Misplaced Priorities

A prime example of twisted Filipino pride. this is an article sent to me by a friend, i wasn't really surprised with the content because this isn't the first time something like this has happened in the Philippines.

Apathy.

Another word we can associate with "pinoys". I'm betting Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio are getting a lot of shit in Valhalla because of us.

Read on, see a child martyred in her quest to find glory for a country that doesn't know she exist.

(apologies to the author of this article, If you read this, just tell me and i'll put your name at the end of the article to credit your work.)

"He who can take no interest in what is small will take false
interest in what is great." John Ruskin

Jasmine Trias visited the Philippines very recently. Everyone was agog
waiting to welcome her. The excitement was remarkable as the media
and many of our "kababayans" flocked to the airport to see her. This
scenario is typical of Filipinos. Sadly, it reflects our country's
misplaced priorities.

Contest of the Mind. Another young girl came back to the country just
a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Faye (not her real name for very
sensitive reasons). Unknown to her countrymen, this eleven year old
girl brought honor to the Philippines. She represented the country in
the Intercontinental Science Quiz Net in Australia. Out of 57
countries represented, Faye garnered First Place for the
Philippines. Germany came in second while the United States came in
third.

In start contrast to the hooplah extended to Jasmine Trias, Faye's
arrival did not make any noise. Not a peep. In an earlier
competition, "Mathematics for the Young Asians" in Indonesia, Faye
also came out in the Top Five. But just like the Australian event,
this feat did not receive any recognition in our country at all. Our
interests seem to be set on other "priorities".

We are more interested in promoting celebrity guests instead of
educational and intellectual pursuits. Indirectly and quite obviously
we are teaching our children that development of the external image
takes priority over educational achievement.

Faye's story is inspiring. She comes from a broken family. Her father
falsely claimed that he was unmarried when he married her mom. When
her mom found out, she decided to raise up her daughter alone.
Despite the difficulty, Faye in no way used it as an excuse for
complacency in her studies. In grade school, she was a consistent
honor student. She took every academic requirement as a challenge.
And she delivered. At one time, she submitted a project thesis in
Australia that won "The Best Physics and Science Award". The award
qualified the Philippines to be one of the top 10 countries that
would compete in Australia, among the 57 countries that joined.

Considering her family's financial constraints, she and her mom asked
help from our government for their trip to Australia to claim
the "Best
Physics" award and to join the Science competition. They saw this
challenge as a rare opportunity offered to Faye and her country,
considering that only two Asian countries qualified - Japan and the
Philippines. Unfortunately, our government had other priorities.

Mother and daughter then tried to ask help from individual senators
and congressmen. All turned them down except for one who was willing
to help, on condition that Faye should give public credit to the
senator for supporting her even in the earlier competitions she
joined. Out of integrity, the mother could not accede to this
arrangement. Thus no outside help was found.

Faced with this situation, Faye and her mom took out all their
savings and went out of their way to secure by themselves the
additional finances needed. The only driving force behind them was
their desire to give honor to God and to the Philippines. With the
little resources they had, they went to Australia on September 17,
2004 for the competition. They claimed the trophy and cash award for
the "Best Physics" thesis, Faye submitted in Sidney and then flew to
Brisbane for the quiz competition.

No kababayan welcomed them in Australia except for a kind Filipina
they met in the plane who assisted them. As they were checking in at
a hotel, the "kind" Filipina who volunteered to help them disappeared
taking with her Faye's and her mother's bags, passports, and plane
tickets. At that point, they literally had nothing left except for
the few pieces of clothes and their faith in God. They had to sell
the extra clothes left to be able to buy food.

In need once again, they sought help from some of the Filipino
officials in Australia but to no avail. Oddly, the Filipino officials
there were too
busy with other priorities, not minding to help a young girl and a
mother who had no other desire but to bring honor to our country.
Given a budget for only a one night stay at the hotel, mother and
daughter had to check out the following day.

Leaving their luggage on deposit and without money for transportation
fare, they decided to walk two kilometers to the competition venue on
their native Filipino costumes. If walking a two kilometer distance
was bad enough, how much more would be walking the distance on their
native costume along the highways of Australia!

Upon arrival at the competition site, Faye and her mom were very
surprised when they discovered that the delegates from each of the
other
countries were well supported by a band, a cheering squad, and a
flag, while Faye only had her mother and the anxiety of lost
passports and plane tickets. Worse, representatives of each country
were required to decorate their booths. With only the three-piece
costume they had on, Faye and her mom were even more surprised when
the organizing committee awarded their booth as "The Most Creative"
booth.

In the early part of the competition, Japan, Brazil and Spain were
eliminated. As the only Asian country left to compete against six
Western nations, the Philippines was cheered on by Japan. Faye was
encouraged by her Japanese cheering squad, but in her heart, how she
wished that she had her own countrymen to cheer her on. When Faye
finally won first place and Philippines national anthem was being
played, she prayed silently thanking God for making her a Filipina.

Despite all the painful experiences she had with her country, her
priorities did not waver. A Japanes diplomat was the one who helped
Faye and her mom to secure temporary pass so they could return to the
Philippines. The money they won was just enough for their fare back
home and their temporary passport. When Faye was relating this story
before a crowd, she said, "Let us love our nation, for nobody else
will."

Faye did not allow her painful experiences to tear down her loyalty
to her country. She is not a celebrity but a servant out to serve her
fellow Filipino.