Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: BAG



Hindi halos nahabol ng aking mata at kamera ang kumakaripas na tricycle na ito. Lulan nito ang may walo kataong dala-dala ang pangkaraniwang laman ng isang shopping bag sa Kamaynilaan: dalawang tig-kalahating sakong bigas, dalawang dosenang sardinas, at anim na litrong matika. Nguni't hindi galing sa ordinaryong pamilihan ang mga ito: mula sila sa Pulahang Krus at World Food Program ng United Nations. Dahil hindi rin naman sila pangkaraniwang "mamimili:" sila ay kabilang sa may 1000 pamilya na nanantili sa mga evacuation camps sa Pikit, Hilagang Cotabato, mga nakaligtas sa punglo ng mga nagbabakbakang armadong grupo, pumila sa plaza sa harap ng munisipyo para makuha ang mga biyayang ito na harinawa'y magtatawid sa kanila hanggang sa Abril.

Sa harap ng mga hirap na ito, sila ay nananatiling buhay, nagsusumikap, umaasa na sa gitna ng labanan ay makikita nila ang katuparan ng pangako ng kapayapaan.

BAG My eyes and my camera can hardly track this speeding tricycle. Loaded into this local transportation are about eight men and women, along with a nondescript set of items typically found in a Manila household's shopping bag: two half-sacks of rice, two dozen cans of sardines, six liters of cooking oil. These folks did not come from your usual supermarket; the foodstuff came from the Red Cross and the United Nations World Food Programme. It is likewise because these men and women are not your usual "shoppers:" they are internally displaced people who have lined up in a plaza in front of their municipal hall to get their share of blessings that will hopefully tide them over 'til April. They are survivors of the armed conflicts in their areas, evacuees living atop soil that is not theirs for the last nine-odd months.

In the face of crises, they remain alive, continuing to struggle, hopeful that they will live to see the promise of peace in Mindanao become a reality.

along the National Highway in Pikit, North Cotabato, March 2008, using a digicam.

4 comments:

  1. it's a challenge photographing things in a moving vehicle. the tricycle definitely looks loaded even in this partial photo of it.

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  2. Touching entry...bakit nga ba may mahirap at may mayaman? may mababait at mayroon ding masasama na tao?

    tama, laban lang sa buhay.

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  3. Nice entry! Nakasakay na din ako sa ganyang kasikip na trike sa probinsya ang kaibahan lang ay hindi para sa charity ang mga karga. It would have made a big difference sana :)

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  4. I love the way you took the photo as well as the irony in your first statement... di halos mahabol nga camera mo... hahha.. as if mabilis sya despite the teeming image.

    Thank you so much for the credits ha.

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