Philippines: A Nation Of Servants
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The Chinese journalist, Chip Tsao, is coming under sharp criticism from Filipinos in the blogosphere and from two female lawmakers and a labor policy center have joined calls in demanding a public apology over a recent article “The War At Home” that made a racial slur against Filipinos in relation to the dispute over the Spratly islands.Here’s the article:
“The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the seven Chinese seamen on board. We can live with that—Lenin and Stalin were once the ideological mentors of all Chinese people. The Japanese planted a flag on Diàoyú Island. That’s no big problem—we Hong Kong Chinese love Japanese cartoons, Hello Kitty, and shopping in Shinjuku, let alone our round-the-clock obsession with karaoke.
But hold on—even the Filipinos? Manila has just claimed sovereignty over the scattered rocks in the South China Sea called the Spratly Islands, complete with a blatant threat from its congress to send gunboats to the South China Sea to defend the islands from China if necessary. This is beyond reproach. The reason: there are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as $3,580-a-month cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.
As a patriotic Chinese man, the news has made my blood boil. I summoned Louisa, my domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, hung a map on the wall, and gave her a harsh lecture. I sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell every one of her compatriots in Statue Square on Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China.
Grimly, I told her that if war breaks out between the Philippines and China, I would have to end her employment and send her straight home, because I would not risk the crime of treason for sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her to wash my toilet and clean my windows 16 hours a day. With that money, she would pay taxes to her government, and they would fund a navy to invade our motherland and deeply hurt my feelings.
Oh yes. The government of the Philippines would certainly be wrong if they think we Chinese are prepared to swallow their insult and sit back and lose a Falkland Islands War in the Far East. They may have Barack Obama and the hawkish American military behind them, but we have a hostage in each of our homes in the Mid-Levels or higher. Some of my friends told me they have already declared a state of emergency at home. Their maids have been made to shout “China, Madam/Sir” loudly whenever they hear the word “Spratly.” They say the indoctrination is working as wonderfully as when we used to shout, “Long live Chairman Mao!” at the sight of a portrait of our Great Leader during the Cultural Revolution. I’m not sure if that’s going a bit too far, at least for the time being.”
Sen. Pia Cayetano said Filipinos "deserve no less than a formal public apology"
“HK Magazine and Tsao must apologize for insulting Filipinos, and they should pledge not to commit this mistake again," she said. "Our being a poor nation does not diminish the validity of our historical and legal claim to the Spratlys. In the proper forum, this dispute will eventually be threshed out and resolved. Ignorance, hatred and racial bias are the last things we need in approaching this long-standing controversy," she added.
Cayetano also said that the Philippine claim to the Spratlys "is as valid as the other claims being pushed by other nations. It does not mean that we're disregarding the claims of others. We respect their claim inasmuch as they should acknowledge ours." She was quoted as saying. "We should be proud that millions of OFWs are able to serve the world, whether as managers, laborers, caregivers or medical professionals. There's nothing to be ashamed of as long as we're earning an honest living without having to step on the dignity of others," she added.
Former labor undersecretary Susan Ople meanwhile also denounced Tsao, “His published declaration that he gave her Filipino maid a harsh lecture and warned her to tell every one of her compatriots that Spartly Islands belong to China or she'd lose her wages, is already a sign of an unstable, irresponsible and racist employer who resorts to verbal abuse even for perceived bilateral and historic infractions." said Ople.
Disgusting, derogatory, vile
Akbayan Rep. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros-Baraquel also protested over Tsao's article, saying the magazine should apologize immediately.
"This disgusting, derogatory, and vile remark can only come from dim-witted and mediocre writing. The magazine should apologize straightaway. The article reflects the kind of attitude that promotes abuses against Filipina workers," Hontiveros said.
She said Tsao's story should not have been published, owing to its defamatory nature characterized by racial discrimination against Filipinos in general, and domestic helpers in particular.
