We Each Have a Post to Man (by Niña Terol)

We Each Have a Post to Man

By Niña Terol

The most interesting emails that I’ve gotten lately are from friends who don’t usually participate in political or social discussions in our respective egroups, but who pipe in once in a while—and quite passionately—about where they’re coming from as young professionals trying to build careers and families.

“I am not being apathetic, but my priority now is to establish myself and provide for myself and my family.”

“My role in society is to run my business well, provide opportunities for growth for my employees, and make sure that everyone is paid well and on time so that they, in turn, can provide for their families.”

“I work hard, obey the law, and pay taxes. I think I’m doing my fair share already.”

“I care about what happens to this country, but I simply don’t know what to do.”

“I’m busy enough as it is. I want to make sure that whatever I do for the country will produce concrete results.”

I hear you. And I understand.

* * *

In my work as a volunteer of several organizations I have met many talented, brilliant, and passionate individuals who make their own significant contributions within their own lines of interest and their own skill sets. There is Frankie Varona, immediate past president of the Ateneo Alumni Association (AAA), who worked tirelessly to inspire the AAA and the Ateneo community to work on programs for Gawad Kalinga. There is Niel Lim, Team RP’s Communications Head, who uses his own passion for journalism and political communications to ensure that Team RP’s message cuts through the media clutter (and all this while working on his master’s thesis!). There is Czarina Medina, editor of Starfish Magazine, who contributes valuable time, expertise, connections, and passion to feed the minds and souls of young leaders from around the country. There is Anna Rojas, my “soul sister” from our Globe Telecom days, who went way out of her way to mobilize resources to build a library in Sta. Teresa, Guimaras. There are many people who seem to do extraordinary things simply by giving off a few hours each week to work on something they really believe in.

But then, not all of us can be volunteers. Not all of us have the luxury of time, or flexibility, or liquidity, or emotional support, to be able to give off ourselves without the benefit of a paycheck or a positive performance appraisal or an additional client. Not all of us can take off from work in the middle of the day to attend yet another committee meeting, or build a GK home, or plan a socio-civic event. Most of us barely even have time to really spend time with our loved ones or read a good book or take a walk. How can we be expected to participate in volunteer efforts or—God forbid—engage government in long-term reforms that might even not be implemented?

The answer, to put it quite simply, is this: Man your own post.

Yes, it is true that not all of us can be volunteers—and not all of us can volunteer for the same thing. We each have different beliefs, different value systems, different principles, different socio-cultural backgrounds, and so on, but one thing is certain: we are all good at something. Many of us use this “something”—whatever it may be—for work, while some of us keep “bread-and-butter” jobs and save our true passions for the weekend. But we all have skills, we all have talents, and we all have friends. Each of us can maximize these three elements to make positive change happen in society.

* * *

Use your skills. As a communicator and a project manager, I use my skills to maintain a freelance practice. Fortunately, this has allowed me to allocate a substantial amount of time for volunteer efforts. In my work with Team RP, I try to use my communications and organizational skills to get things organized, to move things along, and so on. I chose Team RP—a reform-oriented group that seeks to engage media, government, and key stakeholders in the pursuit of truth, accountability, and reform—because I love policy work. I enjoyed serving a legislative role in the student council when I was in college, and I enjoy being able to work on changes from a political/legislative standpoint. This kind of work might not appeal to others at all, but it does to me, and so I do it.

You might be an account executive, or an entrepreneur, or an analyst. It’s perfectly okay if you don’t volunteer for any socio-civic projects, but maybe you could convince your clients or colleagues to adopt a social dimension to your organizational efforts. Maybe you could adopt a community and tie it in with your brand’s strategic objectives. Or you might sponsor a video to convince first-time voters to register while it’s still early. You could find ways to help us policy-oriented folk by directing the private sector’s attention to our efforts. Or you could help us craft our messages. Or you could share with us some information you got while researching for a presentation. In your hands (or brains, or PCs) is something that somebody else needs. Maybe the best thing you could do for your country is share a little bit of that. (Or convince your clients and colleagues to do so.)

Use your talents. Once in a while, I get tapped to do hosting gigs. Just tonight I emceed for the induction ceremonies of the Ateneo Alumni Association. Every so often, I write articles for the AAA website, or for Blueblood—the alumni magazine. I’d do these things—write and host/talk onstage—even if I weren’t paid for it. So I might as well do it to help others.

Meanwhile, my beloved is a performance artist who gets paid to perform his Kali Drum and his water bottles at gigs and events. But every so often he does pro bono workshops to empower barangay children, or performs for free in fund-raising concerts or concerts for a cause because he believes that his music has relevance. Whatever your talent is, whatever you’re most passionate about, you could help bring about concrete change by mixing the two well, even just once in a while.

Use your friends. In this age of social networking—of egroups and social networking sites and blogs—everyone has friends. Everyone has a fan base. We can make the most of whatever influence we have by being part of the all-important social exchange. Let’s share information—about issues, about volunteer opportunities, about causes, about petitions—and let’s engage our friends in the causes we’re most passionate about. Let’s engage in what the folks at YPS (Young Public Servants) call “social conversations.” Once in a while, over a meal or a snack, let’s ask our friends and family members what they think about important issues. Should we go on a “family diet” in view of the looming rice crisis? Should we cut back on our Starbucks coffee session and use the money to donate to a charity? What does your brother think about the necessary qualities for a leader of the Philippines? Talking might not lead to concrete solutions yet—but they help clarify issues, crystallize ideas, and connect people. We sure need a lot of that in an age of snap judgements, shallow thought, and divisiveness.

