Eating Fire and Drinking Water:The Prophecy Continues

            Clara is a reporter in the Chronicles who is tired of doing small trivial assignments. She is an orphan raise in the convent of Santa Clara together with the nuns. When a fire burst out in Calle de Leon due to a student demonstration and a soldier killed a Chinaman called Charlie, Clara grabbed the opportunity to cover a big issue.

After Clara went to cover her story, she discovers her own personal story, the truths of her unknown past. As her history unfolds, her life slowly stretches to the revolution. This book made Clara realized that there are no small stories.

The title "Eating Fire and Drinking Water" is actually a reference to the Filipino people as a race that bears and believes too much. 

"We are a strange people, Clara. We swallow so much of the injustice, hardship, and cruelty our fellow humans mete out to us. Why, we even have an expression for it:'We can take it.' And we do. We would rather let things go and take all the wrong done to us than do something to correct the situation. Then we find ways to diffuse the crisis. It's like putting out a fire. Only this fire is inside us. In the belly of this country. We can fight fire with water provided that we can get there soon enough. But we often act when it's too late... We learn so slowly. After so many centuries, we're still a people who eat fire and drink water."
"Why bother, then?"
"Because we have to believe that one day we'll learn."

There is this important symbolism in the book, the river. I believe that this symbolizes the Philippines. It is a murky, dirty, polluted river filled with human and inhuman wastes, giving of a strong stench. It is even a place where dead people are dumped and hidden. 

I love the choice of words. It was descriptive without being too flowery. The representation of events were so accurate, you could smell the intolerable smell of the Smokey Mountain, you could feel the mounting anger of Luis Bayani (student activist) as he was being pursued, you could feel the agony, the unspeakable pain Laslo and Sophia must have been going through in the hands of General Aure. You could feel everything. I even had my nightmares portraying the gruesome execution of Sophia.

While there are many novels that tell stories of people’s lives during wars and revolutions, Arlene J. Chai’s Eating Fire and Drinking Water, however, recounts the story of how people lived in a time when a revolution is about to begin.

It occurred in the time of what may be the Philippine People Power Revolution (the author did not specify which country this occurred, but every detail definitely points to the Philippines). It felt like Chai was challenging what we learned in our history class.

The dark, gloomy past of the Philippines was not just the background of the story but it was the stage where all characters reenacted their story. The characters have their own qualities, more realistic perhaps. It was like gossiping about your favorite celebrities. You could not ignore or forget what you just learned. All of a sudden, you’re reading about people who seem so familiar. Suddenly you’re seeing our nation’s history unfold before your eyes from a different and fresh perspective.

            Though the book was mixed with amusing and occasionally absorbing tales, the novel has an awkward pacing and confusing structure in the beginning. There will be times when Clara and the rest of the cast seem to exist mostly in order to advance the plot. Add to these problems a point of view that skips from major to minor characters without taking the time to round them out and one is left in confusion. In one of several apologies to the reader, Clara says, ""There are many memories here, and if I jump about in recounting them, you must forgive me.""

"Last night my mother dreamed of the river."
"...I discovered that the river had changed. Its waters were so clear, so clear I could see to the very bottom."
"The river kept humming this song. It was calling me. So I climbed over the wall, and the water rose some, lapping at my feet, receding then coming back like a hand beckoning to me. I knelt before the river. I cupped my hands and scooped up some water. I drank it. It was sweet, Clara, the water was so sweet, and it smelled clean and pure, and I thought the world, the whole world was new again. I woke up then, feeling refreshed. I felt reborn." 
"I believe in dreams" 

The Martial Law is over. We don't have a dictator anymore but corruption is still very much rampant, injustice is still there, and a there are still many poverty—stricken citizens in our country. The river is still murky and dirty, but there is a little progress. We have a long way to go as a nation, but I hope, Consuelo's (Clara’s mother) dream will come true.

The book urges you to take your part in this country to be a better person and contribute to the betterment of the society, moving forward a nation as a whole.

Looking Back and Seeing Further

            As a student, one of the major things that would drive me to write my articles is the deadline. Some journalists are compelled to write an article because it’s their job or they have a due date to catch up. Writing is a passion for a few journalists.

            It takes a lot of passion and dedication to write about things that can intrigue and at the same time educate a reader.

            While I am still a student, I never once thought I could interview the person whom I have high regards to. In a class assignment, we were given a task to interview our favorite columnist, to know about their life and to ask some tips about being a columnist. I was given the opportunity to have a glimpse of the life of a very dedicated and inspiring columnist—Dr. Lelani P. Echavez.

I’ve read her columns with various topics and it never ceases to amaze me how she can bend a simple experience to a life insight mixed with her own rendition of the story. She dwells deeply on facts and states her own sentiments.

            She started working as an opinion-editorial columnist in 1980 for Visayas Observer circulated in the Visayas and Mindanao.

            In an e-mail interview, she said that she loves to write, share and gather ideas from the readers. She shared that the easiest part of being a columnist is to speak from a personal experience and to have many information materials to use in her column. As a columnist herself, she said the hardest part was her own biases towards an issue, to write a column involving friends and the deadline.

