Japan after the storm

After the devastation of the Earthquake, Tsunami and now the nuclear disaster, the Japanese people remain calm and dignified. I couldn’t imagine what our reaction will be should the same thing happen to the Philippines, God forbid. For sure, grabe ang ating atungal especially if the media is covering us. You can never see it in Japan. Their media showed restraint, no irresponsible reporting just like in the Philippines.


Despite the tragedy, you’ll be impressed by the Japanese capabilities to build strong buildings that did not fall despite the magnitude of the earthquakes. If the same thing happens in the Philippines, God forbid again, the first buildings to fall are the government built infrastructures. Do I have to say it loudly why they’ll fall? Everyone knows naman dahil sa corruption, for sure, substandard ang mga materials.

The Japanese are crazy about the order but it works for them because people tend to respect other people’s belongings. There’s no looting, robbery or people taking advantage of the situation. People wait for their turn in the queues and there are no exceptions. Children and the olds know what they should do and they did it.

There was a time in the history that the Japanese people were the most hated race in the world. They’ve learned from their mistakes from the past. The tragedy that struck the Japanese affected so many people the world over. It however brought the best out of the Japanese people. It will take years for the victims and Japan to recover. But with the Japanese resilience I know that they’ll recover. I just can’t say when but they will and I will be praying for them.

Riyadh Trip

I went to Riyadh on the 15th of March to renew my passport. In my almost a decade here in the Kingdom of the Sands, this is the first time that I ever visited the place. It’s not the first time that I renewed my passport here in the Kingdom but because of the sophisticated passport system that is currently in place, I have to be at the embassy. Previously, we only have to fill out the application form and attach our latest photo and send it to Riyadh and the people at our Riyadh Office will take care of everything from filing to claiming.

The train left Dammam at 12:20 P.M. and reached Riyadh at 5:20 P.M. I would have to say that I enjoyed the travel. It was fun riding the train for the first time. What I did not anticipate is that Riyadh was a lot colder than the Eastern Province. It’s probably because Riyadh is in the middle of the desert. I shivered the moment I disembarked from the train because of the light jacket that I wore.

Riyadh is an Arabic haven and taxi drivers there are mostly Saudis who do not speak English. It was so difficult for me because I can hardly speak Arabic. I ended up being overcharged by the taxi driver when I hired one to bring me to Batha.

The first impression I had when I stepped on Batha is ‘PANGIT’. I was not impressed at all by the series of old buildings surrounding the area. The streets are crowded and filthy. I don’t know if they have ‘Baladiyah’ but I’m sure they don’t have one. The only good thing with Batha is that they have several low cost hotels in the area. It’s low cost but not necessarily low standard because it’s clean and decent. I was met by my friend Niel who works as a supply in SABIC Riyadh Office. We went to his place and then checked in at the nearest hotel. I don’t want to bother him you know. After that, we went to a Thai restaurant and then naggala gala sa Batha.

Niel and I went to the Diplomatic Quarters where the Philippine Embassy is located the following day (16 March). We just took a cab going to Diplomatic Quarters. It’s located in the outskirts of Riyadh. You’ll feel that you’re in the desert or maybe it was just landscaped to look that way. The beauty with Diplomatic Quarter is that all the embassies from all over the world can be found there. So security wise, it’s the safest place in the Kingdom. I could also be wrong because it may also be the target of thugs and terrorist because everything else is there. We reached the Philippine Embassy at around 8:45 A.M. and finished our passport renewal at exactly 9:00 A.M. We were told that the releasing will be after 3-4 weeks from the day the passport is filed. They’re also high tech now because they’re posting the passports to be released in their website. So my passport renewal was stress free. I didn’t wait for a very long time and we were not in a queue.

To document our first ever trip to the Philippine Embassy at the Diplomatic Quarter, we had taken several photos inside the embassy. I felt very free when I was at the embassy. We took several shots but nobody even told us to stop. We were only stopped by the National Guards when we were outside taking photos of the Philippine Embassy emblem. I don’t know what the fuss was over the photos. They even checked my digital cam just to make sure.

We have all the morning to ourselves because we finished very early. Just to have the taste of what Riyadh was, we went to Riyadh Gallery. It’s a very huge mall with expensive shops. We just strolled all over the place but did not buy anything. We left the mall at around 1 PM and then went back to Batha to take our lunch at the Quiapo Restaurant. I’ve heard so much about it before but wasn’t impressed when I get to eat there. It’s old, dirty and bad selections of food. There was one rude food server, baka hindi napasahodan kaya masungit.

I bid my goodbye to my friend Niel at around 3:00 P.M. because my train to Dammam leaves at 4:20 P.M. What’s surprising is that I only paid SR. 15.00 by the taxi driver. So I confirmed that I was indeed overcharged by the old taxi driver when I arrived the day before. The train arrived in Dammam on schedule and I was in my place in Al Khobar at around 10:30 P.M.

