Images that tell a story

IT’S almost like a masterpiece that’s only possible from a Master’s stroke. A caption states that it’s an artist’s own version of the nativity in its fetal form, an offspring that’s about to enter the darkest and very restricted passage out into another world that is more complicated.

This piece of art is much too intricately done, such that even the tiniest details are considered and intricately painted to the point of perfection. Is this in any way God’s work placed upon human hands to make people appreciate the kind of life-giving that every mother chose to give?

If so then, God’s reign could not be far away, I guess...

The image itself is the message. One need not exert so much effort to find out what the message is all about.

Time and again our city has been celebrating gift of Kadayawan. For us true blooded Dabawenyos, the word “Kadayawan” could mean a lot of good things for people and the community, most especially for the Lumad communities. It is a local term that brings positive images to the local folks.

It could mean bountiful harvest, peace, prosperity and harmony. It means celebrating the wonders of life and nature in its truest sense. Kadayawan as it is celebrated today is trying to showcase how we, the Davaoeños feel about ourselves in the face of hardships and global economic crunch. The question is, are we really unanimous in spirit? Can we truly say that the Lumads, the real indigenous people in our midst are one with us in celebrating the Kadayawan?

Much as I would not want to douse cold water on the fire of merriment in our celebration, I could not help but hear the cry of our sisters and brothers up in their communities who are undergoing different kinds of threats to their life and limb. Can we close our eyes and ears from them who we owe our safety, they who are the living stewards of our environment?

They are under attack because they are directly living within the areas where rich mineral deposits can be found. And while most of us would probably fold our arms across our breast and say we are far from where these Lumads are dwelling and it could not really affect us, I must say we could not really be unaffected. Because as any ordinary person would notice, whenever the rains come, the flooding of our city immediately follows. This is but the tip of the iceberg, if we have to borrow a saying, of what’s in store for us if we continue to ignore the happenings among our indigenous sisters and brothers.

Thus, while we enjoy bountiful harvests in our city, it would be good also to think about the other members of our society, who are out of reach, whom we cannot see every day but that we are undeniably connected.

As I was riding on board a public utility vehicle, I noticed three youths wearing a shirt that quietly cry out a reminder, which states: IF YOU WANT PEACE, WORK FOR JUSTICE. Underneath that simple reminder is the name John Paul II. It turned out they were Ateneans out on an immersion.

I smiled to myself, and happy to think that my Alma Mater is still at it.