Dreaming Of A Different Reality

During this season, I have had much time for reflection and much time to myself for as the French would say, “ A life reflected is better than life itself.” I have also been in conversation with all kinds of folks : from our perfumed European guests at my Inn and with ordinary tricycle drivers who frequent our KTV garden hall to celebrate the end of hard day’s work by singing their troubles away. One common topic is the recession or hard times which is so palpably felt by all even if for many of us nothing is changed as we have always been experiencing poverty all this time, anyway. So, I end up regaling my guests with one of my favorite classic tales that I read somewhere & I like to remember when I’m stressed :

A fisherfolk was resting in a hammock under a palm tree and enjoying the
aquamarine view of the ocean & vanilla sky horizon when a Japanese tourist asked
him " WHY dont you catch more fish?
Why? asked the fisherman.
So you can build more boats, said the old Jap
& then what? asked the fisherman?
So you can buy a fleet of fishing boats, answered the Old Jap
& then what? asked the fisherman
So you can go on vacation holiday, like me.
Ah that's what Im doing already, said the fisherman.

A friend of mine has another version of the story: A farmer...taking a siesta under the tree...and world bank consultant comes around..tells him he can work to increase harvest, to earn more, to send children to school, to buy household appliances, to save time, to do the things one wants to do (other than taking a siesta)...

I may be naïve but much of the recession scare is exacerbated by media hype.
One, for example, would immediately connect the Wall Street mayhem to the drop of copra prices in these islands. The drop in copra prices has resulted to cheapened labor as most farm workers get paid in percentage share. So, labor in the rural area is as low as two dollars a day. One need not go to the uplands ( where they are better off because they have subsistence farming) because in our malls, the wage is not enough for roof and board. Needless, to say, many wage earners in malls are women as sales ladies who have to stand the whole day.

What to do in these times? The intuitive answer is to go back to basic production : plant more, produce more ( including producing more new voices from social movements, peoples organizations, organizations with corporate social responsibilities etc. ) Those who can should invest and continue to buy and sell to cushion the slowing down of markets. Development outcomes and social goals have been articulated in many documents such as the Millennium Development Goals and must go hand in hand with good governance and democratic politics. These are big words. So, let me be vernacular about some of my observations of life in these islands. In my island city, there is no decent transportation from the poblacion to the barangays. Transportation is through motorcycles, which according to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), do not conform to the standard specification of a public utility. But, the LTO cannot regulate, accordingly, because the franchising of these motorbikes has been devolved to the local governments. This hazardous transport can also be found not only in Davao City and Samal Island but also in other third world cities like Bangkok. For me, roads and transportations are women’s issues because these are used by all including children and mothers. And, there is something amiss, if only the driver of a motorbike will wear helmets. As we say, if the roads and transport systems are not safe for women and children, then they are not safe at all. One development expert is suggesting that we urge the World Bank to finance gas-powered vehicles to keep our island garden city pristine! Mumbai has very old taxicabs but because they use compact neutral gas (CNG), there is no pollution! Or maybe use electric powered pedicabs? (at least 3 wheeled).

Each of us has a stake in the survival and future of our city. The recession will result in movement of capital from expensive land and labor to cheap land and labor. So, our islands will continue to be the haven of call centers and business processing outsource entities ( BPO ) and retirement communities for expatriates. To the extent that all these will provide jobs are commendable but relocation or displacement and destruction of the environment are potential complications. We have seen how mangroves have been denuded to give way to these kind of development aggression. While sea resorts bring in the almighty dollar, access by the poor to the sea must not be impaired. This is not to say that we should be xenophobic to foreign visitors and residents as we also deploy about 10% of our mature population to almost two hundred countries in the world.