The call of history: Patriotism!
Gregoria de Jesus, wife of illustrious Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio, wrote a memoir of her experiences in the Katipunan that pushed for equal rights and justice during the Spanish-ruled Filipinas. Professor Bernadette Abrera of the University of the Philippines history department read to us one May afternoon the original text in Tagalog of de Jesus’ accounts of her life with the Supremo.
I have known what it is to sleep on the ground without tasting food for the whole day, to drink dirty water from mud-holes or the sap of vines which, though bitter, tasted delicious because of my intense thirst. When I came to think of my life in those days, considering my youth then, I am surprised how I stood it all, and how I was spared.
Ms. Abrera said that heroes such as de Jesus and her husband had had to withstand grave trials and even suffer from the hands of the enemies for the cause of the people. However, Filipinos today do not appreciate their country as much because of the lack of knowledge about the past.
She encouraged us to learn more about events of history and the lives of the people who dedicated themselves for love of their countrymen and to emulate their example.
An admirable model of this self-giving is Emilio Jacinto who refused to get a haircut, buy new clothes and take a transport to school daily to save money for the publication of Kalayaan. This zeal to make the homeland a more humane and just place is something we have to possess to battle today’s evils of poverty, hunger, labor injustices and corruption. #
