Martha,
her twin sister, is a student activist and she knows that in many aspects, she
is superior than she is. Martha is very intelligent young woman and oozing with
strength and dynamism. While she, a polio victim, cannot walk straight and her
muscles are tight and weak. She often experience joint
weakness and pain, general fatigue and exhaustion after minimal activity including muscle
atrophy and decreased tolerance of cold temperatures. They are both 20 years
old and living with their mother who is selling dried fish in the market. But Maria
silently admired Martha not only because of her intelligence but her courage as
well. She really wished to be in one of the rallies and mass actions her sister
is frequently participating. She is so proud of her but does not have an
opportunity to say or to prove it. All
she could do for now is to pray for their safety and the realization of their
goals. Maria is a prayerful woman.
One
thing she hated so much about Martha is that she is so involved in serving
other people especially those who are deprived of justice but he cannot even
find time to earn money for their needs. Why not help her during days without
classes by selling bread to fishermen every morning at the fish port like what
she’s doing? That way, they could help their aging mother, a widow at that, in
their financial needs. Martha’s deep involvement in activism even kept him away
from praying and going to church. But that does not bother Maria that much. What
bother her most is how to show her oneness with her sister in her struggle and
her noble cause in a very special way she can despite of her limited capacity
and her disability.
Martha
is presently involved in a struggle against the intrusion of a multinational
mining firm. Martha serves best for the sake of the people and the Mother Earth.
Ninoy Aquino was assassinated just a year ago and militarization in their
province been so intense. Farmer leaders opposing the project are kidnapped,
tortured and detained without due process by the police and the military. Militarization
and abuses are the rule of the day especially to those who oppose development
projects which are aggressively pushed by the government. Martial Law indeed is
a law thus a legal instrument being the Presidential Proclamation 1081. Maria
even in her crooked posture can straightly declare that Martial Law is the
greatest proof that not everything that is legal is moral and permissible.
Maria wished that she could join Martha someday. But the question is how?
Martha
at present, together with around 30 protesters are having a barricade and
trying to block the coming of heavy equipment to start a mining operation in
their area. They have been there for almost a week. From a distance is a mobile
van from a local radio station. The security guards from the firm previously
deployed by the company, along with some policemen, set a checkpoint and blocked
the road from both ends not to allow food being delivered to the demonstrators
from the town proper. The proposed mining site where Martha and her companions
were situated more than 20 kilometers of muddy and rough road from their house.
The
rain fall incessantly coupled with cool wind. Huddled under a tent, the
protesters haven’t taken any food for two days now. They are chilling and being
starved to death. Maria knew about their pain and hunger. Those who tried to
deliver food yesterday for the group was caught and severely beaten by the
security men. “The time has come”, she told herself.
Back
at the barricade site, Martha felt so helpless. She knew that they are all
about to die if they will not be given food tonight. Their lawyer contacts from
Manila will be coming the day after tomorrow. There will be an initial talk and
the food blockade will finally and surely be over. Then it is the first time in
years that she prayed and she sing a song of praise and suddenly all of the
protesters found themselves singing the song in chorus. All of them who are too absorbed in political
discussions and serving the masses that they have no time to sit with Jesus and
learn His lessons!
Maria
prepared a large amount of fish and bread, put them in a big and empty can of
lard and tied it at the back of her late father’s bicycle and then rode the
almost 20 kilometer muddy and dangerous road to the proposed mining site. She
crawled in the wilderness to pass the checkpoint along the road. And when Maria
finally managed to reach the protesters and deliver them loaves of bread and
fishes, she timidly apologized to Martha for not doing any worthwhile thing for
the cause of the people and the preservation of their natural resources. Martha
said nothing. She’s so voiceless and so quiet. She just embraced and kissed her
twin sister with tears of gratitude running down her cheeks thinking of hardships
and sacrifices Maria had overcome that night. Her prayerful sister who just
found out that cold and rainy night that activism is also a concrete expression
of loving our neighbor and the environment, thus loving God.
In
the next morning, radio newscasts as usual aired different stories. Ferdinand
Marcos’ heroic deeds last World War II is being featured in the state-owned
station. He is portrayed as a true hero along with some decorated Filipino war veterans,
the celebrated former priest who joined the New People’s Army just been killed in
a gun battle with the military and proclaimed martyr and hero by his comrades.
They are all considered heroes that deserve to be remembered and their heroic
deeds to be commemorated one day. They are men and women in Philippine history
whose acts of courage enabled the Philippines to grow as a nation.
However,
not a word about the story of Martha and Maria was heard. It had no news value
in the eyes of the media. It is not heroism...
(*An
adaptation of Nil Guillmette’s “Two Copper Coins”, part of his book “Wipe Every
Tear”)
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(Photo : Sysiphus-Angrynewsfromaroundtheworld.)
