My mother will turn 92 this March and is upbeat as ever. When I talked to her by phone the other day —3pm in Vancouver, BC— she said that she’s fine and that she was baking pizzas for her apos, aged 18, 16, and 13. Whew, when are you going to stop, mother?
No, not now — not even after raising ten children; nine of her own with my father and his first son with his first wife who died just after delivery. My mother reared them, I mean us, all and continues to.
Well, maybe being busy is the reason why that despite her age and age-related syndromes, her mind and perception of things around her is still as keen as that of Canada’s weather office. She could also sense that rain, or snow, is coming by the intensity of her arthritic pain. It is part of our regular conversation to share updates first on family then depending on both our moods maybe other things that affect us in general like events around the world.
She said that the world at present seems like a giant anthill being stirred by a stick; the ants are scurrying all over, biting those they could that is if they are not crushed first.
She was making the observation based on what she sees on the news about what’s happening in the Middle East. People are frantic, scared, angry, and scurrying in agitated pain as they are stirred to revolt. It all started in Tunisia, followed by Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Bahrain, and recently Libya, the more lethal. A region which has been a bastion of conservatism, ruled either by despots or monarchs, has suddenly turned into a hotbed of revolution. People of this part of the world want change and some are getting it while others are still in the struggle to attain the change they want. An anthill stirred by a stick.
Price of oil has surged as a result affecting economies all over the world making people edgy as to what will come next to what seems to be a volatile world.
While such upheavals happen in the Middle East, nature wrecked havoc in the southern hemisphere. Australia had been devastated by enormous flooding and recently the city of Christchurch in New Zealand was hit by an earthquake that damaged properties in the billions and killed or maimed hundreds of its inhabitants, including Filipinos living or working there.
OFWs in Taiwan are held in tenterhooks, too, as 3,000 among them have already been given the boot and sent home to the Philippines. Taiwan further says it will stop hiring Filipinos, revenue in the millions of dollars that the Philippines will stand to lose. Taiwan’s anger over the Philippine’s deportation of 14 of its nationals to mainland China instead of to Taiwan caused this.
The Philippines insists that at the time of the 14’s arrest for drug trafficking, the same were not able to show documents that they’re of Taiwanese origin so off to the mainland they were sent. Taiwan insists it wasn’t so. Whichever position is correct the fact is that OFWs and their families become the victims of this diplomatic row.
Still on China, recently the Philippine government sent its vice president, Jesus Joseph Mary (Jejomar) Binay, to make a plea to the Chinese government in behalf of 3 Filipinos convicted also for being drug couriers. China commuted the sentences of the three but for how long and in exchange of what? These and other questions stir the boggled minds of Filipinos.
Then comes along Maria Aragon. The name may not be a household name yet but it could soon be, if not already. In fact, Maria is now famous in the cyber world as her YouTube video singing Lady Gaga’s “I was born this way” reached more than twelve million hits as of this writing. If luck, talent, and effective public relations campaign are put into the right mix then this Filipina child would be on the heels of Charice or even surpass her. By the look of it this ten-year-old girl from Winnipeg has the right recipe working to her advantage.
She has been invited by Lady Gaga herself to sing with her in her concert in Toronto in March at the ACC.
We, Filipinos, always like to boast and talk gaga whenever a fellow Filipino makes it to the international stage. It is a normal attitude especially for a people who are still, whether you agree with me or not, struggling to be recognized for their collective worth as a nation. This happens while we continue to search for our identity as a people. People like Maria Aragon, Manny Paquiao, Heidi Mendoza, those who were before them, OFWs, all honest and well-meaning, selfless Filipinos could by being what they are help us define who we are.
Joining the multitudes that are now rooting for Maria Aragon, I hope all the best for her in her future career and as a person while at the same time hoping that she will not forget where she comes from. If all things continue as they are, this girl will hit it big in the entertainment world. If Charice has her Oprah, Maria has her Gaga— and Ellen, too.
What they will really be in the long run remains to be seen. Next time I call my mother, I will ask her what she thinks about all these, especially about Maria.
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