THIS month, we celebrate our language as August is famously dubbed “Buwan ng Wika.” For the whole month, children are constantly reminded that the Filipino language, culture and tradition are part of one’s identity. It is celebrated, venerated and acknowledged as being a symbol of the country’s freedom and independence. However, we tend to forget to teach them the most important thing about acknowledging one’s identity, and that is for the rest of the year even when August has gone, it is most important to never forget where one came from. For although we’ve transcended and left our colonial past, we have not broken free from our used to be colonizers who are now known as our overseas employers.
Obenieta refused to abandon his home regardless of having physically left it to live in the United States. The physical manifestation of this is “Sanga sa Angkla, Hangin sa Samin.”
“When I arrived in America, I started to experience the struggles of being an immigrant. My coping mechanism to deal with being lost and being in an unfamiliar culture was to face my own fears, my insecurities and finding beauty as well in that experience,” said Obenieta. Obenieta has lived in Kansas for 12 years. Being away from his home, Obenieta started losing sight of his identity. To cope with this struggle, he found solace in writing about what he was going through, leading to the creation of his second book.
“In the early years that I stayed in America, I dealt with my own struggles as an immigrant by my writing. By kind of confronting whatever it was that made me feel lost. In a way, the poems in this collection grounded me. It’s my way of coming to terms with the idea of being at home,” said Obenieta.
By writing “balaks” (Cebuano poems), Obenieta reconnected with his identity. In the process, he found other people going through the same struggles as he was. Other Cebuano authors hailing from other countries, connected to him through his blog “kabisdak” (www.balaybalakasoy.blogspot.com) which is dubbed an online vernacular literary lighthouse.
“We communicated, we emailed and sometimes we’d call each other. These are fellow writers insisting to write in the vernacular even though it’s easy to write in English. Most of us do write in English. We just choose to focus on that language because it’s the language that gives us a sense of identity and home and as well as the language where we deal with whatever issues about being Filipino or being Cebuano in a globalized world,” said Obenieta.
Together with accepting diversity and reaching places far and wide, it is best to never forget where we came from and who we are because after all what is diversity without appreciating individuality.