I just had my adrenaline-fix from the adventures in Vietnam and Cambodia but I am finding myself in Jakarta (Indonesia) and will be in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru (Malaysia) for the next two weeks. 

I am not boasting and I am not travelling for travel's sake. So why I am doing it on a holiday which is supposed to be a family event? 

Christmas holidays should be spent with the family, tradition say. It is not just about shopping for material gifts but really spending quality time with our family. 
What and who is family?  People close to me by now know I got other concepts of 'family".  Close friends knew why. 

Family is not just your mother, father, sisters and your immediate family. Family is where you find kindred souls who support you and know you well despite the bad things thrown at you. Family is the people who love you unconditionally. 

My immediate women-led family.

Also when holidays come, the questions though well-meaning is also tactless. "So when are you getting married?" or "Why are you still single?".  Imagine yourself being asked these every year. These questions  are not necessarily from my immediate family. Nonetheless this always make me cringe. 

I grow up independently and I owe my fearlessness to try new things with my maternal grandmother. She wanted me to be open-minded. I took that courage with me and explored areas beyond our little town. I know if she is alive now, she will understand. She will have tampo  but she will understand and will support me.  She was our peacekeeper. The sad thing is, the small piece of land she left is now a subject of a family feud. I have been taking care of the tax payments and keep some documents so that made me a stakeholder. Not that I am interested to sell the land in the future. I hold on to it as it is a memory of my grandparents. And there is where I spent my childhood. 

As the "single and mature" one, some members of the family wanted me to solve the feud and make plans to "develop" the said land. Developing the land takes time and money! And I am not  investing my hard-earned money to it as there are a lot of interested parties. I know how land feud can be very bloody, literally and figuratively. I have enough headache already. 

At this point, I don't want to act mature and solve the problems of their own doing. I wanted to have  a stress-free holiday. So when I asked my soul sister Nur Hasanah in Jakarta if the offer to stay with her in Jakarta is still open and she said a big YES, I checked for flights and booked it without any second thoughts. I met Nur through our 3-week fellowship in Wageningen and our sisterhood was strengthened by our common love for travelling and getting out of the norm. She also introduced me to Counchsurfing and she already visited me in Davao last year. Her post was prophetic telling me that the next jumpshot picture we should have will be in her turf.

From Wageningen, Netherlands to Davao City (Davao del Sur) and Dahican, Mati City (Davao Oriental), the crazy Asian partners in crime (Nur Hasanah and I) are reunited and jumping around!! Last posted in my FB account in August 2013.

Things are falling according to its place. And before my passport expires, I want to maximise it as the renewal process will surely take long. I promise to help out my sister settle That land problem in January. I will take a rest as I will be taking new refresher classes for my MA class. And career-wise, there are exciting things coming. 
I want to experience this Christian holiday in a predominantly Islamic country. Get lost and find myself. I want to make a sense of the feeling how to become a minority in this long Christian holiday and see how they do it in other parts of Asia.  I wanted to be uprooted in my comfort zone. Besides, is this not the best way to start the ASEAN 2015 Economic Integration work? I'd like to think I am an ambassador of goodwill. haha! 
I will try to keep up with my odd-ventures here (though blog posts with the previous trips still unfinished).

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry"

I don't question my immediate family's love for me, but there are things they cannot just comprehend. Like the idea of continuing further education, the idea of travelling and the "expenses" one incur. Why not invest it to somewhere else or with something tangible? They could not understand why I am in an NGO and not "settle for a more stable government work." I already invested in something tangible and travelling is an investment too. It makes you more confident and see things in different perspectives. And besides I spend my own money for my travels. This is always a subject I don't want to talk about when I go home but always crop up in the conversations. I got tired of explaining. 

Then by big chance, another friend I met through the Courchsurfing  site will be in Jakarta and he invited me to spend the other half of my holiday break in Malaysia. I was  supposed to host him in Davao but he was not able to obtain a visa in time.  I got another Couchsurifng gal, Azra Ain to host me in Kuala Lumpur. 

Cheers for a great year ahead of us! Merry blessed CHRISTmas! Do not forget the real reason for this season. And let's create more stories together. :)

Fedora Cap Girls arrived in Ho Chi Minh.

For several days I AM A MILLIONAIRE BABY!

Kuya Rene, his wife and Rene Jr.

Rene shared the Goldilock's polvoron his granny gave him. Such a sweetie!

Ema is not thrilled to see us. Stranger anxiety!

Crossing the border of Vietnam and Cambodia

The number of motorbikes are overwhelming.