A world without a Filipino
"Filipina domestic workers should hold a one-day strike to tell the likes of Chip Tsao who's the real master of the HK economy. If all Filipino workers in HK would strike, the HK economy would grind to a halt without us having to invade the territory," she said.
I am reminded of an article“Imagine A World Without A Filipino” by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth (www.arabnews.com)
“So if Filipinos decided one day to stop working or go on strike for any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.
When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world’s total number of nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutes, from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.
The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire world economy.
We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences.
We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.”
Nation of servants
Sad but true, the perception of a Filipino today is a striking contrast during the time of Rizal when Filipinos in Europe were referred to as “the glory of the universities”.
F.Sionil Jose’s article“Why We Are Poor” looks back in the 50s and 60s when the Philippines was still the most envied country in Southeast Asia. Today, we are just simply a nation of servants.
The only way to answer people, who insist that we are a nation of servants is not by shooting off our mouths. The only answer is to BEAT THEM by studying and working TEN TIMES HARDER than the rest—to beat them not just once or twice, but to do so consistently for the next 20,30, 40, 50 years.
Remember Condoleezza Rice, the first black woman to become the United States Secretary of State. She was born in Alabama and suffered discrimination on account of her color. But she was taught from a young age by her father, that she had to be “twice as good”and prove that she was deserving of advancement. Condoleezza Rice explains, “I was going to be SO WELL PREPARED, and I was going to do all of these things that were revered in white society SO WELL, that I would be armored somehow from racism. I would be able to confront white society ON ITS OWN TERMS.”
Unless we Filipinos are prepared to love our country, and sacrifice ourselves by doing the extra-mile, we really deserve to be called “A nation of servants”
Source:
www.washingtonpost.com
www.hk-magazine.com
www.arabnews.com
Brown Raise
ABS-CBN News
Update: March 31, 2009
HK Online Magazine has publicly apologized and deleted the article but Chip Tsao himself remained unapologetic. The blogosphere already caught the fire and they can no longer change the different reactions of thousands of people around the world.
Posts
31 comments:
Most of druglords that got busted in the philippines are chinese. So what are you gonna do with the spratlys? Drug processing island? Lol.
Chip Tsao? Cheap Chow.....as I like to call him. He is such a stupid- non-educated writer who just want to be recognized at the expense of Filipinos who have given them comfort in living. He's an idiot who doesn't understand the importance of OFW in the lives of his likes. Don't you ever enter the Philippine soil, you may never see your writings again....stupid wanna-be...
hey Mr. Chip tsao.... you should change the spelling of your name......CHEAP tsao!!!!:p
When other countries get made fun of they take it with a grain of salt. How many people make jokes about Canada,Ireland etc.
The article is obvously a joke. The part about his maid having a degree in international politics from university of manila. All the other joke references. Obviously a sign of the poor education system in the filipines, since majority of filipino could not see the humor.
That the filipino president and a senator actually takes this seriously shows how silly they really are. Why are they wasting thier time with crap like this, instead of fixing the country ?
I am a Filipino, i am an Accountant and a Registered Nurse. i am nobody's servant, so dont call my country a Nation of Servants. You dont bring food to my table, you didnt educate me or clothe me. I owe you nothing! My countrymen may have serve your land as servants, but compare their mere population against those who work in the US, Europe, London and the rest of the world as Nurses, Doctors, Engineers and Teachers. Your servants is a mere 5% of the family's breadwinners. How dare you speak like you are untouchable and invincible!.. The world is round. What goes up, must come down.
"The article is obvously a joke. The part about his maid having a degree in international politics from university of manila. All the other joke references. Obviously a sign of the poor education system in the filipines, since majority of filipino could not see the humor."
