Balsam

                                                  (photo: Manila Bulletin)

Another promise, another seed
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined,,,
                                                                             (Muse, Uprising)

Refugees are getting sick in evacuation areas. Children are having skin rashes and some elderly are getting weak. Worse, decent bathrooms could not be used by the hundreds who got displaced by the conflict in Marawi. Some critics noticed the uneven percentage of attention given to the war compared to the well-being of the so-called bakwit. They say that staggering resources were spent in the offensive than in keeping the people caught in the crossfire alive.

According to reports from the local leaders, there were also people who ate cardboard and blankets just to stay alive...

Generous and empathetic as we are, Filipinos went outside of the comfort zones and extended their time and efforts in gathering relief goods. Some doctors went near the war zone to extend their services for humanitarian reasons. Groups of friends raise funds to be sent to Marawi to be of help for the suffering. There are those who forget themselves for the common good...

Still the darkness looms and won't allow light to dominate. Recently, we saw how a policeman beat an alleged drunk with a rattan stick. His seething anger is all over the social media and one could not help but to cower every time he beats the hell out of the "suspect". Also, officers of the Bureau of Customs and the BIR were caught red-handed in extortion...

Indeed, social macrocosm could be difficult to fathom. It seems that there is a continuum of the battle between good and evil. Literature dating back in time allows us to see the clash of the gods in Olympus. In the bible, we read leaders oppressing a generation for power. We hear about family feuds in the news and a lot would enjoy asking who is the "kalaban" in the latest telenovela.

So what is there to ponder? It is always one's role with his journey on the space where he is situated. Is he a hero; an anti-hero; a villain or simply a supporting cast on the play called INDIFFERENCE?

The situation in that part of Mindanao must make our eyes wide open to the things we can and can not greatly affect. Concerted efforts of allowing the light to envelope us like halos drive the darkness away. It may sound impossible but there is always hope and it would be nice to try. Our individual actions to make little things in order might radiate to ease others' sufferings.

Might as well continue to be aware. The concepts, ideas, thoughts and insights are syntheses of ones existence. Meaningful actions could become agents of change and even a simple balsam to the pains of the inflicted.

There is always a start.