Racism What?

THE last few days have Seen many newsworthy events that ought to have occupied the front pages of the papers, held up traffic in Internet blogs and forums, and grabbed the full attention of the public.

Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, along with the judge who sent hundreds of Shiite rebels to their deaths at the behest of Saddam Hussein, were executed in controversial circumstances a few days after the dictator was himself sent to the gallows.

Global warming and greenhouse gases were once again in the public eye, with the United Kingdom prime minister himself attacked by environmentalists for refusing to contain his long-haul international travels, both for private and public commitments.

And the Bank of England, for the third time since August, has raised interest rates another 25 basis points to 5.25 percent in the face of a three percent annual inflation rate (against the two percent target). Given that a fourth increase is again expected as early as next month, this should have merited a lot of column inches and minutes of intelligent analysis on prime time television.

None of the above, however, were newsworthy enough to occupy CNN, Sky News and BBC programs’ top billing in the last couple of days. Add to that headline billing in virtually all of the UK papers, a number of major European and Asian publications, and even the venerable New York Times, and you begin to get a sense of just how big this story has become.

So what’s the latest buzz all about? RACISM. Yes, you read it right. The “R” word. The race card. The unspeakable taboo of all taboos has reared its ugly head, and kicked up a storm of protest all the way from Birmingham to Bombay.

And this was not an employee dismissed or denied promotion on the basis of skin color and ethnic origin. Nor was this the case of a student denied admission to a prestigious university for being a minority.

This was the story of how a famous movie star from Bollywood got a rude introduction to British manners and civility when she joined “Celebrity Big Brother,” the reality show franchise that has now practically reached all corners of the globe.

Shilpa Shetty, idolized by hordes of adoring fans in her native India, got an even bigger screening than the one she had in the world’s largest film industry. And not for a blockbuster film she made, but rather for being at the receiving end of what many people perceive to be racist treatment against her by her companions in the house.

Even for a reality show known for embracing the controversial, nothing in its history so far has been bigger than this. So big that Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, many members of the UK and Indian governments, plus a host of respected news personalities have had to comment on its implications.

The fallout from this episode is as yet unclear, but its outcome will probably not be trivial. Far from just affecting the fortunes of the show’s producers and the television network hosting it, it is also bound to have an impact on the futures of the protagonists involved.

But what really transpired within the confines of the house? And why has a whole British nation, plus any number of Europeans, Americans and Asians been dragged into a debate on a subject that is mostly swept under the carpet, and is only ever spoken about in hushed tones and quiet whispers?

Published in Sun Star Daily, Saturday, January 20, 2007 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2007/01/20/bus/batuhan.racism.what..html).

A very Filipino Christmas

IT started as normally as many Filipino parties often do—a few “fashionably late” minutes later than scheduled.

The food was great, with an eclectic regional and international culinary selection that only Filipinos can pull off so well. Bicol express, Chinese yang chow fried rice made from Indian Basmati, Italian spaghetti and other favorites from around the country and the world over graced the table, way in overabundance for all the partygoers to consume twice over.

Oh, and there were the favorite Filipino games alright, both for the kids and the adults to enjoy. There was even a special edition of “Deal or No Deal,” complete with the Kris Aquino mannerisms and expressions that we all love so much. Prizes aplenty too for the winners, with some even for the losers as well.

And what gathering can be complete without the dancing — to the beat of Gary Valenciano and VST & Co. no less. With happy couples swinging away until the small hours, it was a Christmas party truly worthy of being called Filipino. For few can really enjoy a party as we do — just ask the occasional foreigner lucky enough to be invited to one of these soirees, and I am sure they would all wholeheartedly agree.

Typical of so many of our gatherings at this time of the year, this one could have been held anywhere in the country. The only give-away was the freezing cold and damp outside the hall, something not really typical of the Philippines at this time of the year, or the whole year for that matter.

The celebration I speak of was held in Cheshire, in the suburb of Cheadle — home to a good number of Filipino migrant families here in the United Kingdom. Many of them engaged in nursing and allied health professions, the Filipinos here are a vibrant group, proud members of a community that they call their own, at least for now.

