extrajudicial killings in The Interpreter

My dad bought a 12-in-one DVD from Divisoria yesterday. When he had intended to have bought a Charlie Chaplin collection, the DVD ended up to be a Nicole Kidman collection. One of Kidman's movies included in the disk was The Interpreter (2005).

In the movie, Dr. Edmond Zuwanie is the president of the Republic of Matobo, a fictional country in Africa. Ruling for more than 20 years, Dr. Zuwanie had allegedly killed hundreds of citizen and revolutionaries to maintain power. He planned an assasination plot to justify the killings.

Silvia Broome, played by Nicole Kidman, is an interpreter for the United Nations. A citizen of Matobo whose family actively participate in the arm struggle and were killed as ordered by Dr. Zuwanie, she too, once a revolutionary and left to work for UN believing that there are peaceful means to achieve the same cause. She overhears the plot to kill the hated dictator and tells US security. When her brother gets killed, she takes on arms once more in attempt to kill the dictator herself.

The last few scenes in the movie shows Dr. Zuwanie in a sort of safe room with Broome and Tobin Keller, a federal agent played by Sean Penn. Keller begs Broome not to kill Dr. Zhumie such that evidence exist of the dictator's ill actions and that he will surely be tried for his ill actions. True enough, in the end Dr. Zuwanie gets tried by the United Nations for the death of hundreds of citizen.

“The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear; but the human voice is different from other sounds. It can be heard over noises that bury everything else, even when it’s not shouting, even when it’s just a whisper. Even the lowest whisper can be heard over armies when it’s telling the truth.”

So the United Nations can get itself involved? And a leader can really be tried for extrajudicial killings? Or I'm just being too hopeful in getting justice to all these inhumanity happening to the revolutionaries, reformists and innocent citizens of this country?

But then, even if this movie truly proposes a possible resolution to the extrajudicial killings, should I even bother to be hopeful when the United Nations is still in fact United States with small voices around him. When the Philippine president is known to have good ties with international leaders specifically the US president, will the idea even have a chance. Keeping in mind that US does not recognize the idea of state terrorism that leaders may actually be the ones inciting terror in order to stay in power, that through this present president, resources in the Philippines have been, are, and will be exploited by foreign investors that will benefit their own development, is there still space for a hopeful change in the system?

Silvia Broome, from revolutionary, chose to be a reformist but still saw the need for arm struggle. Should this administration wait until reformists lose hope and join the revolution to bring change to this country? Anyway, as the cliche goes, the president is the biggest recruiter of NPA.

Idealism dictates that societal change can be achieved and unless this idealism will cease to exist, neither extrajudicial killings nor a balikatan exercise will ever stop people's attempts for change. I hope the president realizes that.

political calling on the 29th

I am suppose to be in Los Banos for more than a week. If I really value my service to the students more than I do for my parents, I would have persisted. Apparently, despite this sense of value, a part of me still want to respond to that call and it grows every tick of the second.

KASAMA sa UP National Congress was scheduled last week, 24 October to 28 October while the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) from 29 October to 30, 2007. The only reason I was not allowed to go is because of a birthday celebration on the 29th. It is but a tradition that all family members be present on a birthdate. However, out of the five birthdays, I had not been home for at least once and I knew I just had to make up for it.

At the same time, the 29th is also the start of the semestral break for the primary and secondary levels. My parents had been planning for an out-of-town trip with some of the youth from the church. Surely, I wouldn't want to miss that.

But then, GASC is a very important assembly. Terry Ridon's term as the Student Regent (SR) is about to end. The GASC will be the avenue for the voting of the new SR. Ridon's beginning effort to call for a policy review of the Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI) must still be pursued and if the person elected in such a position took a pro stand on this issue, all efforts will be turned to dust. Surely that cannot be allowed!

And yet, here I am, on the 29th of October, at home and quite alone for some time. My parents went to Divisoria. My brother played basketball with his friends for the whole day. My sister went to the dentist and eventually decided to hang out at the church. If this wasn't the only available time I have to meet with my former bible study leader for a few hours, I wouldn't have gone out of the house in the first place.

The owner of the estate the church was buying had to move his meeting with my dad from this morning to Wednesday morning. That meant the out-of-town trip will not come to reality since my dad have other appointments on Friday.

I should have been in Los Banos in the first place, even if I was to spend 'my' day tough on members of other political parties and it would have been worthwhile still.

I've been hit. crap.

I must have fallen in love with Multiply, I almost forgot to maintain this Blogger account.

Not until yesterday.

I was updating my multiply site as usual when I received a personal message. To my shock, it was from girl named Aimee from Millington, Tennessee. She mentioned how she ventured through my multiply site and that she liked what she saw. She was hoping if I could connect with her through a certain site, like a chat i think, and she'll be waiting for a response from me. "I think we should probably be friends, cause you seem pretty cool... you know what they say.. looks captures the eyes, but personality wins over the heart."

Hold it right there! Is this girl hitting on me? In the first place, why would any girl try to hit on me??? I don't think I've ever given any clue that I'm interested in such a relationship.

