Pity

10 Nov 2007

Awful, how that sixth grader from Davao took her own life.

In some cultures, suicide is seen as an honorable exit, a path more desirable than living in shame. Some do it in defiance. Think of Hitler and all the others who killed themselves before they are tried, judged or punished by authorities.

For Catholics, it is a surefire way to hell.

But that doesn’t discourage executives embroiled in messy transactions they couldn’t anymore get out of, wives abandoned by their husbands, or fathers unable to find work and sustain their families.

But an 11-year-old, such as Marianeth Amper, driven to suicide by desperation out of her family’s poverty? Disturbing.

***

She kept a diary. How many young girls nowadays express their thoughts succinctly in their journal entries? Those with access to the Internet perhaps create blogs in their friend-based profiles. Or write their girlish secrets on perfumed stationery under lock and key. Marianeth, on the other hand, made do with the unused pages of an old notebook.

Her cursive handwriting on the nondescript paper stands out for what it says—she complained of not being able to go to school for a month. She said she couldn’t even feel Christmas approaching. She had earlier been scolded by her mother for suggesting she work despite her tender age.

She, too, had written a letter, yet unsent, to a television program that purports to act as genie and grant some viewer’s fondest dreams. Marianeth had wanted to ask for shoes, a bag, a bicycle— and stable jobs for her parents.

Easily, one could spot a persistence not normally observed in children her age. Kids, even ones from depressed areas, are essentially concerned with satisfying their basic needs—and finding the opportunity to play.

But this girl took charge. She recognized her parents’ inability to provide for their needs. She articulated her desire to go to school regularly and in the future make something out of her life.

And, realizing that nothing would likely happen given the status quo, she decided to take action. Marianeth had the makings of a leader. Had she been given opportunities—and had her psychological well-being not challenged by feelings of constant and consuming deprivation—she would have been a competent professional.

What a pity she could not coach herself to stay on despite the hurdles.

***

Pity, too, that politicians are capitalizing on the tragedy to boost their “my heart bleeds for the poor” image.

Indeed the economic gains that the administration is talking about has yet to be felt by the masses. This line has become trite already. Too trite that it has been sounding like promise long given yet still aching to be fulfilled.

Remember, though, that nothing is built overnight. Elevating the general income level of an entire nation is observed gradually, over a long period of time. So while people may not feel the gains at once, they should be able to feel, at the very least, that they are coming. Mere rhetoric will not accomplish this.

On the other hand, blaming the government for Marianeth’s desperation is taking the matter a little too far. The suicide is indicative of things that should yet be done, yes, but not of direct liability.

So if anyone ever rode on the issue to project himself as the Champion of the Poor, or used it in the oh-so-typical habit of denouncing some people for not doing their jobs, we would know better than to believe it is purely out of the goodness of his heart.

***

For its response to a United Nations anti-poverty initiative, the Philippines made it to the Guinness Book of World Records. Our feat of gathering more than seven million people joining the “Stand Up, Speak Out” campaign is only second to India’s 19 million.

But this is the catch: No one really had to do anything much but stand up, literally, on a given day, which fell on Oct. 17.

Surely, Filipinos’ fixation on this “world record” is bound to be as silly and as inconsequential as having the most number of kissing couples by the Manila Bay—if those who actually stood up did not even know what they were standing for. Or what it truly meant.

After all, taking a stand against poverty definitely requires more than stretching one’s legs.