Tales of Prague: First Impressions

4 March 2012 ~ The day we touched down the Czech Republic's capital of Prague was our very first step to the other side of the Iron Curtain. 

This was a trip I have greatly prepared for with weeks of reading about the city's top destinations, its rich history and its thriving culture. But none of the books braced me to the eventual meetings with the brutal remnants of its communist past. 

Moments before our descent, I commented on the perfectly lined rows of buildings which looked like immense fortifications from up in the air. Later on I realised that these are communist era pre-fab concrete apartment blocks that look the same: grim, imposing and devoid of identity, the most prominent reminders of what the previous system symbolised.

Communism, before I have met friends who have escaped from its wicked clutches, was just a word without a face. My average education did not stretch outside the scope of balancing financial figures, the only thing I thought I needed to make myself globally competitive. It wouldn't be surprising then that when my microcosm that was economics and financial stability closed its doors on me, I began to look at the bigger picture and discovered a world bigger than America (because where I came from, the rest of the world is America). 

Prague was one of such discoveries. Amidst the backdrop of a city so celebrated for its stunning architecture, the street walls advertises evoking reminders of its more atrocious past inviting everyone to visit the Museum of Communism which offers an immersive look at the life behind the Iron Curtain. 

This is probably not a place where people who have survived the brutal regime would find themselves in painful reminiscence. But these tributes are not meant to torture the survivors about the memories of the life they have lived. It is a place for the next generation to be reminded of what their forefathers have gone through and for the rest of the world to value what they didn't have to experience. Perhaps this is why they have more appreciation of the democracy they have since come to enjoy. 

My first pictures of Prague were not of the famous Prague Castle or the romantic Charles Bridge but of the Russian dolls posted on the street walls, bringing to mind the fact that this is a country who, 23 years after being freed from the clutches of communism, have come a long way to recovery. 

It's Not All About the Economy

Let’s take a look at the positives then: the Philippines is on its way to become an economic super power.

In the IMF’s List of Countries by GDP (PPP) for 2011 which saw India overtake European countries in fourth place, we are ranked 32^nd. An outlook by investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates that by the year 2050, we will be on the 14^th place.

The fact that the country had recently lent $1 Billion to the IMF as its share in supporting the global efforts to stabilize the world economy is impressive. Up until 2006, the Philippines had been a net borrower from the IMF for nearly 40 years.

There are other signs that the country’s economy is growing. It was also recently announced that S&P has raised its credit rating to BB+ from BB, the highest level since 2003. This higher rating is likely to help the Philippines attract more investments, a key to further growth.

Top that with the news that six Filipinos made it to the recent publication of the Forbes Magazine’s List of World Billionaires for 2012 (one of them described as a former Marcos crony).

So in terms of the economy we are doing well. So good in fact that there has been a massive boost in local tourism (which has created air traffic causing an hour’s delay for take-offs). There are more people flocking the enormous air-conditioned malls and sporting branded products most Westerners couldn’t even afford (or wouldn’t even touch). There are more SUVs in Manila than probably the whole of Britain so sit back in traffic and relax (a normally 30-minute ride can take close to two hours but there is air-conditioning at least, never mind the carbon emission). There are more people who are carrying the latest gadgets too and you can even see some of them watching You Tube whilst eating in a restaurant.

There is nothing wrong with being bullish but one should be responsible enough to look at the bigger picture and not just pick the ones that ‘feel good’. What good is a positive economic outlook if 25% of the population still lives in poverty? Three years after I have left the country, the shanty houses are still there, multiplying each year. The typhoon that regularly visits the country still claims lives and livelihood every time it strikes. The transport system of Manila is still way behind other nation’s capitals.

Has anyone else noticed all these or has it already become a way of life? 

The size of a country’s economy has little to do with its standard of living. Take Austria, for example, who is only ranked 35th in the same list. Its capital Vienna has been since 2010 ‘The Most Liveable Place in the World’. A visit to the city and you will see why the Philippines is still centuries behind.  Their transport system is fast, reliable and efficient, thus there are more bicycles than cars in the road, reducing carbon footprint. They have invested in renewable energy that they don’t need to rely on fossil fuel from Arab countries. They have fair taxation and a generous social system that ensures everyone has a shot at a decent way of life. They have a culture and heritage that is as alive today as it had been hundreds of years ago.

My travels have not given me ‘anti-Filipino’ sentiments. In fact, I have thought more about my country now more than I have ever done in the first 24 years of my life spent there. I am proud of its history and of the freedom I have inherited. But I am not proud of what the country has become – right wing, materialistic and without regard to the environment.

A Case of National Pride

I have caught the Olympic mania that is gripping the 2012 host nation! 

This means that every oh-so-hour I’m checking the medals table and reading the sports commentaries while trying to do some work at the same time. The person next to me is even watching Live feeds on the BBC website and millions of people are glued in their television sets every night to catch a glimpse of defining moments in human history. National pride does that to you.   

Sure, it won’t be until a few months from now that I become officially ‘British' but I have already contributed to the cost of the gold medal haul (22 today). According to BBC, I have paid 80p (that's less than Php 65) per year to see the country in third place on the medal ranking, its most successful Olympics results since 1908. 

Of course there's more to that. Analysis have shown that a British medal over the last four Olympics (the same period where Philippines failed to bring home anything) cost just over £4million each. Most of the funding, of course, came from the National Lottery (60%) so it's hardly a burden to the taxpayers. 

