ON STUDYING MANDELA 'S LIFE

What movement is easier to work on, human rights or anti-racism? Looking back to our work over here in the Philippines restoring democratic rights seemed so easy to do. In fact I would measure it done in 4 years, starting from 1982 to 86. Anti-racism is much more difficult to do because racial discrimination is like a "congenital disease" that is very hard to eradicate. A person feeling eeky over another because of color has a convoluted mind that could raise all kinds of irrational ideas and fears about dealing with everyone regardless of race. 

I once sat in a London bus way back in the 80's and one girl child looked at one passenger and asked her mom, "Mom why is her color like that?" I looked around and saw some black people seated. I cringed in my seat feeling half-referred to by that comment. 

In other words, some children are not oriented to thinking of the world as composed of people of different skin colors. 

Thus, I really think that Nelson Mandela's work in South Africa was truly so much more difficult than ours. He endured imprisonment for 27 years but eventually was alive to conduct the anti-apartheid, unlike Cory who did not suffer the same experience yet was able to rally the Filipino people to restore human rights in our country. 

Actually, Mandela's life and all other black heroes' should be studied by our elementary schoolchildren. By reading their contributions to humanity they would grow up enlightened about the need to respect other people's rights regardless of color. Unfortunately now, our children are being oriented to thinking to be white, to use whitening lotions and taking glutathione is the norm to being called a "normal adult." Even the actors and actresses are predominantly mestiza, and some are even imported from western countries because they will surely  be adored by the audience. 

So now, I would like to ask the Dep Ed, how far have we gone into inculcating the need for a humane, nonracist society?  Is our education enough to make us venture into the world? 

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, " Mandela said. It means education raises people from low to high social class. Sad to say,  our people, our OFWs who are highly educated yet have become the caregivers in rich countries. Their education has not been enough for them to rise in the ladder of success in our country. 

Hence, we should ponder the life of Mandela and rethink our values again and again, on whether we are on the right path.