I like how bicycles thrive here. Kids go to school in bikes!

No the cows and the elephant are not real!

The altars in front of the house for blessings from the spirits

That's us with our friendly and reliable tuktuk driver, Mr. Nakim!

Contact Nakim if you will find yourself in Siem Reap. Tell him of three fedora cap crazy girls and he will surely giggle. :)

The chill-out zone of  HAPPY GUESTHOUSE!  Highly recommended place. Affordable. Very friendly staff. Organized info on all transport services.

Even cats know how to chill here!

New day. New beginning.

Our boatman to another barangay.

Today's catch.

Typhoons Ondoy. Sendong. Pablo. Yolanda. Glenda. 

These are the names of the most destructive typhoons out of the regular 19 tropical cyclones/ storms that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility annually. 

And every year, we lament on the impact of disasters saying we are ill-prepared. And worse? We will be hearing stories of rotting rice in the warehouses  and corruption in the construction of new homes. Time and again, we know that fraud and corruption are high in an emergency phase as the urgency and rapid inflows of aid can weaken the institution (and more so if it is already weak).  Also, this will challenge coordination work between agencies to ensure all affected areas are covered- not too many relief in one area while those outside of the center are forgotten.  

Take Typhoon Yolanda. For its magnitude of destruction last year, we received a lot of foreign aid (in cash and pledges). The government made a website  of FAiTh, or the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub where foreign countries, multilateral organizations, NGOs, private individuals and anonymous donors are posted. Great initiative I think but here's the catch: You can't download the reports per aid. You can download the full report but you can't open it! 

Remember the scandal hounding Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region XI through its Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of
Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) report of forging of signatures and other anomalies on 

construction of houses for Typhoon Pablo survivors? Do we need another disaster before we 

get our acts together? Or how many more disasters do we need to be able to strengthen our 

coordination work?  

Creation of shelters is the first priority of families. because shelter is anchored on rootedness and sense of normalcy. Building new homes then should be durable (can withstand Signal #3 typhoon), comfortable and provide privacy for the family. It is not just about distributing money  like P5,000 or GI sheets. It will entail a different community reorganizing wherein skilled labor and distribution of materials and other logistics have to be considered. We have a lot of indigenous materials like amakan and bamboo for rebuilding homes. In fact George Bankoff on his book, Cultures of Disaster in the Philippines, argued that  our construction of nipa houses are a part of our adaptation for the disasters that we face annually. 

My dear friend Mel was assigned to undertake the supervision of the Shelter Project in Capiz  in partnership with HEKS (Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz, the aid organization of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland). Task Force Mapalad, the local NGO conduit made an assessment and found out that Capiz Province specifically coastal towns in Capiz Province have not received any aid nor much media attention. Focus was in Tacloban, Leyte and Samar. So they started the work and after five months, they have now built 1, 817 houses in Panay (Brgy. Butacal, and Brgy. Bantigue), President Roxas (Brgy.Dulungan, Brgy. Binaobawan and Brgy. Rosario), Dao (Brgy. Manhoy, Brgy. Quinayoya, Doyuc and Matagnop), and Pontevedra (Brgy. Manapao). 

Old and new braces. Rebuilding homes.

The shelter project made use of amakan (woven bamboo walls) and GI sheets but with additional braces (diagonal braces) for the roof and strengthened the posts by putting cement and iron braces. Workers are from the community and labor is a counterpart from each family. And the house including labor only costs P25,000 each. A far cry with the P550,00 bunkhouse made in Cateel by DSWD. Though Sec. Soliman said it was due to bigger floor area and more materials needed. Let's suspend judgement then until COA report will be released (when? We do not know exactly!). All I can say is, it's very appalling when the government agency and institutions you expect to help in bringing back the communities better will even victimize twice the victims.

For the turn-over ceremony, we went to Brgy. Binaobawan and stayed there for the night. We were greeted by laughing kids and smiling mothers. The program the next day started with a boat ride going to another barangay and sharing of food among different sitios and neighboring barangays, dancing and games. And boy, I never wanted to leave. The crabs, shrimps, sasing (seaworm) and tikhan (seashells) will always leave you wanting for more. 

The people here know they will never be truly safe from more disasters coming. Relocation is not just about leaving and going to another place. Livelihood, memories and a familiar place are part of living. And in their case, they have started in-site relocation and rebuilt their homes to locations that are still near their livelihood, ready to face whatever the next day's challenge will be. 

The mothers think I am crazy. :)

Orange is the new black.  Bounty from Brgy. Bantigue.

