where there are no slaves”
May 5th, 2009 at 03:14 PM
wala sa kamay ng tao yan… nasa gobyerno natin yan… sino ba ang nag aallow sa mga companies na magbigay ng mababang sweldo sa mga manggagawa. gobyerno diba… kung cocontrolin lang nila yun wala ng aalis sa pilipinas.. let the professionals get what they deserve
May 5th, 2009 at 03:42 PM
Why most Filipinos were agitated by it (article)? Well, our pandemic culture has something to do with it – that is if we want to know why most of us, if not all somehow behave like this. It compels us to counter attack anything in any form more so in personal level. Objectivity has little consideration to majority of us. It’s a matter of personality and pride than of the heart and learning. Though it is a sad scenario, it is helpful to understand others limited view at the very least as to where they are coming from.
May 6th, 2009 at 07:14 PM
Looking at it positively. At least they’ve called us servants rather than slaves.
Anyway, I would say that it’s abusing their only way of helping their families out..By ridiculing their professions and treating them as such.
Yet, we would still send workers abroad in the end..Unless we can create a new industry here that would cater to Pilipinos and not foreign investors. Like most critics would suggest..For that to happen we have to get out of the globalization and free trade and focus on industrialization.
May 7th, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Ito ang sasabihin ko sa mga Batang pinoy na tulad KO!!! Mga kabataan, Tayo ay PAG-ASA ng BAYAN Patungo sa Kaunlaran. Kaya tayo ay mag-aral ng mabuti, susunod sa utos ng ating mga magulang, At mahalin natin ang ating SARILING BANSA, ang PILIPINAS. GO! PHILIPPINES!!!!!
May 7th, 2009 at 10:34 AM
pinoys, huwag mag abroad. dito lang tayo sa pilipinas. para tayo ay uunlad.!!!
May 14th, 2009 at 09:30 PM
grabe po…bakit ang BILIS ng bagsak ng Pilipinas?
…naalala ko lang po pala, back in high school nagkaroon kami ng lecture about JPEPA(Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement). dahil dito, in ten years time, magiging times 10 na ang polusyon natin dito (dahil ang kapalit sa mga Pinay nurses natin na ipinapadala sa Japan ay ang pagtatapon sa Pilipinas ng Japan ng mga sanitary at e-wastes nila… according to madam president, ito raw ay = kabuhayan in and out of the country (dahil maging mga kapos na mga kababayan raw natin dito ay magkakaroon ng “hanapbuhay” out of these e-wastes)). Hay. Nagkaroon ng signature campaign ‘yung movement na against doon… pero wala namang nangyari… at hanggang ngayon nagtataka ako na maging media ay hindi inilalabas ang buong detalye (eg.consequences). Ang palagaing nasa balita ay ang mga nurses na papuntang Japan
At sa pagkakaalam ko po ‘yung kasunduan po will last forever, unless Japan wants to terminate it…
Hay. Talagang ang solusyon ang makapagprodyus ng mga pinunong may capacidad na mag-desisyon ng tama, at mahalin ang bansa.
to Ms. Laura: I agree. Mabait sa ibang lahi… pero kulang na kulang sa malasakit sa bansa at sa mga kapuwa Pilipino.
I know, time will come na tayong mga Pilipino ay magiging kasing “ginintuan” nitong ating bansa.
