All of us know the story to some degree. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, the suddenly homeless were transferred to Clark Air Base, a place that was later referred to as the tent city – a makeshift community that housed as many as 20,000 people over a period of five years. This tent city was erected in the former motor pool area – Cabcom – of the Clark Air Base where, apparently, no environmental guidelines were followed. Motor oil and other toxic substances were carelessly thrown into the soil, poisoning the water. Babies conceived in the tent city either died or were born with cerebral palsy or leukemia. Adults were not spared, though their deaths have not been properly documented. That morning, what I saw was but a pie-slice of a tragic human legacy.
Environment experts said that a good way to heal poisoned land is to plant fruit-bearing trees. The fruit takes in the poisons. Over time, the land is cleansed. Though some Cabcom mothers have fallen ill, others are miraculously symptom-free. They are the land and their children the fruit. It is through the bearing and breastfeeding of these children that their bodies are spared. These children bear the burden for the earth. Because of them there is less poison in the land. It is a realization that continues to tear at my heart.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like for these mothers when they first realized their lives were changed forever and so drastically after the birth of a special child, and to know that humanity’s carelessness brought it upon them. I don’t know if it was rage, anger, helplessness or sadness, but that morning what I felt was love – the kind you and I may not even know. I felt it from the children–saw it in eyes that were not quite right but sparkled impossibly brightly anyway. I saw it in the mothers who cradled them, trying to contain tiny limbs both weightless and leaden. There was laughter in the room even as they spoke of seizures and dental procedures that would be nothing to other children, but life-threatening for theirs. All the time I thought of my little boys who slid my huge door open and ambled into my room that morning and how I often wish they wouldn’t wake me so early. The things we take for granted.
Politicians have used these children and their families shamelessly. They had countless photographs taken, made and broke promises and are now all gone from the scene. Human rights activists made a big show of being on the case and accepted funds that no one can account for today. A well was dug up for water testing that remains dangerously open because of internal fighting that led to the dissolution of once-active organizations. Now there is only Susan and a few dedicated individuals who do what they can when they can.
Have the Americans taken responsibility? Not enough and I’m not waiting. The bigger question is: Have we? Not just in Clark but in other problem areas of our society. And there are too many. It pains me to think that Filipinos have lost their heart-sense. There was a time in our history when our dignity could not be bought or traded. Today, we shake our heads when our votes are stolen and make excuses for those who lie and cheat in our faces. It’s enough to make you want to throw in the hat, but somehow I haven’t. The children in Clark showed me what sacred service really means.
To this day I think about these children and the government that continues to rob our country blind, not just of money but also of democracy, truth and morality. All it takes is $3,500 scraped-up funds a year to run this little therapy room. How much was spent to buy votes both during the elections and the impeachment process? I think of our countrymen who continue to say "there is no alternative, everybody lies and cheats anyway" and can almost see their hands tipping cans of motor oil into our soil, except it’s apathy their pouring into the moral fabric of society damaging not just the body, but the very soul of the Filipino. We are lacing the boots of our oppressors; aiding them in trampling us. That seems like the choice we’re making. And the powers that be know it.
I am sometimes asked how I can stay hopeful. It is a choice. It helps that I continue to meet Filipinos of courage and integrity –people who take a stand despite the odds and firmly believe that we still have what it takes to make something of this country, if we only harnessed our inner strength. This we will celebrate in the Karangalan 2006 Conference and Festival on January 27 and 28 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This year, our theme is Lakas ng Loob: Harnessing Inner Strength to Create Successes out of Societal Challenges. Karangalan 2006, a non-partisan spiritual-cultural event, focuses on the excellence and moral integrity found in the "other Philippines" to give Filipinos a realistic sense of hope amidst today’s moral exhaustion and political turbulence. Karangalan 2006 will highlight exciting examples of lakas ng loob to inspire Filipinos to move beyond apathy and harness their inner capacities to transform the country. Speakers include Gov. Grace Padaca, Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ., Dr. Vicente Perlas, Antonio Oposa, and others.
In addition to speeches by exemplary Filipino achievers and workshops on outstanding initiatives, Karangalan 2006 will also harness the profound power of art to communicate its messages. Art stimulates the emergence of heart and collective intelligence, which are essential in establishing creative responses to societal challenges. Log on to www.truthforce.info for details. I hope to see you there.
My experience in Clark was a deep, profound and painful one, but it also lifted me up. Human beings can be careless and cruel and downright evil. But we can, like these children, be so Christ-like as to consciously choose the opposite path. We can choose to take into ourselves some of the pain of the world and bring something new and good, too. We can make it happen. The other, better Philippines is already on its way.