Women taking charge.

Contrary to popular belief, Ricky Martin lives and now serves as Board Member in Capiz. O_0

Fried sasing (seaworm)

Lukon.

Tikhan (seashell), another seashell you can eat.

Dance and movement is a therapy for young and old alike.

Sexual allusions. Eggplant and box of matchsticks (egg is impractical) race.

Dauis Church, Bohol (April 19, 2014)

Does sunset sometimes
look like the sun’s coming up?
Do you know what faithful love is like?
You’re crying. You say you’ve burned yourself.

But can you think of anyone who’s not
hazy with smoke?

- Rumi

Ray June "Kid" Blancada

Dearest Kid,

When was the last time I saw you? I can't pinpoint the date. It has been so long. All I know is you went to Philippine Military Academy (PMA) after trying to work in the academe. I can only remember you with the   games we played after school. You were one of those poging timid boys in the senior class. You're very responsible kuya (older brother) to Lyndel. You always fetched her when it's already late and we're still playing at the plaza. You joined in our silly games despite our two year gap and you nearing adolescence at that time. If you don't play games with us, you sat on the bench. Or you would go to our house and talk to Lola Luz. You were very polite to Lola Luz. You always do 'mano po' and joke with her. She likes you very much and talks a lot about how lucky Auntie Nena  to have you. You even fetched water for us or help us pull down the heavy handle of the hand water pump. You laughed at my shortness; I laughed at your thinness. And I remembered you blushing when we teased you with a classmate you courted during high school.

We were caught up in the changes of growing up and chasing our dreams. Communication was nil.. We moved on with or lives and I heard you got married after graduating.  But I got a shock of my life when I heard the news. My sister texted me about the ambush.

I immediately searched the net for news. Nothing. It was aired on ANC's news flash report, my sister said. I was in denial. We all are when death (or disaster) struck close to us. We learn that our knowledge of life is limited to death.

Kid, all I have of you are those memories. I wonder what will be your reaction when we have seen each other at this juncture of our present selves. I wonder how would you react when you knew I am an activist. I would like to see how you would react to my arguments about linear thinking in the ranks and human rights violations. I know we would argue but laugh after of our foolishness and hardheadedness for the things we strongly believe in. You after all have taken the steps after your father- Uncle Minyong, a retired solider. And you were a teacher first before becoming a soldier. 

And I wonder how would you react if I tell you that I attended the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)  Multistakeholders Forum held in Ateneo de Davao yesterday. I was still processing my emotions about this 16-year old document and how both parties agreed to "humanize war." Truth be told, I am baffled by how these two paradoxical words can be used.

CARHRIHL aimed to uphold, protect and promote human rights and principles of international humanitarian laws. It does not only hold accountable government state actors for human rights violations but also non-state actors particularly the CPP/NPA/NDF. It aimed to protect the civilians caught in the armed conflict. It aimed to bring these two parties in the negotiating table. However, the negotiations have long been stalled.

I have been doing conflict monitoring Kid. I have read a lot of senseless killings as well as people dying to protect the limited resource they have and for the cause they believe in. Constant exposure to violence can make one numb.Probably, I've been numbed reading these reports.  And I didn't know how to react when I finally read the news, the truth of you, so young, full of dreams for the family you are just building- all are lost in the road of  Quezon Province. And you were on a medical mission together with your 3 other companions. You are not just unknown dead soldier in an encounter. You were caught in the tumultuous period of retaliation after the publicized arrest of  the Tiamzon couple, one of the top ranking leaders of the Communist Party.

We talk of  CARHRIHL and its legitimacy to pursue peace in the communities. And we seek deep commitment from both parties to adhere on what they have signed. But the real work to any peace process or agreements is after the ink dries up. We are talking about human lives. Yes, it is about your life Kid. Or any soldier. Or every civilian caught in the crossfire.

As one of the speakers in the forum commented, we see a lot of violence everyday. Sadly, we only react when the casualties are very dear and personal. And we ask, why why?


War can never be humane. Deaths in every attack or retaliation should not be a scorecard.

Amidst the storm of dissolution and madness of everyday forms of violence, our strength will be tested and sometimes our light for hope flicker..but we hold unto ourselves with big wide eyes into the night, that the morning awaits us. 

Kid, go on. You will remain in our heart. This is a sad, long goodbye.

Let me share to you Paul Baumer's, a character in All Quiet on the Western Front lines realizing how war destroys both soldiers (him and his supposedly enemy) :  

“Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response. It was that abstraction I stabbed. But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony – Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy? If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother..”

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