May 25th, 2009 at 07:06 PM
malapit na election…. out of topic po ito… pano po ba mgpa regster? im having thoughts kasi if mag efort pako to vote… la naman kasi itulak kabigin sa mag polititians natin… puro makakapal eh.. aga pa comerxal na…
June 4th, 2009 at 01:12 PM
Are we happy to be called and treated as a servant?This is no more a joke.Our next generation will be facing a tough tomorrow.We need to help them build strong identity/conviction.Filipinos became slaves way back the time when those so called super-powers colonized the Philippines but we WILL NOT be slaves again in our country or elsewhere.Stand up.Fight.Have faith.Only by taking these actions we will have a better tomorrow.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:10 AM
I do not mean to say that our freedom must be won at the point of the sword. The sword now counts for very little in the destinies of our time, but do I say that we must win our freedom by deserving it, by improving the mind and enhancing the dignity of the individual loving what is just, what is good, what is great to the point of dying for it. When a people reach these heights, God provides the weapon, and the idols and the tyrants fall, like a house of cards, and freedom shines in the first dawn. Our misfortunes are our own fault, let us blame nobody for them… As long as the Filipino people do not have sufficient vigor to proclaim, head held high and chest bared, their right to life in human society and to guarantee it with their sacrifices, with their very blood; so long as we see our countrymen feel privately ashamed, hearing the growl of their rebelling and protesting conscience, while in public they keep silent and even join the oppressor in mocking the oppressed, as long as we see them wrapping themselves up in their selfishness and praising with forced smiles the most despicable acts, begging with their eyes for a share of the booty, why give them independence? -Jose Rizal
July 1st, 2009 at 05:09 PM
we people as filipinos must learn to accept others , for speak to raise the brown raise
the goverment does not progress as because of our cooperation are not equal we filipinos think being insulted like this is bad but we are known around the world really a nation of servants . We are bringing O.F.W.s to other countries just for them to work it is good that
ones and a while we filipinos are being said but we ourselves has lost the identity of becoming a wise,brave,strong& heartful fililipino we our selves are begining to think that we are not part of asia but why do we rally against our goverment we choosed our leaders but why do we barbarians rebel against the people who really are wise we don’t
even correct ourselves other people even have to correct us
if we don’t know anything thats happining we have let other people get the Key to call us monkeys we dont know what our FAKE identity has really brought as into but we cannot rebel against people like chip tsao who are trying to show us our own mistake that is putting money first than our own country.
September 6th, 2009 at 07:38 AM
I have this Cantonese friend who went to Boracay. Coming back home to HK she posted on facebook: “Back from the Philippines, I’m so dark I look like a maid”. A couple months after the Philippine trip she went to Thailand. I just had to ask her what she looked like as a result of her Bangkok weekend. “What else but a prostitute”, was her answer. Hilarious. So…what’s worse? None of our Thai friends freaked out about her very public comment, just like I didn’t freak out about her “maid’s tan”. Because I’m not petty enough to freak out about that, really. Was it supposed to make me feel bad?
I’m not in any way defending Tsao but I think it must be pointed out that Pinoys have been reacting so strongly to what he said in one article when the snobbery at home, here in the country, is just as, if not more intense. It’s certainly ubiquitous. I’m sure some of you were discouraged by your parents to be behavioral equals of your household help. Who here wasn’t raised to be more educated, have better table manners, speak better, in general not act like maids? Who here isn’t guilty of ever thinking, “she looks like a maid/he looks like a driver”? Seriously. Does it hurt more when a non-Filipino speaks of our realities?
How about the uproar over that actress who, after filming in the country, commented that Manila was “filthy, polluted, slum city”. Some of the indignant people were a bunch of my Mom’s friends, upper-class, educated, ersatz Filipino aristocrats. Mom and I couldn’t figure out what their problem was. Were they contesting the fact that Manila IS filthy, polluted, and slummy? Can ANYONE deny it? Or were they pissed off because someone foreign cunt vocalized these absolute truths? It’s as if this actress (who she is is completely incidental) was violating a gag order (confidentiality agreement) by describing the city.
What I think is that we as a people are pathologically melodramatic; it cripples us. So much time and energy are wasted wallowing on shit that at best gives our realities a cheap, trivial, and temporary varnish and at worst keeps us just the way we are. Sinking.
