Of Faces and Poverty

Dave's picture
Submitted by Dave on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 9:46pm

Below is a URL of a site containing the faces of Pandan which I have originally pasted in Catanduanes Net Association.

I have not stopped feeling in awe by these faces who made my memory of what Pandan is... a vibrant town of even more vibrant and colorful people with a very positive outlook in life. These are the people with Philippine history etched on their faces. These are the people whose twinkle in their eyes reflect the unwavering resolve to live... no matter what! These are the faces of our people... our aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters... or simply our "kababayan".

Have time to contemplate on the joy they project and do not mind the sorrows behind these smiling faces, we all have those anyway. Stare at them for a while. By so doing maybe... yes, just maybe, one of us will be moved to be enlightened to see what we are and where we are heading. And then, maybe... yes, just maybe, one of us will do something about the situation most of us are in and make that drop-in-the-bucket step to make our people and place a little bit better.

Poverty? I do not believe in that word. Poverty is an option. It is a badly coined word to mean that primeval existence our forebears have lived their lives to the full. That existence that afford them the luxury of resources enough to make everyone's life happy and meaningful... Poverty is that word to mean enjoying the "late, uma, honasan, abakanhan, kabukidan" teeming with "duma, paray, agahidon, bitanahon, panaon, bunor, tabagwang, kabakab, kasili, urang, tubo, urampahigan" so something like "inang-ang na ugbos nin bunor(hopi) sa lemon" with "hipon, kasili" will be had for lunch and enjoy a quiet afternoon whistling life out in a "duyan" under that shady tree... THAT IS POVERTY?

Poverty is a word to describe a life chosen by sages and simple wisdom which means, smelling that freshly cooked "camote" and eating it with "kabunbun, orang, tininom na tubo, inang-ang (inon-on) na inagahidan or sinarapan, o binitanahan" served on the table with nothing but banana leaves under them. Poverty is that word that describes a lifestyle with lots of simple things AND with lots of time to enjoy those simple things with our family and friends, perhaps with a darikhon of tuba!

Povery is a word invented as opposed to getting a job and earning so much money, affording one with cars and houses that need more money for maintenance, cost and insurances... more time-cutting machines to give us more time to work and earn more money to buy what that "poor man" already is enjoying! Time... time to enjoy all that we have labored for and time to enjoy it with our families and friends with perhaps a darikhon or two of tuba!

No... These faces have everything what many of us who are not "poor" do not have and are still working for: that serene time to enjoy with each other a plateful of inon-on and tons of invented stories and some lies and hambog to entertain ourselves with over a couple of darikhon of tuba!

Shame on us who believe in poverty! The problem is not poverty! The problem is really because humanity has turned around and despised that existence and invented a lifestyle away from it. Shame on us who work so hard to eradicate "poverty" and end up in the cycle of robotic living! Shame on us who do not even have time to sit decently with our family and preach for a life we do not even live!

Shame on me! For so long a time I have missed the point! Shame on me... for a time I have joined the hoard of the poorest souls with lots of money but with no life to live!

So while you watch these faces deareast to me, think again. Who is poor?

http://www.pbase.com/davetemplonuevo/dave_templonuevo

sino daw talaga ang pobre?

bahi's picture
Submitted by bahi on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 9:28pm.

boko to si hapo. ona ikan ngani istorya ning mag ama, pamilya ning mayaman sa manila. Sa kagustuhan ning ama na ma araman ning kiyang bata kung painano maging pobre dinara nya sa sabi nya sa pobreng lugar daa sa probinsya.

Ninyo paparibod na sila hiningunay ning ama kung inano man mabuhay sa mga pobre. yo simbag ning bata, ona masiram daa. doon sabi, or ardaw ga aratubang sa pagkaon yan magpapamilya. iba man da yo lipot dun sa inistaran nila kumpara sa aircon sa kilang baray. kaipuhan pa daa ning kadakor na ilaw sa kilang baray samantalang doon mga bitoon lang boda buran maliwanag na. doon bistado mo gabos maski nasa ibong na ning sarog samantalang sa kila maski yo kapitbahay mai bistado. Doon sabi iga hagad o kanaway lang ang isda dito kaipuhan mong mag igot para maka bakar ning isda.

sa ako man lang toyan. siguro maski siin kang lugar pwede kitang maging maogma. ang kaipuhan lang mai ta paglimutan ang atong hinarian boda mai lamang tabi maka limot mag padara. hehehe. mai man sinyaw lang. siguro sado pa maski ahin kang lugar mai mo malimutan ang ugali na imong naadaran sa imong lugar. Ang ugali ning Catandunganon iso yan mag pasi tarabang tabang boko lang na sa kababayan ta kundi maski sino na nangaipo ning tabang ta.

ang kapobrehan boko man na nasasalming sa lumang mga bado o sa kung sino yan maputi ang tingo kundi sa isip na ga daragan sa atong namamate.

tayun baga ta naimbento pa tong internet na mas masiram mag diriskotiran masiram mag iristoryahan sa atubang ning ga hilo hilong lamesa na ikan ga taribong na sadong bilog.