DAMN!
I just read an article of Mr. Daniel Wagner about the Hong Kong tourist hostage-taking drama and, what the author says, as the Miss Universe fumble. All the points that he mentioned were irritatingly true and accurate that it pierces my eardrum even though there's no sound coming out from the article. I think it's those things that clearly exposes a certain entity's weakness. For this topic, the entity that i'm talking about is none other than my country, The Republic of the Philippines.
He actually didn't only put his focus on the mishandled hostage crisis, nor in the Miss Universe crackdown, but, The Philippines in general: right at the hot seat. He said that, we're supposed to be moving forward to economic growth and political stability. Instead, it is the opposite that is being practised while the whole wide world witness our eventual fall from grace. From the first lines of the article that he wrote, the guilt feeling creeped up to my skin, 'cause in most of the ways, the things he said are true. We settle on what we currently have right now: being a Third-World country --- a spot we're not categorized decades ago. I know it's nice to be simple and be contented on what you have, but we mostly choose to be settled on something unsettling and on a not-so-promising future. Like a bubble. It pops up, very beautiful, but goes off when touched or blown away, in just a nick of time. We're just fine on a less-guaranteed future, even though there's a lot of closed window of opportunities, waiting to be opened. It's not easy to swallow the fact that we're being compared to Indonesia --- the country that took years and years to reunite them all and the place where the most corrupted leader in the history of the world had lived. In our present time, their country shows hope --- something we're not able (or maybe "not capable anymore") to develop. They let their voices be heard, but in a sense that they don't expect too much from each other. So, what does this say about my country's future? Not good at all..
We've been the "apple of the eye" of the world last year because of the journalists-violence-related news that captured the whole world's attention - The Maguindanao Massacre. Now, the Hostage-taking drama of chinese tourists, courtesy of a disgruntled police officer, shared the same international spotlight. I would like to quote Mr. Wagner on this one:
"Filipinos should not therefore be surprised that the Philippine police tried to negotiate with the hijacker of the Chinese tourist bus well after a reasonable period of time had passed, negotiations had failed, and the lives of the tourists were clearly in jeopardy. Police from a variety of other nations would have simply killed him at the first opportunity, regardless of the fact that he was a former colleague. This SWAT team knew how to get the results that were required, but they failed to do so. Why? Their priorities were misaligned. The safety of the hostages should have been paramount - not the fanciful notion that a man who is desperate enough to take hostages would somehow come to his senses at the height of the crisis."
He's quite right in this one. Their top priority should have been the safety AND the lives of the hostages, NOT the life of the agitator, who in many ways, was already given an ample amount of time to surrender peacefully. But, of course, it did not happen that way, so, violence erupted afterwards. A lot of casualties, including the ex-police-officer-turned-madman. This wouldn't had happened if their priorities were given proper attention. On the flip side, i cannot blame the policemen, because they tried their best to accomplish their job --- it's their superiors who were supposed to be responsible on deciding what's the next step. Well, to all the casualties of the mentioned tragedy, may you all rest in peace.
Continuing to his next point, he talks about the Miss Universe fallout. About this one, i have mixed reactions about the comments to our representative. With all due respect to Ms. Maria Venus Raj, i'm proud of her for doing her best to claim the prestigious crown, although it fell short. I'm not being bias, because of the reason we have the same nationality. I just know how acknowledge someone else's effort. BUT ---- to reason out senselessly and making excuses is another matter. I don't think she had been chosen if she doesn't have the backbone to be the one. Nervous? Yeah, it's understandable, but everyone's nervous, too. It's an international spectacle. Who wouldn't get nervous? If she was only able to come up with a better response to the question asked to her (were viewers from my country are complaining that the "question is too hard"), she could've been basking in glory right now and earns utmost recognition throughout the entire nation. In a competition like this, you can't expect shortcuts to prominence. Physically, mentally and spiritually, whoever she is, she must be ready. Making terrible excuse is one load of crap. Oh well, better luck next time.
I take Mr. Wagner's criticism on a positive note. It is constructive and it's something we should build up on to. We want change, we can make it happen. Philippines, in general, is on rebuilding process that may take forever to happen, but i don't care. We're not bubbles who pops out when needed, then goes off when someone was needed to be held accountable, hence, we'll just be a jungle of bubbles. I hope that one day, our foot is back on a place where we once was. It's not impossible.
Good day.