Like a good number of Western countries today, the United Kingdom relies on foreign workers to take care of its healthcare needs, and our Filipino brothers and sisters were only too happy to respond to the challenge. As a result, most of the hospitals in the area are staffed with familiar faces, not unlike the wards of our hospitals back home.

Badly needed though their services may be, however, our brothers and sisters here face uncertain times ahead. Some in the United Kingdom (UK) medical community have voiced concerns over the fact that too many foreign workers have come, at the expense of UK and European Union (EU) nationals.

With many Eastern European countries already in the Union, their workers will soon have equal rights with UK citizens to work in the country. In the case of the health industry, this will come at the expense of non-EU nationals, including Filipinos.

With so much agitation over the issue of migration (especially the connection with the sensitive subject of foreign-sponsored terrorism), controls over immigration are only bound to get tighter.

This will not be helped by the planned exit of Tony Blair in May, and the expected strengthening of the Conservative Party— whose immigration policies can only be described as less-than-friendly to foreign workers.

And still, we party on.

Looking around the dance hall that night, no threat of immigration clampdowns or foreign worker restrictions seem to be imminent.

In terms of resiliency and stoic resolve, we Filipinos are legendary. Perhaps due to our happy go lucky nature, and certainly because of our faith in Divine Providence — adversity or not — we simply continue to live as we normally do, and party as much as we have always done.

Published in the Sun Star Daily, Saturday, December 30, 2006 (http://www.medicaldaily.net/link.asp?ID=149981&Title=Batuhan:%20A%20very%20Filipino%20Christmas)

The gift of time

MURDER. The investigation into the murder of five young girls in England has taken on a dramatic new turn.

This week two men were arrested and formally questioned for the killings, and just this morning one of them was released without charges. The other has been charged with the crimes, bringing with it the promise that finally the killer will be brought to justice.

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And yet, even with the capture and possible indictment of the suspected murderer, the case seems to ask even more questions than have already been answered. More so because the crimes took place during a season of celebration that is so close to all our hearts.

At the heart of the matter is the extent to which the bond of family relations has deteriorated in the West, and the attendant problems and difficulties that this brings into the society at large. Both the victims and the suspected killers seem to have been affected by this ominous development—this shared misfortune bringing them together into a destructive end.

Hearing the relatives of the young girls speak, almost to a family they echoed the same regret—that their daughters had already been “lost” to them long before they had actually died.

Most had no more contact with their kin, and all had very difficult relationships with their immediate family.

Lost because all had succumbed to the temptation of hard drugs—a habit so insidious that they seem to have surrendered all their humanity and self-respect, resorting to whatever means to fund their addiction, including selling their own bodies to virtual strangers for cash. In the end they traded even their lives for a craving too strong to resist, even potential harm mattered little in the equation.

The suspects seem to have suffered the same sad fate as the victims. From the little that we have been informed about their circumstances, it seems that they led pretty isolated lives themselves, either divorced or without loving relationships to speak of. In the end it seems that this took a heavy toll on their sanity, leading them to act in the way they did.

Victims and suspects alike were “victimized” by a phenomenon that now seems to consume most of the West, and spreading fast in our part of the world – the destruction of the family as a solid social unit, reinforcing positive behaviour on its members, and acting as a rock-solid support in terms of personal crises.

How has this happened when Christmas is as busy as it has ever been, with everyone engaged in a frenzied rush to get their loved ones the fanciest and most expensive presents? How can this be possible when it has been estimated that more and more people now go into debt every holiday season, their shopping sprees taking them a good part of the next year to pay off?

The answer, I fear, is lost in our orgy of spending—buried beneath the Playstations and Ipods, masked by the scent of Armani and Gucci perfume, and thrown away like the tons of tinsel and wrapping paper that we discard at the end of it all.

As my wife reminds me every now and then, there are three gifts we can give to one another—our time, our talent, and our treasure.

And we know of course which one is the easiest to part with, and which is the most difficult to give away.
But we need to give of our precious time.

We need time to listen to our children’s worries, address their anxieties and allay their fears.

