There's no 'taho' in Sydney
Posted:1:00 AM (Manila Time) | Feb. 15, 2004
By Celina Ribeiro
Inquirer News Service
I NEVER thought I would like Manila, a city I
never even imagined I would visit in my lifetime.
But now, as the date of my departure approaches,
I find that I do not want to leave.
I came to the Philippines on a Ken and Yasuko
Myer Fellowship. The program sends graduating
Australian journalism students to work in newspapers
in Southeast Asia in order to promote better
understanding and relations between the media of
Australia and its regional neighbors.
Without pausing to draw breath, I found myself at
the departure lounge of Sydney Airport just four
weeks after winning the Fellowship.
As I sat on the plane, I browsed through my hastily
compiled research on the Philippines. My guidebook
recommended that tourists escape Manila at the
first opportunity. The internet stories I had
gathered described the corruption, the kidnapping
and the crime wave. My government's travel
advisory encouraged caution and warned of robbery
and terrorism. And, an international media watchdog
body tallied seven murdered Filipino journalists
in 2003.
I really did not think I would like Manila.
I have been in the Philippines for six weeks now.
I have not been robbed, kidnapped, blown up,
bribed or killed. I have, however, been charmed.
The dangers and controversies of the Philippines
are well-publicized, but I will take away from
Manila memories of the kindness, not the
criminality, of the Filipino people.
Stories of the legendary Filipino hospitality had
reached me in Sydney before I left, but I had not
bargained on its strength. People who barely knew
me took me into their homes. People who struggled
to buy each day's groceries fed me. I have been
truly humbled by the generosity and the
indefatigable good nature of the Filipino people.
I had imagined my life in the Philippines to
consist of watching cable in my apartment every
night. However, the tireless efforts of the young
Filipinos who adopted me ensured that I soon came
to know and love Filipino food and the timeless
art of "gimmicking."
While humbled by the people, I have been awed by
the press. I had not expected a country that has
yet to complete its second consecutive decade of a
restored democracy to have such a stable and
well-developed media.
Coming from Australia with a small population
able to support only a handful of broadsheet and
tabloid daily newspapers, the Philippine media
looked to be an exotic banquet to me. The depth
and diversity of the Filipino press are something
of which the country is rightfully proud.
During my time working in the Philippine press,
I have found its boast about being the freest in
the region to be true, and then some. The
Philippines is an amazingly dynamic, vibrant,
complicated country. While it has its problems,
I feel these are often dwelt on to the neglect
of its many attributes.
I will watch the lights of Manila fade from my
airplane window next week with reluctance. I will
miss Manila for, among so many other things, there
is no taho (bean curd in syrup) in Sydney.
*****