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Based on this quote... unfortunately, being a Filipino myself... I SO UNDERSTAND HUMOR and being BLOODY SARCASTIC... but REMEMBER... jokes are always half meant... and given the fact that...say this was a joke... think again... it's just politically incorrect... maybe do that in the four corners of your room(oh c'mon we all have our devious ways of pulling someone else down to simply massage our egos!!!)... but publishing an article over an opinion that can be defamatory is simply promoting ignorance and racism... OR given the opinion is considerably a fact... it's still unethical regardless of its truth in nature...
Humor my ass! so that they can set their foot on our faces again? don't you know how much those domestic helpers sacrifice just to feed their family in their homeland?! never make a fun of those who work hard. francis m died proud being a filipino, that's why we must never let any "cheap chow chow" or "teri hatcher looser" to ruin us internationally...
Basically all of you missed the who point of "Brown Soul". Maybe my post will help drive the point across. It is harsh but in my opinion true.
Why the "philippines is a nation of servants"
Nurse is another example of a servant job. Most countries export doctor as OFW. Indian doctors succeed abroad. Why are there not filipino doctors abroad ?
How about we don't give any OFW services to his country? Let them clean their own shit for a change. I know this is also a sacrifice for our workers but we should stand up for our pride as Filipinos.
How about we don't give any OFW services to his country? Let them clean their own shit for a change. I know this is also a sacrifice for our workers but we should stand up for our pride as Filipinos.
Better yet stop sending OFW anywhere period. Best thing that could ever happen. It would be very hard for first few years, but in the long run be much better.
I live in the province. I see it all the time. One OFW from a family works their ass off. What do the rest of the family members do, sit on their ass, do nothing, complain how hard their life is and then go to the Western Union to collect the remitance. And then they complain how there is lack of opportunity in the filippines.
A foreigner hired like 10 construction workers. Pays pretty good wages (300-500 php per day). Often happens workers do not show up for work. They have to go to a fiesta, want to go fishing etc.
If they stopped getting the easy money from abroad, filipinos would be forced to fix things here. Politicians are the worst. Instead of creating jobs here, much easier to just send people abroad. That way they can hide how incompetent,stupid and corrupt they are.
Then again if that happened the economy would actually improve. Prices would go up. I could not maintain my lazy life style here. It would be bad for me.
"How about we don't give any OFW services to his country?"
With that consideration- that's why i quoted an article “Imagine A World Without A Filipino” by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth (www.arabnews.com)
It's like he just said the President Barrack Obama must not be the President of America, because Black people were once slaves. Yeah maybe just maybe Philippines is the "Nation of Servants" but at least we help others not kill them, how about your Milk Mr. Tsao?
I know that this article is a joke but publishing it with statements that degrades Filipinos' pride.. well that's just racism.
How did this Tsip Chao became a journalist in the first place?!!! he's a dumb ass, conceited moron who writes trash....such an assHole!!!!
the article is hurting? yes. but think. think well. think deeply. who caused chip tsao to say those painful words? look at your own self. look at our government. look at our country. can't we atleast stop for a second and consider that perhaps we have a fault too? who created these servants? we are proud of the SUPERMAIDS right? why cannot we accept that yes we are servants. because WE CHOSE to be.we chose that path. we want others to respect us? THEN lets STOP BEING A SERVANT!lets prove that we can also do things and make things. that we are also capable, just like them, the chinese, japanese, koreans... but for pete's sake, we chose to be slaves. so stop saying it's unfair. you want fair play? then rise up. wake up.
Ok, so the Philippines is a nation of servants. Fine. Do you know what China is? A nation of cheaters. :)
Excerpt from Mad Coder's comment: Nurse is another example of a servant job. Most countries export doctor as OFW. Indian doctors succeed abroad. Why are there not filipino doctors abroad ?
MAD CODER, i guess you missed some facts. I can name names of Filipinos working in the US as certified Doctors of Medicine working in famous hospitals in California. Some are my former classmates while others are my relatives. i am in the medical profession too! so DON'T SAY THERE ARE NOT FILIPINO DOCTORS ABROAD.