But I'm sure that the British public would agree with me that the £264million invested on the country's athletes and infrastructure was worth the surge of hope and inspiration it has brought the nation who had only a year ago saw some of its major cities lit up in flames amidst the riots and looting that shocked the whole country. 

In his article 'From Broken Britain to Team GB', BBC's Mark Easton was right when he said:

"Sometimes countries, like people, need a bit of therapy to boost their self-esteem. This Olympics is acting like a motivational trainer, urging us to believe in ourselves."

The  Brits are not normally patriotic. They don't have a constitution or a national anthem. They love being the underdogs. They expect to be disappointed - by their football team, by the weather and by anything in fact. But seeing the way their athletes have delivered in this Olympics, in their own home turf, has created a new sense of national pride. 

My countrymen, on the other hand, have a very strong sense of Filipino pride. Not a single day would pass where you wouldn't see a "Proud to be Pinoy" posted in Facebook. Remind me, why are we proud of being Filipinos?

Well sure, we don't have £264million to invest in sports but why can't the country invest in the sports events that its people are good at? Look at Jamaica again and Kenya and other smaller countries that have smaller economies than ours, they can produce Olympic gold medalists.  Even war torn Afghanistan can produce a double bronze medalist in Taek-won-do. 

But perhaps our thirst for national pride is already quenched by 'Filipino blood' joining in the American Idol or The Ellen De Generes Show. Our country is already represented not by the athlete's talent matched with commitment and hard work but by 'easy fame' and light entertainment. If that is enough to have Filipino pride, then I rest my case.  

Carrying the Flag

Yesterday, Jamaica celebrated 50 years of independence with the rest of the world watching the country's flag, two of them, waving proudly amidst an 80,000 packed Olympic Stadium while their national anthem was being played. The two fastest men in the planet, 'Lightning Bolt' and 'The Beast' Blake, stepped up the podium to claim their 100m sprint medals.

Fifty years of independence with 55 Olympic medals, 15 of them gold, all of which (except a bronze in cycling) have been from Athletics. But why not, that's the sport where they excel in, so they might as well be the best in it.

It only took them 50 years (or less) to put their stamp in the world, they should be proud. When you think of Jamaica, you think of the fastest man in the world (and woman in fact for Shelley Ann Fraser also successfully defended her 100m title). You also think of their music (Bob Dylan came from there). You also think of their cuisine (Jamaican jerk chicken for one).

We Filipinos are also very proud of our country. After 100 years of independence from Spanish rule, we have also achieved a lot:

1.  We have won world titles in numerous beauty competitions, the likes of Miss Universe and Miss World. In fact, in the Miss Universe competition last year we were represented by the country’s top performer in the Architecture Licensure exams who graduated in the nation’s premier university with Latin honours  (they take these things VERY seriously). She came home with a 3^rd runner up award and the country was in rage because she had the ‘best’ answer.  

2.  We have very talented singers too, Ellen de Generes (‘Ellen the Who?’ asks a European who doesn’t watch American shows i.e. my husband) has mentioned this in her show. From those who were born and bred in the Philippines, we have Charice Pempengco who broke America and therefore conquered the world (is America the world now???). It doesn’t stop there, we have singers who were born to at least one Filipino parent (it doesn’t matter if they haven’t been to the Philippines or couldn’t speak a word of Tagalog before claiming fame) i.e. Bruno Mars, Vanessa Hudgens (remember High School Musical?) and American idol hopefuls Jessica Sanchez and Jasmine Trio.

3.  We have exported skilled and unskilled workers to boost the country's economy. In my brother's graduation from his degree in Marine Engineering, the guest speaker said that the aim of the Commission on Higher Education is to make every Filipino graduate 'globally competitive', meaning, encouraging the youth to leave their families behind in search for greener pastures. This of course means that in exchange for sending large amounts of remittances home, they won't be able to see their children grow up and the only thing they will be looking forward to is retirement which they may not be able to achieve for who knows what kind of future they will have in a foreign land. Still they are carrying the country's flag.

4. We have doubled the country's population in less than 30 years (great! how did we do that?) In 1984, the year I was born, there were only 52.98m Filipinos. This year, it has reached the 100m marker and is estimated to be 103.8m with 26% of the families living in poverty.

4.   And of course our most favourite boast, we have Manny Paquiao, the best pound for pound boxer in the world, ranked second in the biggest sports earners of 2012 and he even lives in my own hometown! Yes, our country excels in sports, boxing for that matter.

But there was only one thing that eluded us, the Olympic gold medal. Since the first time it was represented in the 1924 Olympics, the Philippines had been to all but one (in 1980 when America led the boycotts) and currently holds the title of the country with the most number of medals without gold (amazing feat eh?).

Those medals, nine of them to be exact, are a far cry from Jamaica’s 55 and we have been celebrating independence more than 50 years before they did. Since award-winning Filipino boxers have raised the profile of the sport in the Philippines, we have constantly heralded winners in title matches that pay up to millions of dollars in prize money. But the last time we have won a medal in the 'Greatest Show on Earth' was in 1988 and we are yet to produce an Olympic champion in the only sport we are good at.

For a nation that is supposed to be ‘Proud to be a Filipino’, no one is carrying the Filipino flag up in that podium.