By By Georgene Rhena P. Quilaton-Tambiga
Stay alive!
Aside from the weight of Scarborough Shoal, another has added on the government's shoulder-Sulu, with the alleged abduction of veteran Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani and two Filipino cameramen, Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letreto. Although there is no consensus yet if they were really kidnapped or they just chose to remain in the company of Abu Sayyaf to finish filming the documentary of Atyani, the fact that no information on their whereabouts are available as of press time is already a thorn on the side of the Philippine authorities.
Bantay Ceasefire chair Professor Octavio Dinampo, who was once abducted in 2008 while he negotiated for the interview of Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron with Ces Drilon, said the authorities in Sulu do not want to admit that an abduction occurred because they do not want to be blamed for it. After all, that part of Mindanao has already been branded dangerous by several foreign countries due to infamous cases of kidnapping.
This yet another act of violence against a journalist, though
still unconfirmed, reminds me of the lecture of University of the
Philippines-Diliman Prof. Rene Guioguio during the 2011 Global Media Forum in
Boracay, Aklan. Guioguio emphasized to us, journalists and information
officers, the principle in journalism schools-that there is no story so
important that you should give your life for it.
Exactly! And this one should be slapped smack into the face of
the veteran Atyani. In every coverage a journalist should be smart enough to
perform risk assessment (although this one is known to have interviewed Bin
Laden). He might not have had the idea that our local Abus can be more lethal
than the populist Middle Eastern Al Qaeda.
The story of Drilon and her cameraman back in 2008 should be a
lesson for all journalists and humanitarian aids already. And for all others,
Atyani's should be another sticky note on the board. While experience is the
best teacher, it is always better to learn from the experience of others
especially if life and limb is at stake.
I am trying to prevent myself from blaming the Jordanian
himself for his plight but if I think about it again and again, he was the one
who jumped straight into the pit. While
an international organization for journalists recently issued a statement that
journalists must have the freedom to gather information without fear of
intimidation and without having to put up with threats of violence, this is
just idealism. In the real working world of journalists, hostility exists
everywhere even within the concrete walls of a City Hall. But to go and test
the Abu Sayyaf water is beyond risk assessment; turning back should have been
automatic.
Practicality should rule over the desire to become a dead hero
because the world can benefit more from living journalists than from dead ones.
At the end of the day, Atyani and my fellow journalists should
better get hold of and read Staying Alive: Safety and Security Guidelines
for Humanitarian Volunteers in Conflict Areas by David Lloyd Roberts. Its
content equally applies to journalists. And, what is noble about it? It tells
you that when a humanitarian aid or a journalist turns back and runs for his or
her life, the act does not make him or her less noble. It means that he or she
still wants to serve the world more.
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As if an immediate response to my column last week, a Filipino
migrant family shared in the effort for the development of young pupils. Carlos
and Leslie Nicodemus with their two sons brightened the day of 150 Grade 1
pupils in two public elementary schools in the city.
The wife, Leslie, is a San Carlos native and daughter of Mrs.
Ofelia Layumas, the owner of Step-Ahead Preschool and retired public elementary
school teacher. The Nicodemus family now lives in Georgia, USA but comes home
from time to time to visit their matriarch.
They gave away 150 schoolbags containing brightly colored
writing notebooks, pencils, erasers, crayons, and scissors. Aside from these,
the pupils at Cong. Vicente Gustilo, Sr. Memorial School, where Mrs. Layumas
taught for 20 years, and Andres Bonifacio Central School also received
delectable chocolates from the benefactors.
If we look at it, 150 beneficiaries are nothing compared to the
millions of Filipino children wanting of proper school attire and supplies but
the effort this migrant family made is already a leap for development. Imagine
if an act like this will be multiplied by well-off migrant Filipino families
who come home to San Carlos every year? What a difference that will make!
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