Identity Lost

Healing the Soul of the Nation
by Marlene Aguilar

When I was growing up I was told in school that my country was colonized by Spain, for a period of over 330 years. We were then colonized by the U.S. for 46 years and occupied by Japan for 3 ...years. School also taught me that I should be grateful to Spain because the Spanish gave the Philippines European civilization and religion. Unfortunately most Filipinos still believe this. That is why the Philippines is still in the dark age. How did my people come to believe these lies? I do not see how any people could understand colonization in these terms. The Spaniards came to my country. They murdered our men, raped our women, stole our lands and enslaved those who survived. They damaged our cultures beyond repair. The Spaniards came to the Philippines, as they did in other countries, to rape, murder and plunder. And in school I was taught to be grateful because Spain had given me their religion and their so-called civilization. This is like asking the Jews to be grateful to Hitler.

Imagine a group of armed bandits storming into this room right now, raping you, slaughtering you, and stealing everything of value. When they are finished, they tell you, the surviving victims, “Here is our civilization and religion. Be grateful.”

I thought the Philippine education system had changed from the time I was a little girl. Recently I started to read the Philippine Constitution in a textbook by Hector S. De Leon, 2005 edition, that is given to today’s students at the Universities of the Philippines and Ateneo. On page 12 it says… and I quote:

“The demerits, however of the Spanish administration were more than offset by its merits.

(a) The Spanish rule, when viewed in the broader light of global colonization, was generally mild and humane. The Filipino people were not brutalized. Spaniards and Filipinos intermarried and mingled socially. Slavery and tribal wars were suppressed.

(b) It brought about the unification of the Filipino people. The diverse tribes were molded into one people, under one God, one King and one government, and out of their common grievances against Spain, blossomed the spirit of nationalism; and

(c) Spain uplifted the Filipinos from the depth of primitive culture and paganism and gave them the blessings of Christianity and European civilization.”

End of quote. “Spain uplifted the Filipinos from the depth of primitive culture and paganism.” How can Spain call the Filipinos primitive when they were the ones who came here to rape and murder? Who is primitive? My forefathers honored the moon, the stars, the earth, the mountains and the trees. What is wrong with that? Don’t you honor god when you honor nature?

If to become Christian means to slaughter my mother, my father, my brothers and my sisters, I would rather be pagan.

Spain did not give the blessing of Christianity to my forefathers! They were told to convert to Christianity or die! That is what Spain did to many countries all over the world.

I believe that our problem in the Philippines today is not lack of money nor too much greed and corruption. This is not the root of our problem. Rather it is first and foremost a lack of identity. An individual who cannot grow up with an identity can never be confident, and can never know success. The Philippines is full of individuals without identity, without confidence. The Philippines is suffering from an identity crisis. I believe this is what makes this country a poor nation.

Filipinos often complain about the problems of the Philippines comparing this nation to China, Japan, Singapore and the USA. We cannot make this comparison. There is no comparison. These nations have not been raped and plundered like the Philippines. None of these nations have suffered foreign domination for almost 400 years!

The Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated on July 4, 1946. We have only been an independent state for 60 years. We cannot expect this country to heal in such a short period of time.

Our soul has been damaged by continuous foreign control. But we can fix this. We can change the future. It is up to us. I believe our only chance for survival and progress is to raise a new generation of Filipinos aware of their rich culture and noble heritage. For the past ten years I have been publishing books to defend and promote Philippine art and culture. I believe that some day soon there will be a cultural revolution that will inspire the Philippine cultural renaissance. I believe there are many Filipinos like me who will make a difference, who will make this happen.

There is hope. As long as there are Filipinos like me, like my brother Freddie Aguilar, our national artist Napoleon Abueva, Alwin Sta. Rosa, Mita Ong, Rafael Cusi and all the artists here tonight who love the Philippines and are willing to take a stand, there is hope.

I believe that the Filipino artists are the flame keepers of our rich culture and heritage.

I believe that together the Filipino artists can heal the soul of this beautiful nation.

Mabuhay ang sining Pilipino!

Maraming salamat po!

Speech by Marlene Aguilar
Publisher / Author
Yin and Yang by Cusi Book Launching