We need to take time to praise their work and celebrate their accomplishments. And difficult as it may be to do at times, we need to spend time in firmly reminding them of the error of their ways, so they may walk on the right path again.

Our time is the most precious gift we could ever give our loved ones this Christmas.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Published in Sun Star Daily, Saturday, December 23, 2006 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/12/23/bus/batuhan.the.gift.of.time.html)

When Progress Is Not

WHILE Christmas should normally be a time of merrymaking for most families, sadly it will not be to five families in England this year. In a gruesome tale of murderous frenzy, not seen since the time of the infamous London killer Jack the Ripper, five women have turned up dead, killed in similar circumstances by what is most likely a single individual.

All women had one thing in common — they were all “working girls” — the term euphemistically given to females who are in the business of exchanging sexual favors with clients, for a fee.

Prostitution is technically not legal in the United Kingdom, but its existence is tolerated by the authorities. Overall estimates vary but there are thousands and thousands of females and males — often young and vulnerable individuals — who are in the trade.

Invariably, their circumstances will have certain similarities—broken homes, sexual abuse as children, and more often than not substance and alcohol abuse as adolescents and teenagers. Selling their bodies for cash is often their only means to finance the dire circumstances they are under.

The trade normally operates “under the radar” of the police. When things are under control and no crimes are committed, normally law enforcement officials look the other way and leave the workers and their customers on their own.

However, when killings of the sort that just took place occur, things really start happening.

Not since the height of the London terror bombings has such well covered police activity taken place in the country. Forensic teams from all over the UK have been brought in to bring their expertise into the case, in an effort to catch the daring murderer before he could strike again.

Such was the bravado of this individual that even when the police had already started with their investigation a week ago, he still had the audacity to kill two more women under their noses.

The irony, of course, is that with only a fraction of the resources now at the disposal of the police to solve this murder mystery, these tragedies may not have happened at all.

Men and women in the flesh trade are perhaps the most vulnerable to this kind of tragedy. Though their activities are generally tolerated, they are shunned by the communities where they live and work, and are not really given priority by the police in terms of protection.

Intervention to get them out of the trade they are in is often ineffective — by the time they go into the profession, their problems will have been too complicated to solve.

Their stories are not unlike what we have at home in the Philippines — of young children left to fend for themselves or look after others, young people led into crime and drug addiction by the misery of their circumstances, and a society too apathetic to heed their cries for help, until it is too late.

Despite the progress many societies have made, especially over the last few years of expanding globalization, many of our young people are still as vulnerable as ever to neglect and abuse.

Left on the margins of progress, there is no hope for them in terms of social mobility, and the only recourse is to crime, drugs and prostitution.

It is a very serious problem that needs to be addressed, whether in Europe, or here at home in the Philippines. For no progress can really be considered as true advancement if it leaves the weakest and most vulnerable members of society behind.

Published in the Sun Star Daily, Saturday, December 16, 2006 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/12/16/bus/batuhan.when.progress.is.not.html).

Fare Thee Well

THERE seems to be no reason to it at all.

Which is perhaps what prompted Billy Joel to sing “only the good die young.”

My cousin, Ethel Larosa Klemens, who passed away on Oct. 26, was surely the latest proof that our departure from this world — or at least the order in which each of us must face it — does not make a great deal of sense.

Ethel Pauline Banzon Larosa Klemens was an extraordinarily gifted individual, whose brief presence in this world touched the lives of countless others. A loving daughter, a dedicated sister, a devoted wife, a talented singer and musician, and a skillful physician — she meant many things to many people — and her loss leaves an aching void in people’s hearts that cannot soon be healed.

In her mid-30s, she was at the prime of her life when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Only a few years back, she married another successful doctor, Jim Klemens, and both of them were just embarking on the exciting journey of starting a family together. She literally had everything in life that one could possibly wish for.

Blessed as she was in life, Ethel dedicated as much of herself so that others may live theirs better. She was a specialist in rehabilitation medicine, with particular focus on the care of injured and physically challenged children.

Working at the Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in Louisville, Kentucky’s Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s HealthCare, she had a reputation for excellence that was well known in the city’s medical community.

