I think our dispute with China is taken lightly by our countrymen because it is not clearly understood by most of them. Borrowing a perspective of a former senator and currently Muntinlupa’s representative, retired general Rodolfo Biazon, let me elaborate: Let us suppose you lawfully own an average house where you and your family comfortably and happily live; then one day, a neighbor, who has become rich over the intervening years, decides to expand his house. Without notice, he suddenly occupies a portion of your lot to support the construction of his fourth floor. You confront him but he says, it’s his. To avoid conflict, you just let it go, anyway it’s just a half-meter area.
The following day, you go to work but when you return home, you find your neighbor and his relatives inside your house asserting that half of your house belongs to them. They even have started construction work while you were away totally disregarding your family’s presence. Your neighbor, who also happens to be taller and bigger than you, then rolls up his sleeves and waits to see how you will respond as he takes on a fighting position.
You know you cannot beat him so you go outside and ask help from a friend whose house is just across the street where you live. You tell the friend everything, showing him proofs of trespassing. Now, your friend is big and sturdy, he hurriedly goes to see your house but is met by your bully-neighbor who confronts him with these words: “Now, what?!”
Your friend talks to you and your neighbor, telling you both that “you better talk this between yourselves peacefully.” So, in the end you just accept your unfortunate situation. But that is not the worst part, it is seeing your wife and children crying and asking you, “What will happen to us?”
This is precisely our situation with China, it is occupying our house. Yes, we can close our eyes to what it is doing to us, but think about the future of our children; imagine what will happen to them.
As a father, what would you do to protect your loved ones? Yes, that is correct, we have to fight, no matter if we are small for it is embedded in our hearts that we must protect our family and country, our own. We call for help, yes, we should, but before that we have to assert that this is our home, this is our family.
Do we still have time? Yes, we do. Let’s go back to Citizens Army Training in high school instead of insisting on that program where students are asked to bring brooms to sweep the streets, and the K-to-12.
We have to teach our children basic survival methods, vocational skills, agriculture, and military warfare, side by side with our lasting values of patriotism, respect for elders, love for family and God. In short, we have to train our students to be independent, intelligent, strong and capable.
We have to tell the world that, yes, we are hospitable, kind and accommodating, but don’t you ever fool us or mess with us, for you will see what we can and will do, not out of arrogance but for our family.
—CARLOS FAJARDO,
fajardocarloserwin@yahoo.com