Friday, May 28, 2004
Brain drain
In the Philippines, the brain drain is becoming more spectacular by the day. A fairly new phenomenon are the Filipino doctors who are taking up nursing just to be able to go abroad. Last year, 2,000 doctors left to become nurses and this year, 4,000 Filipino doctors are taking up nursing. Especially in Europe and the US the demand for nurses is huge. Consequently the number of nursing schools in the Philippines has boomed to more than 300.
One of these doctors, Elmer Jacinto, became a local celebrity when he bested 1,824 other medical students in the national medical board exam last February and proclaimed his intention to go to the US as a nurse. He was recently featured in an article about the Philippine brain drain in the Washington Post.
One of these doctors, Elmer Jacinto, became a local celebrity when he bested 1,824 other medical students in the national medical board exam last February and proclaimed his intention to go to the US as a nurse. He was recently featured in an article about the Philippine brain drain in the Washington Post.
Friday, May 21, 2004
U.S. concerned about human rights abuses?
So the U.S. is concerned about human rights abuses by the Philippine military and police? Is it a joke?
According to a new U.S. State Department report security forces are responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention. There were also reports of physical abuse of suspects and detainees, it said.
Sure, they are right. But so is the Philippine human rights group Karapatan who calls it "the height of hypocrisy that the U.S. should be lecturing about the Philippines' human rights records amid records amid the abuses its own forces inflict on other citizens of the world." Moreover, as Girlie Padilla of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace pointed out, "the Arroyo administration committed these abuses while pursuing and supporting the U.S. war on terror."
See "U.S. rights report spurs outrage in Philippines" in the International Herald Tribune.
According to a new U.S. State Department report security forces are responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention. There were also reports of physical abuse of suspects and detainees, it said.
Sure, they are right. But so is the Philippine human rights group Karapatan who calls it "the height of hypocrisy that the U.S. should be lecturing about the Philippines' human rights records amid records amid the abuses its own forces inflict on other citizens of the world." Moreover, as Girlie Padilla of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace pointed out, "the Arroyo administration committed these abuses while pursuing and supporting the U.S. war on terror."
See "U.S. rights report spurs outrage in Philippines" in the International Herald Tribune.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Elections in the Philippines
The national elections on May 10 were a mess with as much violence and cheating as you can imagine. But the counting of the votes is even a bigger mess as you can see here. The final results aren't expected within the first 3 weeks.
For comparison, a quote from an article about India's elections:
"India's sheer ability to carry off a marathon nationwide vote with relatively few missteps is worthy of praise. The logistics are staggering: nearly 670 million eligible voters, of whom more than half cast ballots, 750 political parties, 700,000 polling stations and 3.5 million people working to make it all happen. To ensure that the process would be fair and that there would be enough security at the polls, voting was conducted in five phases over several weeks.
And it was all done electronically, making this the world's biggest test yet of voting by machine. Counting the 380 million digital votes took about 16 hours."
For comparison, a quote from an article about India's elections:
"India's sheer ability to carry off a marathon nationwide vote with relatively few missteps is worthy of praise. The logistics are staggering: nearly 670 million eligible voters, of whom more than half cast ballots, 750 political parties, 700,000 polling stations and 3.5 million people working to make it all happen. To ensure that the process would be fair and that there would be enough security at the polls, voting was conducted in five phases over several weeks.
And it was all done electronically, making this the world's biggest test yet of voting by machine. Counting the 380 million digital votes took about 16 hours."
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Just another country under US occupation
"Mounds of garbage choke the streets. Electricity in the capital has been scarce for weeks. The police force has fallen deeper into disarray, and crime has spiked, including a rash of kidnappings aimed at wealthy businesspeople. The price of rice has doubled in some parts of the country."
Q: What country is this description refering to?
A: It's Haiti but it might have been any country under US occupation. (Source: NYT May 5, 2004)
It's sad to say but there's more than just Iraq. Let's not forget Afghanistan and Haiti.
Q: What country is this description refering to?
A: It's Haiti but it might have been any country under US occupation. (Source: NYT May 5, 2004)
It's sad to say but there's more than just Iraq. Let's not forget Afghanistan and Haiti.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Amnesty denounces violence against progressive activists
Just a few days before election day, Amnesty International called on Philippine government forces and opposition groups to respect human rights. AI was particularly disturbed by the recent extra-judicial killings of progressive activists and mentions the case of Isaias Drummond Manamo as an example.
I didn't know Isaias myself but I knew his girlfriend. When I met her again last Thursday she showed me the pictures of his wake and burial. It made me all the more angry at people who are currently spreading lies and black propaganda about progressive groups. AI rightly stressed that labelling lawful political parties as "front organizations" of armed groups renders their members vulnerable to grave human rights violations. And yet, some people who refer to themselves as the "democratic left" have made this their mission. You can imagine what kind of democracy they are advocating.
I didn't know Isaias myself but I knew his girlfriend. When I met her again last Thursday she showed me the pictures of his wake and burial. It made me all the more angry at people who are currently spreading lies and black propaganda about progressive groups. AI rightly stressed that labelling lawful political parties as "front organizations" of armed groups renders their members vulnerable to grave human rights violations. And yet, some people who refer to themselves as the "democratic left" have made this their mission. You can imagine what kind of democracy they are advocating.