If you are going to read the whole article you will notice that i tried to balance and look at the issue in different perspective, while i mentioned "Imagine A World Without a Filipino" i also mentioned that during the time of Rizal wherein Filipinos in Europe were referred to as “the glory of the universities”. and F. Sionil Jose's "Why We Are Poor". and finally, Condoleezza Rice, the first black woman to become the United States Secretary of State. Yes, it's painful but at the same time it is also a wake up call!
Remember when The Philippines made The Beatles suffer during their visit there in the mid-sixties? For some reason, they were not able to meet with that disgraced woman, Imelda Marcos, when she and her equally disgraced husband, Ferdy, was el Supremo, El Presidente, etc and ripping off the country left, right and centre. In retaliation, John, George, Paul and Ringo were detained in their hotel room and then kicked out of The Philippines. They admitted they were frightened at the time but did they give an ounce of shit about whether they were loved in The Philippines? Of course not and the world continued to love and admire The Beatles even if Filipinos didn't. Who cared about that? Small time nations always get uneccessarily hot under the baseball cap about perceived slights, just like immature teenagers. Older, more mature nations don't bother. They take such matters as a joke. Note the difference here: The Simpson's has lampooned many countries, including Australia and Brazil. The Aussies laughed like crazy and got on with their lives. The Brazilians jumped up and down and pouted and demanded an apology, in the process making damed fools of themselves and letting the world know how childish they were. I guess that would happen if The Simpsons had a program about The Philippines too. It would make the oversensitive Flips totally mad. Come on guys. The world sort of appreciates having you guys around, making life easier for us. Take it as a joke instead of sounding off like petulant teenagers.
I tried to find the full text and tried to look at it from the point of view of a satire as mentioned in their apology.
There seems to be a hint of satire as there also seems to be hint of hyperbole'. But all this hints does not seem enough to bring it out as a true satire. So their excuse is that it's politically incorrect.
I am angry at how he 'used' the Filipinos in the article but more than that I am worried that this person is being used by someone not Chinese.
As you know, there is a feeling in the air that the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in the Philippines is going to be put down and if this happens American presence in the South China Sea and Pacific will greatly diminish. Now that this article came out it seems to be trying to change the emotional atmosphere around the VFA and hoping to maintain American presence.
If I were the Chinese, I would watch him better.
Dear Mr. Tsao,
I am a Filipino. You know, from the Philippines. Yes, that’s right, the nation of servants. Don’t claim you have not heard of us.
Yes, sir, I am a servant. It is a badge I wear with honor and pride. I am a servant. That means I am not a moocher. I earn my keep through my own sweat and toil, not by charity or by pity. The few coins in my pocket are the rewards for my own efforts, not for snipe or spite.
Yes, I am a servant. It also means I am not a looter. I am paid by those I engage with for the services I render, not for bullying them into submission, not for destroying their trust, not for subjecting them to humiliation, not for threatening them any harm.
Yes, I am a servant. And I proudly declare so. Because, all things considered, there is no such thing as a lousy job – only lousy men who do not care or honor to do it.
Have a good day.
The writings were a bit of a propositions that one cannot deliberately say that an article focus only on one aspect,e.i. in the Article Of Chip Tsao we can say that he take it to a negative light, thus saying we filipino's are filthy enough not to accept that we do not own the Spratly's Island. Well, geographically Spratly were almost nearing to the Philippines unlike China.
He has written this article for one reason, he needs popularity. Well, basing to the fact that he consider's filipino's as servants but it doesn't mean he consider's us as non educated people. He has written it to the Universal Language in order for us to read immediately the article without hesitants...
this is how other nations see us becasue this is what the filipino projects in the world. we export human services. we will be a servant for as long as we serve other nationalities. even in the pHilippines, foreign owned factories, small stores, companies, Filipinos are the workers. Because we are contented to be like that. When we ask filipino if they have dreams to be company owners, of course they will say yes. But after saying yes, what is the action plan? what are we doing to attain that dreams?
