The recent killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in the sea that is being owned by Taiwan and the Philippines has brought about monstrous consequences. Our compatriots are bearing the brunt of that great mistake in Philippine naval history. Then the snail-pace reaction of the government on how to appease the Taiwan people has been giving us added problems -- our vulnerable compariots do not have any jobs waiting for them should they be deported back to our country.
Folks, our problem is the mindset of our officials. They tend to think macro all the time. They talk about laws, treaties, etcetera when one solution could be for Pres Pnoy or his representative to go and visit the family of the victim, console with them and offer his one-year's salary as abuloy for the dead. Then he could give scholarships if ever the victim has any more children who are studying.
Taiwan, though a progressive country, with their citizens leading modern lifestyles, is still feudal when it comes to human relations. They think tribally. "Aha, one of us was killed; let us avenge his death by hitting their countryfolks here."
Now this is he reason why unbridled technological development like what is happening in Taiwan is not the way for us to go. It breeds dehumanization if not maintains tribalism because it does not touch nor raise the consciousness of the people on what is a humane socio-cultural response to development.
We also see here that the Taiwanese people who hit our compatriots have not heard yet of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and so they are going on a rampage over there, abetted by the Taiwanese media which also has questionable foundations.
Taiwan is just a neighbor, Folks. And their anger could reach us at any time. Maybe even the Chinese businesspeople who are importing goods from them should do their share. Let them pool their resources and contribute to assuaging the feelings of loneliness of the family over the death of their kin.
Before the Spaniards came to our shores, our people were already trading with the Chinese.In fact, in the history book of Fe Mangahas, which was recently launched at the National Historical Commission, she writes there about the three routes that pass through the Philippines. One is the Silk Road which brought goods from Asia to Europe. There were no hassles in trading there, no acts of aggression as to who can use the routes. It was just plain trading: I have goods here and you have too; so let's exchange.
Unfortunately, greed set in some time in the historical past and so territorialities and boundaries were set up, thus bringing about rigid controls and building of social and economic classes that have antagonistic interest.
Maybe we should accept it if Taiwan wants to say goodbye to our compatriots and let them come home. Then let us take the time to read our history again and find out where we could give the world a better and humane look at international relations where economic needs are concerned.
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