By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Widening our Memories and Living with a Purpose
Every time I get my copy of the Bohol Tribune on Sunday mornings, I go to the banner story, then I read the front page articles and proceed immediately to the editorial of the paper written Atty. Greg Austral. He has a way of writing that allows us to make our own decisive opinion of the issues at hand. It is really balanced as it analyzes events and pieces of evidence. It does not jump to conclusions; instead, it guides the readers to form their own judgement of current issues based on what is presented in the article, no more, no less. Moreover, I can read the editorial in a short period of time as it is concise and does not oblige me to stay put for a long period digesting what the author is driving at. His language is clear, coherent, decent, which to me are marks of a man’s upbringing, good traits and wealth of wisdom.
I love to read repeatedly the editorial. Every time I re-read it, there is always something new that I discover. And last Sunday’s editorial made me misty-eyed. It made me miss my childhood. It brought me back to my young days where beautiful memories abounded. I could not help but recall those days when we brought flowers from our garden; when we used empty tin cans of Alpine milk as vases for those flowers; when we covered those tin vases with spare sheets of bond paper or Manila paper or whatever was available just to be sure that the tin cans looked like beautiful works of art. We brought all these to the cemetery as we visited our departed loved ones.
Paghuman nako ug basa sa editorial niadtong Domingo, gimingaw gyud ko kaayo sa panahon sa akong kabatan-on labi na sa among kasaulogan sa Todos los Santos ug sa Kalag-Kalag. Panahon sa responso, among huwaton ang pagkahuman sa seremonyas – kanang malinaw-linaw na ang palibot aron manguha mi ug upos sa kandila nga nalanay na. Halos among libuton and kalapad sa sam-ang (menteryo) aron manguha kami sa hilis nga mga kandila. Samtang humok pa kini, among umolon ang maong mga lanay nga kandila ug hulmahon namo sama sa maanindot nga mga bola. We, the children, enjoyed comparing the number of candle balls we were able to mold using our bare hands. We enjoyed bringing these molded candle balls to our houses and used them as wax for our floor in the living room, bedroom, and even in our kitchens.
Yes, we enjoyed all those times. Going to the cemetery to visit the dead was a treasured activity for us and not as a matter of obligation. Sa among pagbaktas padulong ngadto sa menteryo, susama lang gyud mi ug naghimo sa among paseo ug suroy suroy: gikan sa among balay ngadto sa lubnganan sa among mitaliwan nga mahal sa kinabuhi. Security was never a problem. There were no enforcers manning the traffic. There was no traffic at all. People were free as they came ang went to the resting places of their loved ones.
And in last Sunday’s editorial, there was something that pierced my heart. It was that portion when Atty. Austral wrote: “Let us light candles not only for our kins, but for those whose names have been lost to injustice, poverty or silence.” This was very touching and thought-provoking, especially in the aftermath of typhoon Tino where many families were and are rendered homeless; where both the young and old died as they drowned in the midst of surging waters; where properties built by one’s savings for many years were just obliterated in a split of second (hyperbole is mine).
Ang pangutana: Magpakahilum ba lang gihapon ta? Mosaludo ba lang gihapon ta sa mga tawo nga maoy bug-at nga hinundan kun nganong na-ingon niini ang atong kalikopan? We all know why mountains have been leveled to the ground to build a subdivision; why forests have been denuded because trees were cut to satisfy the greed of the mighty and powerful; why quarrying are going on despite the laws of the country. Ug sa awit pa: Makig-ambag sa yutang patag. Is our government really deaf and dumb to what the officials are doing? There seems to be a parody somewhere; there seems to be a mockery along the way; there seems to be rude madness among our people. I believe this is one of the injustices which the editorial of Atty. Austral is talking about.
Have we forgotten what caused Noah to build the arc? God said: “I will put the rainbow in the sky as my covenant to the people that there is no punishment like the deluge.” But why are we having it now? Of course, this deluge is not from God; this is made by man and his cruel hands. The deluge we are having now is of our own doing because of man’s insatiable greed for wealth and power. But let us all remember that all these powerful officials are in their places in Government now because we chose them to sit there; because we decided that they would lead us; because we sold our votes during election time; because our sense of values is very weak. We are, indeed selling the sanctity of our life and the high cost of our environment for “30 pieces of silver”.
It’s time to wake up!!! It’s not yet too late. Or is it?