lOOKING at the other side, look have patriotic the chinese are? when it comes to the soverignity of their country they come to defend it...their putting their lives on the line. Im not saying that "cheap chow" is correct, what im saying feel the pride and courage of the man to defend it. I filipinos should always ahve that sense of nationhood. We are reactive and defensive nationalits. we only speak of that when others are degrading us. we should be nationalist at all times, in words, in deeds and inside our heart.
compare the population of CHINA and Philippines... do the math. how many percentage of possibilities does a larger population have of having more SLAVES than the one who's got a lesser population. So let's say Cheap Tsao missed that point. You're people are even selling drugs over here in the Philippines just to earn good cash! In History you FREAK'n Chinese got so wasted over OPIUM and you guys tried to make the world worst than it could be because of your capabilities of producing unwanted drugs. Let's settle the score, I'll accept the Philippines is an Nation of Servants as long as you Accept that CHINA is a nation of Lies and Deception. proof? oh! c'mon, it's not new. a lot of CHINA PHONES? CHINA MADE PRODUCTS? and a lot of CHINESE LOOKING BASTARD GETTING CAUGHT HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
I went to Singapore and Hongkong before but I noticed that their markets have plenty of snakes. they just boiled and drink the soup.yaaaakiii! THE PHILIPPINES ARE COUNTRY OF GOOD SERVANTS.A COUNTRY OF TALENTS AND SMART. at least not a country of EATING SNAKES! The MAIDS IN HK,are also contributes the prosperity of their country. SHAME ON YOU MR. TSAO! you are racist! at least you apology....
If this article is a joke..then it should be in the joke section. Now Tsip Chao is saying that the article is taken out of context. Dumbass!!! He should know better..he intentionally wrote it to malign the Filipino people. How dare him! Stupid ass!!!
this made me daunted.. I am working here in China and it so disheartening. :( Such an arrogant and racist person.
Mr.Chip Tsao just so you know CHINESE were a bit richer than Philippines you know why?
1.Selling Pirated DVD's
2.Selling imitation goods that contains lots of disgusting chemials on it.
3.Selling there own meat just to have (10-20 dirhams)to be exact..
Now who is shameful among us?
Your public apology is not enough Mr.evil..You need to be punished for life....
Chip made a mistake in that article for sure.
Please read more and find out the particular article has something between the line, and it is mocking his fellow Hong Kong citizens indeed.
Seriously, if u listen to his radio show and read his other numerous articles, you will understand what's going on.
Chip could just be the same men you respect in your own country.
Bro~ seriously, please find out the other side of the story, I am a friend
peace
Today, nations such as England, France and Germany like to think of themselves as the best, most advanced people on the planet, but about 2000 years ago they were just primitive barbarians getting their asses handed to them by Rome. Eventually these barbarians kicked the Romans out and entered an age of darkness known as the Medieval period. For the next 1000 years or so, they made little progress and were well behind several other countries during that time.
The point of this little history lesson is that it isn't uncommon for a group of people to have trouble getting on their feet after being conquered or enslaved for centuries. Everyone has to start somewhere, even if that somewhere is the bottom. The Philippines is a YOUNG country and it’s going to take blood, sweat, tears, and TIME it to figure out how to become successful.
Now for my next argument. I just acknowledged that it would take time for the Philippines to become a major player in the world, but I don’t think it should take 2000 years. I don’t think it should even take 200 years. There are a few things which can be done immediately to start the process along.
