By the time this missive is blazoned, the news about the stampede last Saturday has already reached even the banks of CNN and BBC. Not that I am vaunting about it - and I am pretty sure, for the love of this country, there is nothing to vaunt about a stampede for a noontime show!
The tragedy last Saturday is a melancholy that I keep getting these goosebumps while reading the newspapers and watching news about the incident. You see, there were like more than 70 people perished (mostly women aged 50 and above) and about hundreds were injured from the stampede at ULTRA. The "poor people" flocked to Ultra hoping to win a small part of the P 1.6 million in cash, house and lot, some vehicles to be raffled off during the anniversary show of "Wowowee" - a noontime show. To the "poverty stricken" such prizes are to die for, that this is their ONLY hope to set them free from the chains of poverty. It has been reported that people started arriving, packing ULTRA's grounds, as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and approximately around 50,000 people came to ULTRA with high hopes that they can win any luck.
But life has its own way of waking us up to face realities. The unexpected happened.
Aside from the given fact that there more than 70 people died and got hurt from the stampede, what is more tragic is that people started pinning their hopes in sheer luck.
Oh Well. Nick Joaquin was right when he said that we are "a heritage of smallness."
The ULTRA stampede was a reflection of a culture wherein the people are ill-disciplined, people always go for the easiest way possible and yeah, it is better to pin our hopes in a game show and luck for a better life rather than finding a job and really work hard. That incident made us realize that we are really such a poor country.
Now, everybody is pointing fingers and looking for somebody we can blame. It could be the organizers because it was like how can they not foresee such things when as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, people have started to arrive and line up; lack of security; It could be the people who risked their life pinning their hopes in luck and yes, it could be poverty and it could be the government - they could've just provided jobs for the "poor stricken" but instead some are swimming in such corruption and bribery.
It is not enough that they give out "my condolences" and some handouts. As one writer coined it, "The people need jobs, not handouts. They prefer to work for their food. So give them jobs, not handouts, and they would be more grateful. Handouts fill hungry stomachs temporarily, but they strip people of their self-respect. Handouts introduce people to a culture of mendicancy. In time, people would get so used to them, they would rather beg than work for a living."
Sad reality but it should not stop from the whining, complaining and begging for freebies. Come on, there is no dignity in waiting for freebies! Well, what can I say, it takes a lot of effort to think - that could be the reason why we opt not to think and settle for temporary solutions.
Much has been said - we still have to work on this and continue digging deep. For as long as there is hope and there are still souls who work hard not for his own benefit but for the benefit of others - I know in no time, the Philippines will shine so bright.
The tragedy last Saturday is a melancholy that I keep getting these goosebumps while reading the newspapers and watching news about the incident. You see, there were like more than 70 people perished (mostly women aged 50 and above) and about hundreds were injured from the stampede at ULTRA. The "poor people" flocked to Ultra hoping to win a small part of the P 1.6 million in cash, house and lot, some vehicles to be raffled off during the anniversary show of "Wowowee" - a noontime show. To the "poverty stricken" such prizes are to die for, that this is their ONLY hope to set them free from the chains of poverty. It has been reported that people started arriving, packing ULTRA's grounds, as early as Tuesday or Wednesday and approximately around 50,000 people came to ULTRA with high hopes that they can win any luck.
But life has its own way of waking us up to face realities. The unexpected happened.
Aside from the given fact that there more than 70 people died and got hurt from the stampede, what is more tragic is that people started pinning their hopes in sheer luck.
Oh Well. Nick Joaquin was right when he said that we are "a heritage of smallness."
The ULTRA stampede was a reflection of a culture wherein the people are ill-disciplined, people always go for the easiest way possible and yeah, it is better to pin our hopes in a game show and luck for a better life rather than finding a job and really work hard. That incident made us realize that we are really such a poor country.
Now, everybody is pointing fingers and looking for somebody we can blame. It could be the organizers because it was like how can they not foresee such things when as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, people have started to arrive and line up; lack of security; It could be the people who risked their life pinning their hopes in luck and yes, it could be poverty and it could be the government - they could've just provided jobs for the "poor stricken" but instead some are swimming in such corruption and bribery.
It is not enough that they give out "my condolences" and some handouts. As one writer coined it, "The people need jobs, not handouts. They prefer to work for their food. So give them jobs, not handouts, and they would be more grateful. Handouts fill hungry stomachs temporarily, but they strip people of their self-respect. Handouts introduce people to a culture of mendicancy. In time, people would get so used to them, they would rather beg than work for a living."
Sad reality but it should not stop from the whining, complaining and begging for freebies. Come on, there is no dignity in waiting for freebies! Well, what can I say, it takes a lot of effort to think - that could be the reason why we opt not to think and settle for temporary solutions.
Much has been said - we still have to work on this and continue digging deep. For as long as there is hope and there are still souls who work hard not for his own benefit but for the benefit of others - I know in no time, the Philippines will shine so bright.
