Declaring Her Independence

My sister Bam said she’d had enough of managing our family’s farm. She’s declaring her independence on the 4^th of February.  I can’t blame her because her life stopped the moment she took over the farm when my father passed away.  She left her lucrative and high profile job with the Office of the President – Presidential Anti-Graft Commission and even forgot to take care of herself.  That explains why until now she’s unmarried, or laon in Ilonggo.  Yet all these years that she’s toiling the farm, she did not even became rich.  Soil is a blessing but I’m just human, and this is how I see it, soil will hold you and suck all the life in you.

In farming, you’ll only get rich if you’re toiling hundreds of hectares of lands.  That’s why the owners of Hacienda Luisita are rich.  It’s a nice feeling to grow crops but farming is not just about feelings, it’s a hard work.  You’ll have to shell out a lot of money to maintain your crops.  You need to give the plants fertilizers and that it entails a lot of costs.  Since my sister is into sugarcane farming, she’ll only get to harvest once a year.  At the end of the cropping year, and after paying off her debts in the maintenance of the farm, she’ll not even break even.  The problem is that it’s a cycle and you’ll never get out of the cycle.  That’s the reason why I feel for the farmers.  I know exactly what they’re up to and the challenges they’re facing in farming.

She would have endured it but she’s just human.  Even if you’re patient, your patience will be tested and she just gave it all up.  I can’t blame her and I don’t have the right to.  I mean, I was never really involved in farming myself.  I did have an inheritance from my late father but I never get to toil it.  My sister did the toiling for me.  It wasn’t that I’m not interested in it but I’m away most of the time.  That’s why I know why she’d made up her mind. 

What triggered her to blow her top is my younger brother who wants to have it all to himself.  In the past, he did a lot of things that tested my sister’s patience.  My brother has been consumed by greed.  It’s bad because he does not anymore consider the feelings of his family.  He’s already blinded and consumed by greed.  My mother who’s always blinded by her love for her favorite son, right away defended him. 

So, I wasn’t surprised when last week, my sister said that she’d had enough.  I told her that it’s just fair that she walks out from farming.  She’s still young and has a lot of years ahead of her.  I told her that when she leaves, she shouldn’t look back.  It’s not worth it. 

I treat people the same.  For me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a family, a friend or an acquaintance.  If you are a relative or a family, it’s just coincidental and it doesn’t give you the right to treat your family member or relative badly.  It doesn’t give you the right to abuse your relations.  They say that when your house is full of trash and you decide to clean up, you’ll realize that there are things that you don’t really need.  You’ll also realize that you regained space that used to be consumed by the trash.  You’ll realize na guminhawa ang iyong paligid.  It’s the same with friends, relatives and people in general.  If you don’t need them, you walk out on them.  You’ll realize that gumaan ang iyong buhay.  I support you Inday Bam and I will always respect your decision.