1. Language: Pick one please! Tagalog is the national language…or wait…English is the national language…but doesn’t each region speak its own language or dialect? Ideally there should be just one language in order to facilitate communication, organization, and a feeling of oneness within the country. Don’t use English as the medium of instruction. You reason in your language, you dream in your language, but you don’t teach in your language? All the best and brightest countries teach in their native language. You think Americans would have made it to the moon, or that the Japanese would have the best cars on the market if they had to learn how to do it all in a foreign language? I’m sure there are many Filipinos who excel despite this, but why rob that kind of success from the majority of the people and from the country as a whole? The world laughs at us for dearly hanging onto the language of our most recent oppressor. I get so annoyed when I see Filipinos speaking English to each other, in the Philippines no less, trying to show off as if knowing how to speak English equates to being intelligent. Let me tell you. I live in America where almost everyone speaks English, and there are a lot of dumb asses. The language you speak says NOTHING about how smart you are. What does make you smart is the quality of the knowledge you have.
2. Sex: Don’t have so many kids. It’s that simple. I know family is important and all, but if someone has too many kids then family must not be THAT important to them since s/he is knowingly bringing the kids into the world without a proper way to support them. Seriously, do the math. Kids cost MONEY. Start using condoms and birth control. If you think you can’t afford it, think about this… Which is more expensive? Contraceptives or having to raise another kid until they leave the nest (if they ever do). God may have said “Go forth and multiply,” but that’s when the population of the Earth was not 6.77 billion (Ref. Wikipedia.org on that number). How many women do we have to send to foreign countries to be at the mercy of employers who sexually violate or otherwise abuse them? How many girls have to work abroad as “entertainers?” What’s the point of raising your daughter as a Catholic who supposedly wants to hang onto virginity until marriage if she just gets banged by the first guy whose house she cleans? Overpopulation is a major contributor to this problem. Another way to help is to educate your children about sex once they hit puberty. The point of this is not to encourage them to do it, but to inform them of the consequences of doing it (e.i. bringing a kid into the world that you have to pay for and who will suffer because you can’t). You may also want to inform them of how to do it safely, such as with a condom. Don’t think that just because you don’t teach them they won’t find out. They have horny friends who like to fuck, and when your kid finds out it might the stupid way, such as when they get an STD or get pregnant. If you still don’t agree, think about this. The population of the Philippines is what? 90 million? That means everybody is fucking, so the topic of sex in the Philippines can’t be THAT taboo. God gave us brains. Let’s use them.
3. Give yourselves more respect: Why does the star of every movie have to be half white with some ridiculous English word-turned-name like Heart or Cherry? (I’m exaggerating) Why do we judge how well people can sing based on whether they can sing some popular American song? Why do we judge beauty based on the European-ness of a person’s nose, or the lightness of someone’s skin? Do you know how hard Americans try to get the Filipino tan? Countless white girls at my college here in Florida have skin as dark or darker than mine because brown is beautiful here. If a white person here were as white as those Filipino movie mestizos are, they would be asked why the fuck they aren’t at the beach getting some sun. If you took a picture of a person who is dark and ugly, and used a computer program to make their skin light, they’d just be light and ugly :P. The lightness of your skin doesn’t make you beautiful. There are plenty of full blooded Filipinos with natural features here who look damn gorgeous, and there are probably even more over there, but Philippine society may be too blind to realize it. Self respect and respect from others mutually reinforce each other. White Americans who have been to the Philippines often say that Filipinos are the nicest people in the world, probably because the ones they met were kissing their asses, but if we begin to appreciate ourselves, other countries will take notice and we might some day be able to say that about them.
The Philippines prides itself on being the most Westernized/Americanized country in Asia, but is it really? The “West” of today doesn’t self deprecate, overpopulate, and try to emulate others. We should take the term ‘Western” as meaning successful, progressive, innovative, independent, and confident. In this interpretation of the word we are failing miserably, and it’s necessary for the Philippines to evaluate what it is doing wrong on the national level as well as the individual level in order to take its first steps on the road to recovery.
This is just my personal opinion and I fully understand that everyone has different views. I want the Philippines to great some day, and I do my part in garnering respect for Filipinos by being successful in life. Our actions reflect upon our country, and our country’s actions reflect upon us.
Long live Chip Tsao!
Filipinos = Katulongs!
A lot of Chinese are as racist as the Nazis...both of those creatures think they are superior among people