Sink or Swim

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There were complaints on how the ship seemed to be at a snail’s pace and the like. The person in charge of the bedding in the tourist section tried to give an indifferent ear to the complainants. High time that another shipping company to stop this monopoly! Shouted someone who said he had a wedding to catch up. It was almost ten in the morning and the canteen served only instant coffee at twenty pesos per cup and stale biscuits. Indeed, patience could be tested at such times.

You drowned these words inside the world Pat Barker created via “Double Vision” but your stomach failed you to be with the protagonist who tried to have redemption after covering the different wars his country has waged. You sensed the urgency to go home as well after seeing hundreds of passengers trying to go home or proceed to a destination. You wonder why people complain about poverty on this country while malls and airports so with ships are always full of them.

To have some fresh air as the ship maneuvered to be docked, you went out and followed an aisle on the ship’s side. There you saw them.

Clad in filthy undergarments, some kids of the Badjao tribe begged for some passengers to throw coins to them. This is not something new for constant travelers but the sight of toddlers diving for one-peso coins could be disturbing. How could these young ones survive at such environment? But then, the more chilling scene is the sight of those adults throwing coins to them and seemingly enjoying the feat.

Of course others would frown on your words if you prevent them from their twisted sense of “helping others”. Who are you to judge them, anyway? Their intentions might be different from what you thought. They might have justifications that would pale in comparison to what you were thinking.

You then remembered the times when those self-righteous persons commented on your plight to air out ideas and generate stands on social issues on women and children. Your thesis focused on the viability of anti-violence against women and children law and you were scandalized to find out that even government offices are seldom practicing measures to stop violence against women and children. You fought hard to raise hell on persons with biases on the issue. And often, you are the minority and sometimes considered as hilarious.

But you still believe that ignorance could be battled. Stupidity thrives but with the influx of new technologies, there is still hope that these issues would be taken with seriousness being followed by action.

There are children among us who are like those swimming ones. They tried to live a life so different from the ideal one. There are those who are addicted to computer games because they’d like to have a sense of power which is triggered by their basic need to be secure. There are some who are into prostitution to be in step with what is happening around them.

And there are the most of US who oftentimes frown, be indifferent and even be the predators of their weaknesses.