September 29th, 2009 at 05:22 PM
bago ako mawala sa topic dito.i would like to focus on the nation of servants na sabi nila…well ano bang problema doon mga igan?di ba tayo dapat matuwa kasi mas may dignity pa yan kesa sabihin nilang nation of thieves,swindlers,corrupt,and prostitutes.lol oh well…being known as a nation of servant is not too bad in the end coz it just shows that we still have the humility and cleverness at the same time.I can say hardworking ang mga pinoy dahil sa tulak ng necessity…instead of mumbling about your pride and dignity then why dont you save that energy and grab something you can make use of to be productive…
October 2nd, 2009 at 08:39 PM
Government should stop sending Domestic Helpers instead of asking for an apology. We can’t blame other countries if that’s what they see. Truth hurts and yes..that’s the reality.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:39 PM
“Ingest his message, then turn all that outrage, that vehemence, to the Filipinos who turned this beautiful country into the garbage dump of the region: the oligarchs, the Spanish mestizos, the Chinese Filipinos and the treasonous Indios who sent their money abroad instead of investing it here in industries to create jobs for our people.”
I find that part rather offensive since I am a Chinese Filipino myself. There may be some from those categories who have contributed to the ruin of this country, but I hope you don’t forget that there are those from the said categories that DO care a lot.
A lot of Filipinos tend to get mad and not do a thing about the situation the country is in. Time to time, the truth is slapped in our faces and we reject it and put up a show of brief nationalism. It is actually starting to make me feel tired since it’s just another cycle of futile stupidity (harsh, but true) that we get ourselves into.
Better to focus on what we CAN do to help rather than how we can defend ourselves against the next barrage of reality slaps to come.
November 3rd, 2009 at 04:59 PM
I was scanning the tv and stopped at an international christian channel which on that moment shows a preaching of Singaporean Christian Church (New Creation Church). Then as I listen, I decided to search their website on the net.
My heart was on the upbeat when I saw on the list of their “updates” that there is a “Banquet of Honour for our Filipino Friends”. My mind says, whoah! thats pretty good, other nations appreciates and commends us! To my horror and not really a surprise, Filipinos were generalized as domestic helpers. Yes, they were referring to giving a celebration for the hard work Filipinos have offered to them.
In deed I appreciate the return of the favor. I personally am happy that the Singaporeans are appreciative. But of course, we do not want it this way, subjecting us Filipinos as servants. It could have been only been said as “domestic helpers” but not Filipino Friends having the context as the former.
Please dont get me wrong, yes it is an honorable job. However, we are the ones who let other nations step all over our dignity. I still believe that education starts at home. THose foreigners are however blameless.
Bottomline, it is the government who needs to uphold and support ways on producing jobs on every provinces. Federal-like, bring offices and businesses to the provinces.
November 18th, 2009 at 01:22 PM
The reason the filipino government is so corrupt is because it is in bed with the biggest corrupt organization on the face of the planet. “THE CHURCH”
The sooner the government cuts ties with the church the sooner the people will become wealthy again.
November 29th, 2009 at 09:30 PM
Ang aking Nanay ay isang domestic helper sa Hong Kong… maliliit pa kami nang kami’s iwan nya… Kailangan dahil lumalaki na kaming 5 magkakapatid… Lagi kong naiisip na kung sana may magandang trabaho sa bansa natin, marahil ay di sya kailangan umalis…. Proud ako sa aking Nanay dahil, kahit ganun lang ang turing nila sa kanya, may dignidad pa rin sya sa sarili… 27 years na sya naninilbihan sa Hong Kong, salamat sa Diyos pagkat biniyayaan sya ng mabuting amo… na di sya tinutuligsa o minamata… na tinuturing syang parte ng pamilya nila.. dahil ang aking ina’y masipag, matapat, mapagkakatiwalaan, may malasakit at mapagpakumbaba. Yan ang alam kong mga katangian ng Pinay na dapat panatilihin, para gaano man kababa ang tingin ng iba sa kanilang trabaho, taas noo pa rin silang lalakad na wala silang maling ginagawa.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:35 AM
@ T.J. Castro
I commend your mother for such kind of sacrifice to you and your family. Sa totoo lang, hindi talaga natin sila masisi kung kailangan nilang mangibang-bayan para lamang bigyan kayo ng magandang buhay at maliwanag na kinabukasan. So as to speak, in relation on to your status, I have 2 cousins whose parents are overseas working. My uncle asked my mother to look after them while their parents will be both in Qatar working.
