In the Presence of Vultures

Watching history in the making  as Pres. Barack Obama takes his oath of office left me inspired and so full of hope. I’m not an American but I can feel how proud Americans must be. With Pres. Obama’s election, America has been freed from the shackles of discrimination. Once again, the United  States of America proved to the international community why the US is the leader of the world.

His speech was awe-inspiring and anyone who heard it will be left with so much hope. My country, the Philippines has experienced and is experiencing oppression. We kicked out a dictator 22 years ago only to put into office another oppressor who has been sitting in office for the last 8 years.

What gave me hope is when Pres. Obama said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, to the silencing of dissent, you are on the wrong side of history.” These words struck deep and touched me. Our current illegal sitting president stole the presidency twice. First was when she hoodwinked civil society into kicking a president out of office, and the second was when she rigged the presidential election of 2004. George Bush cuddled her because she supported Bush’s war on terror.

She is now trying to perpetuate herself into eternal reign by trying to change our system of government from presidential to parliamentary. Her term is set to end in June of 2010 and she had been pushing for charter change to legitimize her hold on power.

Her administration has been rocked by scandal after scandal. Every indignation by the people was met with force. During her term, killings and enforced disappearances has been continuously rising. Journalists, judges, student activists and members of the opposition has been either harassed or killed. Whistle blowers were slapped with spurious charges while her allies who stole the people’s money remain to be free. Her son’s are both congressmen and have been controlling  congress through bribery.

Pres. Obama started out as a lowly community organizer. Community organizers in my country who educate the people of their rights are branded enemies of the state. With Pres. Obama’s election and with the words he uttered during his speech, I am hoping that US policy with regards to my country will finally change. The UN special rapporteur found Gloria Arroyo’s administration guilty of human rights violations. I hope that Pres. Obama will be instrumental in helping my people be freed from her oppression. Not by force but making it difficult for her to further suppress and oppress my people.

All over the world, discrimination against the minorities has led to flourishing extremism. More often than not, countries with Muslim minorities has created extremists. It would be wise for countries faced with such insurgencies to review their domestic policies. More often than not, these countries have psedo-democratic governments. Iran is one such example. The late Shah forgot about the people and they kicked him out. Because the US supported the tyrant, they too became the object of hate.

Russia faced the same dilemma and continues to be plagued by terrorists cum freedom fighters. The Mumbai seige exposed this problem. The Indian Muslims has been facing discrimination for so long that Al Quaeda has exploited their condition. US foreign policies towards Islam gave birth to Al Quaeda. It would be prudent to view Islam as not just a religion but as a nation. This is the reason why you have foreign fighters among local insurgents.

The Philippines has such a problem as well. The government sanctioned land grabbing by Christians of Muslim ancestral lands. This has brought about several decades of strife in our Muslim south. As of late, the government continues to battle local insurgents augmented by foreign fighters. Israel’s Zionists alienated the Palestinians and they were mere immigrants from Europe. Their expansionist agenda fanned the flames of hate. Before they came, Isrealis and Palestinians lived in relative peace.

Westerners are victims of their government’s foreign policy. They’ve become targets of hate cultivated by decades of discrimination. It would be wise to visit the roots of this problem if only to enlighten the people. It is also wise for the world to study their government’s policies and make the neccessary changes in their governments. This is the best way to resolve conflicts and to prevent for groups like Al Quaeda from exploiting Muslims.

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