Mending the wounds

Whenever I get wounds, Mama would “spill” alcohol on it. It’s painful, but she tells me (in an angry but loving manner) that it’s the cure because it will prevent infections.

The hostage crisis and the picture of students who posed having the hostaged bus as their background have already wounded the China-Philippines relationship. However, just like the wounds we had, I believe that we will be able to patch things up again and strengthen the centuries-long relationship with the Chinese.

In this blog, I will particularly focus on some practical suggestions on mending the wounds.

1. Admit and Submit- The damage has been done, and we cannot “undone what has been done”. Filipinos should stop pointing fingers. Instead, what we should do is to admit that there were really lapses on the part of government, media, Mendoza’s relatives, and the “usiseros”. At the same time, we have to silently submit to public denouncements by the world—it’s part of the confession, to be condemned. We did something wrong, and even if we argue that this is an isolated case (which I strongly believe, because c’mon, don’t tell me that Philippines isn’t safe; USA wasn’t “safe” too, remember twin towers in 2001?; Spain wasn’t “safe” too, remember the Madrid train bombing in 2004?; India is not “safe” too, remember the Mumbai Attacks in 2008?) we cannot blame them for hating us. I’d like to believe (and I really hope and pray) that this will come to pass. Tolerance, I believe, is the key. It’s not synonymous to cowardice.

2. Recuperate and cooperate- The process of mending the wounds doesn’t stop on the confession level. We have to do proactive moves to “redeem the lost glory”. Specifically, instead of hating the students for the stupidity of their acts, I think it’s more important to move on and cooperate by finally putting a halt on cyber bullying and lambasting; it doesn’t help the situation anyway. Moreover, let me stress out that the majorship of these kids is IRRELEVANT. There are stupid students around us anyway; there are stupid students from both public and private schools anyway—so let’s STOP stressing out that they belong to such and such a department. This is one of the many ways to recuperate and cooperate.

3. Be careful and be tactful- Now that we know how powerfully dangerous the internet can be (just this afternoon, we received an information from PNU Chinese students that the pictures were already published in Chinese newspapers in China) we have to be extra careful on the pictures, videos, and blogs that we upload. At the same time, we should be extra tactful with all the comments, tweets, or statuses that we post. Remember that the world can view your posts, and your posts are subject to acceptance or rejection—or denouncement for that matter. Remember that beyond the computer screens are human beings that have different moral values and cultural traditions. For us, turning the bus into a tourist spot may not mean anything serious, editing the pictures and putting spiderman there may be a joke, but for our Chinese brothers and sisters, this is a direct insult to their fellows who died there.

This morning, I have started to “re-educate” my students with netiquette (network etiquette). I have reminded them to be extra careful with their internet-related activities. Hopefully, they will teach their future students too (who would most probably be in a more “dangerous” cyber world).

I challenge my students, friends, and colleagues to do the same (especially those who commented on the pictures). The condemning part is over. Now, what we have to do is to start teaching.

Instead of spreading the infection, let’s “spill” the alcohol that would cure the wound. Yes, wounds leave scars, but these should be taken positively as reminders: of the wrong that should be avoided, and of the good that should be practiced.