Friday, August 7, 2009

Haiku 080709

driftwood lies
past the channel
six lake gulls

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Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: “Aquino mourned at wake by thousands of Filipinos” by Jim Gomez (Associated Press)

"Mourners wept as they paid their respects at the wake of former President Corazon Aquino on Sunday, with some pledging to carry on her legacy by protecting the democracy she helped install 23 years ago.

"Filipinos have been sensitive to any slide back toward autocratic rule since Aquino and Roman Catholic leader Cardinal Jaime Sin led the 1986 "people power" revolt that ousted longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos…

"Aquino, 76, died early Saturday in a Manila hospital after a yearlong battle with colon cancer, reminding many Filipinos of her role in bringing democracy to the country - and of the effort needed to keep it intact...

"A housewife who was reluctantly thrust into power, Aquino struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term…

" 'Our lives have not improved that much,' said Olazo, the laborer. 'But if Tita Cory did not restore democracy, I will not even be free to talk this much today.' "

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And we thought:

… The late President Cory Aquino of the Philippines deserves to be honored. She unified the then-fractured opposition forces and focused their combined resources against the Marcos dictatorship.

Unfortunately, a number of her supporters -- who replaced Marcos’ cronies in the government and the military, in agriculture and in industry – appropriated for themselves the gains from Marcos’ fall from power. The exploitive and repressive institutions remained intact; only the players among the ruling elite changed.

Nonetheless, there are certainly things Filipinos can be thankful for. When the Marcos dictatorship fell, certain freedoms – albeit imperfect -- were fortunately restored that the Filipinos were denied for nearly 20 years before 1986.


The noble aspects and goals of the 1986 People Power Revolution should not be forgotten. Vigilance should not waver. Unrepentant holdovers from the Marcos regime and their variants over the last 20 years are still lurking. Genuine social change is a protracted process….



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