            In her five years (1981—1986) in Freeman, she received a handful of threats regarding the different articles she wrote. One of which is a threat during Martial Law after writing about the Communist Party of the Philippines.

            I asked her for some tips about writing a column and here’s what she said: “​(1)  Research, interview, weigh the facts, and analyze towards ferreting out the truth.​ Whatever you write, be sure you can defend it in Plaza Miranda. (2) Write, write and write.  Then edit, edit and edit ruthlessly.  Attribute your sources, if they agree.  If they don't, protect your sources.  You will not get their cooperation again if you betray them. (3)  Should you write and criticize your friends....who are politicians or others involved in issues affecting the community? I used to anguish over this, but learned the wisdom of the late Larry Henares who said, "Leave that to other writers; they'll usually comment on it.  Besides, there are other issues you can always write about with the same passion."”

            It’s difficult to impress everyone. It takes a lot of guts to speak out your thoughts. A single column can make or break your life. Many people will agree and disagree with you. These things, however, didn’t stop her from writing her columns.

            “Dialogue cannot create the need to change, but it certainly facilitates the process of change.” –Edgar H. Schein

Tradition: Boon or Bane?

Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is a story about a village’s annual lottery tradition. It’s one of the days the villagers anticipate.  All the villagers’ names will be entered into the lottery. It’s a lottery so what will the prize be? The lucky winner will be stoned to death by all the villagers.

Tessie Hutchinson, the unlucky winner of the lottery, questioned the tradition and why does the village upholds such tradition. All the villagers didn’t took her seriously, some of them got angry about her petition because the lottery has been there for around 70 years and no one dared to change nor question the custom.

Freedom is usually just an imaginary word.  It’s just a dream deferred. People are as free as what the society allows them to be. At the end of the day, you have to follow its norms and customs.

Why should it matter? This is the society that makes educational attainment and grades the measurements for a person’s value. This is the society that ‘fights’ for global warming but never stopped purchasing cars. This is the same society that blurs the line between rebellion and fighting for your right. And this is the society that says ‘Go reach your dreams’ but tells you what profession to take.

The preconceived notion of freedom is just as binding as the other laws. People cling to their government to protect their freedom but the government themselves converts our freedom into a sample research data.  

We are just free in mind but not in reality. We are letting ourselves believe that we are free but we’re not. It’s a never ending cycle. In every insurgence, the government uses freedom as a smoke screen to prevent anarchy.

From Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra said, “I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to the sacrifices or the selfishness of its forefathers.” 

Diamond in the Rough

"It is probably true to say that the largest scope for change still lies in men's attitude to women, and in women's attitude to themselves." ~ Vera Brittain

I believe that Nick Joaquin's Summer Solstice conveyed a strong message about feminism. I, for one, was amazed on how Doña Lupeng changed from being  formal lady into an empowered woman. By "formal lady" I meant a woman who is bound to follow patriarchal etiquette.

But I was appalled on how the women in the story thrashed men during the feast of the Tadtarin. I find it abusive.

Feminism is not implying that all men are evil. I believe that feminism is about helping women realize that they are worth a million treasures. And asserting gender equality in today's society. 
  The story sparked some sense in me to think that maybe it's not too late to break down the patriarchal hegemony in our society and hopefully change the status quo.

We have been domesticated throughout history. Women used to be on top of the society before we were colonized. The line from the story that captivated my attention was "Queens before Kings; Priestess before Priest; and the Moon before the Sun". But because of the foreign invasion, we lost sight of our own culture and adapted a new culture. Women turned from being the ruler into a slave and sank to the bottom level of our society.

Was Nick Joaquin a feminist or was he just showing that every woman hides her own demons? I still haven't figured it out yet but that's the perks of literature, you can interpret a story in any way you want.

Today, women empowerment has been spread throughout the globe but women are still not commonly acknowledged in various fields of society. It may take time for us, women, to be in par with men but I believe that someday we'll achieve the equality we've all been longing for.

A women is strong. She can heal a broken heart with just two hands. She is hurt when she knows her friend is sad. She can work 18 hours straight and does not take "No" for an answer when she knows better things can be done. She cries when she's happy and laughs even when things are falling apart. She sees the good side of every person.

But she forgets what she is worth.

Between the Lines

When I was young, I used to have a slight prejudice about books. I always thought reading is such a boring thing to do. I easily get tired by just reading a short story.

As time passed by, I learned to appreciate reading. But until now I'm still a picky reader. I only read things that sparks my interest for that day.

Sometimes  it'll take me six months to finish reading an average 300-page novel because I felt disconnected with the story.

Last summer, I forced myself to read a novel and  I was not able to finish it until last week. Maybe it was because of my internship or maybe I'm just too lazy that's why I was not able to finish reading. But I'm not giving up on myself.

I really want to improve my reading kills. I often read fiction books. Right now, "serious" books doesn't really interest me. I'm still finding a way on how to become a better a reader.

I want to expand my knowledge. Reading online articles helped me become a more open - minded person. And I believe that reading variety of books has a lot to offer not only in my studies but to my ideals as well.

I am really challenging myself at this very moment. I want to go back to the place where all possibilities are made. And explore a new and wonderful world.