The children, whose injuries and handicap she helped to overcome, had a huge devotion for her. Even during the days of her illness, they continued to show their love for her by sending her cards, flowers and cheerful works of art.

As a fitting tribute to her exceptional contribution to pediatric rehabilitation medicine, the children’s recreation facility at the hospital has been named The Larosa Lounge, in honor of her memory.

At her bereavement in her hometown of Louisville, I was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up to pay their respects to my departed cousin. Apart from her close family and friends, there were her peers and colleagues in the medical community, who commiserated with her family in their time of sorrow. A large number of those she treated of their ailments also came and paid their respects.

Even relative strangers came calling and expressed their sorrow at her passing.

Which brings me back to my point — death does not make sense. Otherwise, why would it come so early for one so young, so needed and so loved?

And then it hit me — we cannot make sense of death, it is death that makes sense of us.

For it is only when one is not anymore with us, that their real meaning in our lives can truly be appreciated. A meteor’s brief brilliant dance across the sky only really begins to take on its full majesty when the heavens are pitch black once more.

The genius of Mozart and the talent of Van Gogh inspire us more today in their absence, than it did when they still walked among us. The blessing of a fierce thunderstorm can only really be felt once it has passed, and the earth is green and fresh once more. Similarly, Ethel’s passing has a uniquely divine message for all of us left in her fiery wake.

To her youthful handicapped patients, she will be always be an inspiration that make them realize they are special. To her colleagues and fellow professionals, she was a perfect example that in this day and age — when the practice of medicine has become so commercialized and dehumanized — one can be a successful physician and still remain a truly caring and compassionate human being.

To her family and friends, she showed us that there need not be any trade-offs between a demanding career and a fulfilling family life. And to all of us — she will always be a reminder that it is not how long we walk this earth, but the legacy we leave behind when we are gone — with which the fullness of our lives will eventually be measured.

Fare thee well, cousin Ethel, and may the good Lord take you into His loving and eternal embrace.

Published in the Sun Star Daily, Saturday, November 11, 2006 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/11/11/bus/batuhan.fare.thee.well.html)

Business of sport

The ancient Greeks perhaps never imagined what sports would be like, almost 3,000 years since they made it an important public institution.

Today of course, sport has become even more of an institution than they could ever have imagined. By the time their modern descendants won soccer’s European Cup 2,780 years since the first games were staged in Ancient Olympus, it has become a billion dollar industry from which hundreds of corporations profit, and most of the world lives and breathes by.

Perhaps no better example of this phenomenon was the just concluded FIFA World Cup, where probably the actual games themselves were only the sideshow to the real competition between Adidas and Nike, Mastercard and the other purveyors of plastic money, as well as other rival corporate pairings for whom the event meant their share prices either going through the roof, or plummeting to the floor.

Nothing in sports today is devoid of monetary value. How much was it worth to the Italians winning the World Cup? Well, 0.5 percent of their GDP, to be exact.

According to their own economic experts, this is how much their economy would be buoyed by the victory. That’s $80.5 billion, for those who can grasp money better than GDP percentages. Yes—that much more in pizza and pasta eaten, Chianti and Lambrusco imbibed, and Gucci and Prada bought from snazzy Milanese boutiques, because of the heady exuberance sweeping the Italian nation when their Azzurri came back with the golden trophy.

And what about FIFA, football’s international governing body, whose politics attract more interest than most nations ever would? Well, they supposedly profited a whopping $1.4 Billion from the month-long enterprise.

No wonder its president, Joseph Blatter, has the temerity to suggest that England ought to have played a more “attacking” kind of football during their matches! His organization has more resources at its disposal than even some of the countries whose teams were represented in the tournament.

Purists will bemoan sports’ loss of its nobility of purpose. And who can blame them? Seeing Portugal’s players dive to the turf time and again, just to ensure that their team secured victory at all costs was probably no different from witnessing Ancient Olympia being bulldozed to the ground, and replaced by a giant shopping mall.

And what to make of NBA superstars and their cribs on MTV? Or the same superstars insisting on staying in five-star hotels while playing in the modern equivalent of the Olympic Games?