Honestly, only a few masters who are down-to-earth to other races. However, we, the people left here must also help them thrice the effort they used there working.
About the characteristics of a contemporary Filipina that you have just mention, just like a mother, she must be industrious, patient, trustworthy, faithful, and very responsible thus she must also be a symbol of a vigorous person who desires more.
December 7th, 2009 at 08:29 PM
dati pa lang nagpapadala na tayo ng alipin since before until now
December 23rd, 2009 at 03:03 AM
All concern citizen. Whatever your job is. Perform well for us to recognized as a good employee and make the difference from others.
January 10th, 2010 at 05:18 PM
It hurts. Because reality bites. But, we can make a change.
January 17th, 2010 at 10:16 PM
Andres Bonifacio, nas’an ka ! Hikaus na si Inay. Nakaratay si Bunso – wala nang gatas si Inay. Si Itay iniligpit nila. Si kuya, nagdidilim na ang paningin !! Si Ate, wala nang iluluha. Sasama ako sa iyo Andres !!!
April 3rd, 2010 at 02:25 PM
Who cares for the Filipino anyway? Not even the Philippine government and its otiose consulates bother – unless compelled by massive demonstrations of anger. What can you expect from oligarchs and government flunkeys? We are a nation in search of nationalistic freedom. Of a state that will CARE for the welfare of every Filipino. When Benigno Aquino was killed, the slogan “the Filipino is worth dying for” became fashionable for every ‘political calamity’ in an ‘interval system’ between Marcos dictatorship and the mendacity of Corazon Aquino’s rule and their even more bloody unconscionable successors. Yet today Filipinos are dying (e.g. OFWs with 7-9 dead bodies a day delivered from foreign countries to Ninoy Aquino International Airport for what? For the status quo? For more self-sacrifices for parasites (corrupt officials and oligarchs)?
So this is an existential dilemma. For all those forced out of our homeland- by choice of necessity or not, it doesn’t matter- the idea of ‘trans-geographical freedom’ becomes an act of alienating one’s self from the real self, from their Filipino identity, from their families, from their country’s potentials and possibilities, from their own more than, no, better than being a maid, a slave or in the contemporary tongue- a “domestic help.”
In conclusion, It is only the future generation who can ask the Filipinos/as to end bodies in coffins heading home, of them going abroad for greener pasture, with a promise of: a better tomorrow, a nation of masters not of slaves, of educated heroes; armed with sincerity for them to believe and follow.
April 18th, 2010 at 09:58 PM
We can run but we can’t hide. It’s hard to accept the truth that we have a lot of maids that are being mistreated and maltreated at the same time. I feel so pity for them, for the situation they have had.
lets fight for our country. the rights and the dignity of filipino women. the DHs and the other Filipino that works for others.
Oh no ;( but it’s not yet the end… let this anger unite us all. Let’s make a difference! We can all do this for LuziMinda!
May 14th, 2010 at 06:37 PM
It is my prayer that God will give us all the conviction and ability, if you will, to have all our comments translated to concrete actions to lift the Philippines up and bring her to the former place of glory.
August 1st, 2010 at 07:33 PM
I believe it is normal for Filipinos to be peeved by such a remark as that of Chip Tsao’s. But I believe that such a pain felt by the people should not spark an outburst of rage, as if we were some mad dog barking futilely at our observers. Rather, it should galvanize the nation into that which would seek to improve themselves. Masaktan man tayo, aanuhin ba natin ito kung hindi tayo natututo dito? Ang mga taong katulad ni Chip Tsao ay mas may malasakit pa sa atin kaysa sa atin. It is up to us to open our eyes and see our current status; to use the pain the truth inflicts on us to make this country great again.