Desi unintentionally hovered over my icon in Multiply and discovered that for some reason, the gender preference that was indicated there was women.

Crap. I really mean it this time, crap. No, it was not at all intentional but ok, I have to admit, I was never a genius in websites and I'm still trying to learn. How stupid could I be to actually miss that out? Crap.

Anyway, I never bothered to respond. However, I did make the necessary changes with regard to my gender preference. Discovering that two unknown ladies have been constantly checking out my site (the other calls herself Daisy and is from Riverside, California), I'm expecting to hate Multiply for quite some time.

And no, this is definitely not funny. (kaya tat, wag ka na :D paramdam ka na friend)

jay

This is Jay, a six year old kid from Bagong Silang, a slum area two blocks away from our house. The youngest of a family with six siblings, Jay is one of the students of the Church's free preschool. (I know. Ethics says I shouldn't be publishing pictures of children, but I really can't help it. I just simply adore this kid!)

This morning, I tagged along with my mom to the preschool.

I was sitted on one of the child-size chairs. Jay suddenly started climbing my back, jumping as if I was so tall that he couldn't reach my shoulders.

"Ate, ate, laro tayo," he kept saying as he was hanging from my shoulders. I stood up saying, "Hala." He kept jumping and reaching for my shoulders. I tried 'seemingly' running away from him, but he kept on grabbing my hand so that I couldn't get away.

At one time, as he was hanging from my shoulders, I held him tight, teasing him that I will be flushing him in the toilet. He kept breaking free, but still tried to jump and grab me.

In my head, I wasn't really playing with him. Quite amazing actually as he thought I was and he was actually enjoying whatever chasing we were doing.

When his mom came to fetch him, he grabbed my hand and said goodbye.

ode to sir velasco

The professor in my film102 class suddenly decided to change the film to be viewed in class today. Instead of Macarthur, he chose the local film Sabel. He gave quite a few justifications for such a change and I did not quite bother to listen. However, the next few lines somehow struck me.

"My friend would have liked it, Professor Jovenal Velasco."

Sir Velasco was my professor in my film104 class, a course on film genres. He was a big man, always seemingly smiling, a leg quite weak that he walks with a cane. He said he was a member of Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), before he had a stroke. He used to teach acting, he proudly said in our class, and I actually felt quite frustrated as I see how restricted his movements were when we would see hints of his passion for teaching film.

I didn't like him at first. He was often demanding and I hated how he would simultaneously call students for recitation. I hated the tension as I often intentionally neglect reading his required readings because of my other academic load. As it turns out, most of his questions requires only practical answers.

I also remember how I commented how much I enjoy watching films except horror during the first meeting. The same day, I was assigned in a group that was tasked to report on horror and science fiction. Since the group were to be divided into two, I demanded that my partner and I be assigned for the science fiction instead. It was enough compromise for him and for my other group mates.

Unlike my film12 class, bulk of the class discussion focused on the ideologies of each genre, how theses ideologies change over time. Though conventions in terms of cinematography and themes exist, he greatly emphasize the importance of these ideologies in the making of the films.

I also often get bored in class since the reporting started.

However, as I was doing my part in the report, as I was watching all the films, I inherently started to appreciate film genres, most especially science fiction. I endured watching the gory movie Alien, the amusing Close Encounter of the Third Kind, even to that point that I bothered watching the 1901 film Les Voyage Dans La Lune though it was not required. Indeed, Sir Velasco had achieved what may be his greatest goal for me, to learn to appreciate science fiction movies, more so genre films.

I remember him commending my ability to argue and justify the words used and contents of our report. It must be the change in classroom, he often follows, promising never to hold classes in the basement area the next time he teaches another subject.

For my final paper, I was tasked to do a research on how the television series Encantadia depicts social criticism. For this paper, I was privileged enough to be able to interview the head writer, Suzette Doctolero, who not only gave me inside stories on the creation of the series but also toured me in the editing rooms and studios as her new series Lupin was to be on its first week.

I ended the semester proud of myself for taking up the class and having him as a professor. It was one of the best classes I ever had.

As it turns out, he will never be having a class in the basement area.

About a month ago, I received a text message from one of the film representatives informing me of the UPFI professor who died on a Saturday morning. Sir Velasco never woke up on the morning of September 1, 2007.

side comments in a show

In one of Desperate Housewives episode, Teri Hatcher comments on the Filipino nursing schools:

"Can i just check on their diplomas? I just want to make sure that they're not from some med schools in the Philippines "

Is this not the feudalist culture? That such people within an important institution in the society feel powerful and superior enough to comment on cases where societies of lesser economic power can be degraded especially when these societies rely on human power to make their economy stable. And to make such comment, a joke or a criticism, may in effect destroy what may be a source of living for thousands of Filipinos, and the very credibility Filipino nurses and doctors are most famous for, hospitable and caring as part of their cultural upbringing.

Freedom of expression is never absolute. a sense of responsibility must come into place, that one does not step on the rights and dignity of another. The power of the media must be directed towards an informed public, to which the people will be equipped with enough information to make their own stands and act accordingly. an insensitive comment only drives people towards a wrong direction.

it's called ethics my friend.