* * *

There’s a saying that goes “bloom where you’re planted.” Each of us is a different plant (or flower), with different characteristics, and we’re all planted somewhere. Our society is facing so many challenges that it won’t take a single, homogenous group of people to find or create solutions. We need all kinds of people to do different things so that different issues and concerns are addressed. We need people everywhere to work on a specific area so that positive change snowballs and happens sooner rather than later.

So it’s okay if you don’t join my cause, or if you don’t support this particular project. But maybe there is a cause or a project to which you can contribute, either voluntarily or as part of your job. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that people everywhere recognize that change needs to happen, and that they have the power to do something. When we thought of the name for Team RP, we wanted to imbibe the “team philosophy” that permeates through sports teams. Wherever you are in the world, whatever it is that you’re doing, if you’re Filipino then you belong to one team—THIS team. And we each have a post to man. It’s just a matter of knowing where that is and stepping up to the plate.

Questions, comments, reactions? Email me at nina.terol@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2008 by Niña Terol

Anger, Despair, and Hope in the Time of Rendition

One ordinary Friday night, I came face to face with the kind of anger and despair that I didn’t realize I had in me. It was the kind that made me cry for people I did not know, for faces I did not see, for a society I did not understand. It made me question the pillars of my existence—everything that I had based my life upon—and it made me see the pettiness of human life. What is the point of all this?, I cried out. Nothing could comfort me then; these thoughts still haunt me until now.

I was watching Rendition, the 2007 film about an Egyptian immigrant to the United States who is abducted by the CIA for being suspected of having links to an Islamic terrorist group. Reese Witherspoon, one of my favorite actresses, plays Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the distraught and very pregnant wife of Egyptian Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), who seems to have disappeared from his flight home without a trace. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Douglas Freeman, a CIA analyst whose job it is to “secure information” about Anwar’s suspected terrorist links and their activities—no matter what it takes. Meryl Streep plays the cold, calculating, and unfeeling CIA boss, Corinne Whitman, who ensures that nothing about Anwar’s whereabouts or the CIA’s underground activities leak out to the public.

I shall not go into plot details here; I admit that there were times when I was too caught up in my own reflections to pay full attention to how the story unfolded. Nonetheless, I was riveted and engaged for most of the movie—to the point where everything seemed very real and close to home. And then the tears started falling.

At first, the tears were for all those men and women who have sacrificed their loved ones to the bitterness of war—to battles with neither principled death nor honorable victory, to horrors and pains without justification or absolution. Then I started wailing like I never had before, because I realized that no matter what we do, the killing will never stop. Rich and powerful countries will always find a way to wield power and force over those of us at the bottom of the food chain. Children will continue to die because of hunger and malnutrition and treatable diseases—causes that could be addressed with political will. Religious and societies and cultures will continue to exclude each other and try to justify acts that are ultimately uncalled for. All this while tiny circles of wealth go around the world in their yachts, eating the freshest, most exotic food and sipping the best wine. All this while teenaged brats prance around in their hot cars, flashing extensions of Daddy’s card and racking up luxury purchases that would already be enough to send an impoverished child (who did not choose to be born that way) to University. All this while coke fiends fill the party scene and crowd the already-overpopulated country with their meaningless, pitiful existence.

What is the meaning of all this?? I asked myself. You think your life is important—you think what you’re doing and the people you’re meeting are important—but what are you doing to stop the madness? What are you doing to feed or clothe one more person, to send one more child to school, to make sure that people don’t die meaningless deaths? What is your life really all about??

Silence.

I realized that what I’m doing now—whatever that is—still isn’t enough.

It was the most depressing thought in the world, at 3 A.M.

* * *

Then I realized that I don’t want to go “the small way” anymore. I do not want to “do my own little thing”, at my own pace and time, because the problems we’re facing now are way bigger than we imagine them to be. I do not want to be content with making “a small difference.” If I’m going to make something of my life, then I will find a way to make a big impact—to deal with real problems, to contribute real solutions, to work on systemic long-term solutions that will be felt even by my children and my grandchildren. To be honest, I don’t know yet what the avenues are or how I’ll find them, but I know that they’ll come to me. I just need to be honest with myself and acknowledge that I want to be out there, where it counts. I’m just so sick and tired of looking at the world with despair.

I want to feel hope again.

And if I can’t find it, then I’ll find a way to make it. I know there are many others out there like me who believe that it can be done.

Copyright © 2008 by Niña Terol

Team RP News Release: PAIL needed to avoid abuse of Executive Privilege

'PAIL needed to avoid abuse of

Executive Privilege' – TEAM RP

Alarmed over Malacañang's announcement that cabinet officials would not attend further Senate hearings on the NBN-ZTE inquiry, invoking the recent Supreme Court decision on Executive Privilege, TEAM RP, a youth-led reform-oriented group, reiterated their call for a Philippine Access to Information Law (PAIL).

Read more about Team RP's campaign for the Philippine Access to Information Law here Link