Where have all the athletes gone? “Gone to their investment bankers, everyone” would seem to be the appropriately plaintive reply.

Modern sports is no longer simply the noble pursuit of physical excellence that the ancient Greeks wished it to be, and Baron de Coubertin tried in vain to preserve. Winning is now everything, and whatever it takes to gain financially from the undertaking is fair game – whether this means steroids, game fixing or outright crime.

Even as the Italian public celebrate their victory, the clubs with whom their players earn their living are being investigated for rigging the results of matches, all in the pursuit of illegitimate financial gains.

Only the most quixotic of sportsmen now play their game for the sake of it. But even just in our dreams, wouldn’t it be nice to imagine a time when athletes could still compete for the sheer enjoyment of it, when the brand of one’s uniform mattered little, and when conscience rather than corporate sponsors dictated appropriate sporting behavior?

Yes, it would be nice. And yes, it can only now happen in our dreams.
***
I would like to wish my mother, Carmencita Banzon Batuhan, a belated Happy Birthday!

Published in Sun Star Daily, Saturday, July 15, 2006 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/07/15/bus/batuhan.business.of.sport.html)

What price victory?

The current World Cup—now on its final stage with the epic clash between footballing titans Italy and France this weekend—has by and large been a very exciting sporting event.

More perhaps in the earlier stages than the latter, the participating nations have been quite keen to observe the fair play and sportsmanship that FIFA have taken great pains to stress over and over again in the game.

More than just lip service and token gestures however, the emphasis on fair play and good behavior is critically important in the sport of soccer. Watched by billions of fans around the world and supported by billions of dollars in corporate sponsorships, it is not only the biggest show on earth, but quite literally the biggest sporting business in the planet.

Its stalwarts are worth millions in advertising revenue, with the likes of David Beckham and Ronaldinho easily eclipsing big name American sports stars in terms of advertising income. No wonder it is difficult to play fair and square when it comes down to one’s passbook.

It is therefore no coincidence that the knockout stages— that make or break time when the outcome of a single game determines whether a team goes further in the tournament or goes home—departs from the earlier atmosphere of fair play.

One of the best examples, perhaps, of the change in mood from “gentlemanly” to “take no prisoners” was the contest between The Netherlands and Portugal. In all, the referee showed sixteen yellow cards and sent off three players amidst one of the worst scenes of cheating and dirty tactics ever seen in a major tournament.

Portugal particularly has developed a nasty reputation in this competition for all-around dirty play and rule-breaking. This reached sickening heights in the semi-final contest with France, when Portuguese players would just mysteriously fall to the ground without being tackled, in the hope of getting free kicks or penalties from the referee. Unfortunately, like the boy who cried wolf once too often, the referee never paid any attention to their protestations, even if in some instances it did look like some real fouls were being committed against them.

And of course, such is the irony of life and sport that those who live by cheating are bound to get a dose of their medicine.

Portugal’s exit was by virtue of a penalty kick awarded to France, in what looked to be a questionable foul committed on Thiery Henry while in a scoring opportunity. Appropriate comeuppance for the cheats indeed, if ever one was needed.

It is doubtful, however, if any of this will restore the game to a pristine state of chivalric purity. Too much is at stake, and too much stand to be lost. For the players the World Cup is the chance to sell their wares to prospective clubs and corporate sponsors. In the space of a month millions of dollars in potential transfer deals and advertising clout have been lost by erstwhile top class players who failed to perform to their ability, while millions more were gained by those who have patiently waited on the sidelines, and then used the occasion to show how good their skills were. Exit David Beckham and Roberto Carlos. Enter Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

And yet the pure football fan, wishing only to be mesmerized and entertained by the magicians of the sport, is the one being shortchanged in all this. But thankfully there is still a lesson to be learned here further down the road – fans buy the products that football players advertise. Who wants to buy from a cheat?

Indeed, in the end it may be up to us to teach these cheats a lesson in Business 101.

Published in Sun Star Daily, Saturday, July 08, 2006 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/07/08/bus/batuhan.what.price.victory..html)