Tears of a Giraffe

What set this book apart from other books on Africa is because it portrays Africa as it is and not as the helpless demoralized famine stricken continent that the westerners are bound to project. The book explores the tragedy of a White woman loosing his son ten years ago and wanted to have a closure. It turns out that her son fell into a thorn pit and was dragged by the lover of his lover into an anthill where his body eventually became one with the earth leaving no trace. In the midst of her search for the answers, the head of the no.1 ladies detective agency has to balance her engagement to a mechanic with a sinister hosehold help and two newly adopted children.

This is a light read but it changed my views of Africa. I hope there are books like this that will change the images of the Philippines. We have moral characters too that exist and our lives go beyond the drudgery of war, drugs and corruption. It just takes a voice like Alexander McCall Smith to start the transformation.

Irresponsible Ces Drilon Released

I am against the way media is projecting Ces Drilon is a hapless victim in her kidnapping when in the final analysis she brought her predicament upon herself. There are a lot of victims of this vilent and reproachable act who never took chances with fate like she did.

Sometimes heroics should be weighed as to how much courage and responsibility one gives in the performance of a good act. In her reckless pursuit for a none existing story, Ces Drilon ignored the usual precautions and endangered her life and her crew. clearly that is not responsible journalism.

By being kidnapped for nine days, she just opened up old wounds and lead us back into the ages when the mere mention of Sulu and Zamboanga send shivers to the spine of anyone residing in Luzon and echoing into the international community (her release is on the headlines of yahoo today). She justified the military's request for more funds when it could be used for education and health projects. She justified the war in Mindanao. She placed the peace process a thousand steps back to where it started.

I do not believe she just got off easily from her predicament with just the laway of Sen Loren Legarda. Ten years from now, when the light shines low on her career, she will look back and write a book and just like Gracia Burnham, she will tell us all what really happened. By then few will be interested and would have forgotten who she is and what all of this was about.

For now, I apologize for not being able to emphatize.

May 29 Zamboanga Bombing

Finally the sun was out and everyone was glad to be able to enjoy the last few days of summer without the rains. The traffic early that morning was steadily growing into a pack but still manageable until school day traffic. The army dependents were waiting in front of the Edwin Andrews airbase for the scheduled C130 flight to Manila. Some on the flight to prepare for the coming school year. some to start jobs in Manila. Others to get the last chance to fritter away the last few days of the vacation.

There was an announcement a delay because of the US ambassadors visit to Pagadian and the President's visit to Tawi tawi. The passengers became restless. Some have scheduled appointments for that morning. but everyone was ready for the hitches, it was a free ride anyway. The sun was slowly drying the dew off the cemented pavement. The vendor of the fruit stand across the gate began his daily routine of arranging ripe papayas tied with straw on nails attached to roof beams of his makeshift stall. The bananas were packed on a box underneath a plywood table. He opened the wooden crate filled with marang and the passengers suddenly were hit by the intoxicating smell of the fruit.

The owner of the barbecue stand near the Blue Diamond started cleaning the grill by scraping the fat drippings and the sweeping the bamboo sticks strewn on the ground. The sari-sari stores were opening shop. The jeepneys and motorcycles hug the road going to the camins intersection like they all own the road without any consideration of other vehicles running the same street.

It was a clear hot sunny day. Then a person riding on the back of the driver of a motorcycle threw a package towards the waiting passengers across the base gate.

23 injured. 2 dead. I am not sure of the statistics. I do not understand why they do this. This place could be beautiful but they choose to make it otherwise and they seem not to be affected about it. Parang okay lang sa kanila na ganito. So I do not dream of change of development here. What is here is what this place can offer. Yun na yun. don't go on lofty ideal setting for things, but just go on with the flow.