Ikaw Ba Ay Mistulang Nawawala?

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June 15, 2006
Thursday

Inspired by the incident occurred recently in Montreal, Quebec, which involved a school headmaster's punishing a Filipino boy for the latter's manner of eating--using a fork and a spoon. According to the headmaster, eating with spoon and fork is unethical, thus should not be tolerated. The headmaster punished the boy by letting him eat alone at a corner, separating him from the rest of the students, subjecting him to possible racial slurs and bullying by his fellow students. Here's a great blog article about the incident, as written by my friend Butch, "The Meaning of Ewww."

I didn't feel hatred for the headmaster, instead I pitied him for his ignorance that there are hundreds of cultures around the world. But, on second thoughts, I'd like to believe that he knows cultural diversity very well, and that most likely he's just feigning ignorance to justify his discriminatory acts towards other cultures.

Anyway, here's one of the two articles written by yours truly featured in the latest issue of The Filipino Journal. The other one being the first part of my Engkanto book which the newspaper is serializing.

Ikaw Ba Ay Mistulang Nawawala?
by aLfie vera mella


Hindi ka nag-iisa. Ang nararamdaman mo ay nararamdaman din ng libu-libong tao—Filipino man o hindi—na naninirahan sa ibang bansa.

Loneliness and solitariness are seething into my soul
Anxiety and uncertainty are digging in my heart a hole
Finding myself alone in a multiracial society
I sometimes feel scared and lost culturally and spiritually

Oo, mahirap manirahan sa ibang bansa. Mahirap na muling magsimula, lalo na kung mag-isa ka lang na nakikipagsapalaran, nagbabakasakaling makatikim ng mas masaganang búhay. Bukod sa pangungulila sa mga naiwang mahal sa búhay at paninibago sa klima, ang pinakamatinding bagay na iyong kahaharapin ay ang kultura at wika ng bansang nilipatan.

Handa ka na bang talikdan ang baun-baon mong prinsipyo at kaugalian, kapalit ng kultura at wika ng iyong bagong tahanan?

Dapat ka nga bang mamilì? Kailangan mo nga bang kalimutan ang iyong pagka-Filipino upang mayakap nang lubusan ang bago mong pagkatao?

Sa tingin ko, hindi. Hindi mo kailanman dapat itakwil o ikahiya ang bansang pinanggalingan ng iyong lahi—kasama na ang mga gawi, kaugalian, wika, at paniniwala na wala namang dulot na masama sa kapwa—ang mismong mga bagay na nagbibigay-karaktér sa iyong pagkatao.

Sa gitna ng pakikibagay at pakikisalamuha, maaari mo namang mapanatiling buo ang iyong dignidád at pagkatao. Ipagpatuloy ang mabubuting gawi habang inuunawa at sinusubukan ang mga bagong natututunan. Iwaksi ang hindi kanais-nais, at h’wag tularan ang nakasasakit at nakapeperwisyo.

Acknowledging Cultural Diversity
“People’s diverse sociocultural backgrounds influence their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. They affect all facets of life from their favorite foods to their beliefs about masculinity and femininity.”—Taylor et al, Social Psychology (2003, Prentice-Hall Inc.)

An admirable social being is one who knows that cultural diversity or multiculturalism exists. She acknowledges that social behavior is largely influenced by a person’s cultural origin and affected by differences in cultural values, norms, and roles. She is adaptable enough to adopt new, positive, and progressive customs without shedding her own values and without finding herself lost in the mélange of cultures and languages. She is capable of respecting all these without losing pride in her own “tongue” and “skin.”

Many people—regardless of race and religion—have the tendency to assume that the behaviors of each of their own cultures are standard and typical. Usually, they who give in to this folly are the same people who commit racial prejudices, either intentionally or subconsciously. Every rational being should realize that each person is entitled freely to express her own culture and speak her own language, so long as she is able to use a common medium of communication and foster understanding in respect of the laws and the people of the country into which she immigrated.

Sa Madaling Salita
Ang susi sa kakayanang makipagkapwa sa kahit anupamang lahi ay ang pagkakaroon ng bukás na isipan at malawak na pananaw—handang umunawa at rumespeto sa kahit anupamang kultura.

Oo, hindi dapat isipin ng isang tao na ang kanyang mga gawi at paniniwala ang bukod-tanging tama at kaiga-igaya. Hindi n’ya dapat ipilit ang kanyang kultura na isabuhay ng iba, at hindi rin naman tamang basta-basta na lang magpaimpluwensya sa kultura ng iba.

Sa bandang huli, ang mahalaga ay mapanatili natin ang ating pagka-indibidwál at maipahayag nang buong-laya ang ating kultura nang hindi nakadudulot ng perwisyo sa kapaligirang ating ginagalawan at mga taong ating nakakasalamuha.

Kapag kilala mo nang lubusan ang iyong sarili, hindi kailanman mawawalan ng saysay ang iyong pagkatao. Kapag nasa puso mo ang kultura ng bansang iyong pinagmulan, hinding-hindi ka mawawala, saang lupalop ka pa man ng mundo magpunta.