I went to Riyadh on a weekday and was out of the office for a day and a half (PAID). I reached Al Khobar Wednesday night so I get to spend another 2 days weekend. It’s all thanks to my boss who never asked me to file a Leave Request Form. Not bad, right?

Alarmist Filipinos

Last week I have been receiving forwarded emails spreading fear and alarm to the OFW community in the Kingdom. I want to ignore the emails as much as I want to but I just can’t because of the volume of the identical emails I received from my friends and colleagues. One of the emails I received contains the list of the community leaders otherwise known as people who wants to receive the ‘Bayaning Filipino Award’. Aside from that, there’s also a form attached to it asking for your contact information. The thing is, it’s not even confirmed that it came from the Philippine Embassy.

I was in Riyadh last Wednesday 15 March 2011 to renew my passport and did not see anything extraordinary there. We weren’t asked to fill out forms of any sort. And what’s up with the forms? If it’s really true, why ask for our information when our info is readily available with the POEA? So that gives me the idea that those forms are just forwarded to scare people. That’s why I call these people spreading these forms and contact information as Alarmist. They wanted to create fear amongst the OFW community in the Kingdom. It’s not the most outrageous thing that our fellow Filipino did but they also spread rumors and baseless haka haka on the protests within the Kingdom.

What bothers me is that even the ABiaS CBN through its cheap and amateurish program ‘Balitang Middle East’ and ‘Kwentong Disyerto’ gave importance to it. It’s baseless and unconfirmed yet they cover it. If that’s not irresponsible journalism I don’t know how you want to call it.

So, ngayon, anong masasabi nila that nothing happened? Aren’t they ashamed of themselves? May hiya pa ba silang naiwan sa kanilang katawan? We should put a stop to this or else, masasanay ang mga taong ito na gumawa ng kalokohan and taking us all for a ride.

Turmoil in the Island Kingdom

Bahrain used to be the hub of business in the Gulf. It also prided itself as an open state where democracy thrives. The events of the recent weeks however shattered that myth. The peaceful protesters were killed by the Bahraini forces which are mostly composed of non Bahrainis. Why kill your own people? Protests in any democratic countries are a natural occurrence and are part and parcel of the democracy. The police and military should never kill or fire towards its own people.

The Bahraini government has been saying that they have to disperse the crowd in order to start a dialog. I don’t buy that argument. How can you start a dialog when you’re already killing your own people? The families of those innocent victims will never allow it. They’ve already created so much animosity that it’s difficult to forget and let go.

The problem with Bahrain is not sectarian but political. The minority composed of the ruling Sunni family is only 30% of the population while the Shiites majority comprised 70% of the population. The 70% of the population is marginalized in employment, economic status and are often discriminated. With the makeup of the Bahraini population, the ruling minority has a lot to fear for. They fear of losing control particularly if a fair election is made. The ruling minority should make an effort to reach out in order to solve the problem. The issue is political and can never be resolved by firing weapons against them.

Power they say is intoxicating and history and recent events have proven it once and again. Elected presidents with fixed terms have no intentions of stepping down. How much more for the unelected monarch who do not have to go through the election process?

When nature strikes…

We don’t know yet the casualty of the recent Japan tsunami but it’s going to be nasty. The live footage of the tsunami seems surreal. You may even think that the houses, boats and buildings are just models because of how easy the water swift them away. In fact, tragedy movies are more horrifying than the actual tsunami itself. I’ve watched the footage over and over through NHK and I’m once again reminded that we’re just human beings and we’re powerless over the nature.

It’s difficult to predict our death but maybe in that situation, you’re going to think that death is coming. What else would you do if you are faced with a ten meter wave over your head? If the buildings are powerless over them, how much more human beings like us? It’s only God’s will that you’ll survive in that situation. Although what happened yesterday was a disaster, we still have a lot to be thankful for that it happened during daytime. I guess there will be more casualties if it happened at night. Aside from that, we would have missed the drama while the tsunami unfolded if it happened during the nighttime.

Tectonic plates around the ring of fire are a reality. It’s been there for millions of years. Over the years, hundreds of people have died through volcanic eruption, earthquakes and tsunamis. This recent catastrophe is not the last one. There are more to come and maybe in a different place. This is the nature’s way of reminding us that we’re insignificant and we should mend our ways. I don’t want to be preachy but we’re all guilty in harming our environment, the Mother Nature. Things like these happen because nature has its way of cleansing.

When nature strikes, we’re helpless and there’s nothing we can do about it. We may just accept our death because whether we like it or not, we all die in different circumstances. It’s not too late for us to mend our ways. Our children deserved a better world. We should protect our environment and stop harming it.