Chito takes over

HANGTIME

Neil Bravo

My kumpadre Chito, an engineer now based in Saudi Arabia and a dyed-in-the-wool sports fan, wrote me an email expressing his thoughts on the recent issues hounding the Philippine Azkals.

Although working far away from home, Chito is not detached from the happenings in sports and politics. Social media has provided the link between him and the country in the same fashion as other Filipinos working overseas are linked to their families here.

Chito says he even starts his mornings reading the Edge online.

I will give this space up for Chito’s thoughts as he wrote:

Dear Pareng Neil,

I am glad to know that Hangtime is back and served daily. I can now look forward to starting my day in front of my laptop with a cup of Arabian coffee and dates on the side. This to me is a perfect way to start a day. Sorry to have not spent a round of golf with you in my last return as I have been hooked more to photography these days.

I think it is very saddening to know that the Azkals have been mired in controversy at a very crucial point of their stint as a national team. Likewise, it is more saddening to know of some unwanted remarks from some media back home regarding the Azkals being less than real Filipinos.

What a shame to have come down to a level of a rumor-mongerer and pass one’s uneducated judgment.

I wonder what is going on to the minds of these people? Here in the Middle East, thousands of Filipinos like me labor under the most extreme conditions and miles away from our families. We have learned to embrace this life as opportunities in our country are not that rosy. OFWs like us live from day to day energized by the fact that we are the lifeblood of an economy that thrives on OFW remittances. It seemed that easy for many, but to us here, there is more to being an OFW than the remittances we infuse to the Philippine economy.

We may not be raising families here, but we belong to those whose lives had to be uprooted from the comforts of our homes to the hostile conditions in an unfamiliar territory.

It pains us to know that someone as respected a broadcaster as Arnold Clavio will refer to those who grew up outside the country as non-citizens. What if I brought my wife Beth here and we bore a child? What if our child grew up in this foreign land? Will he be, as in the mind of Arnold, be less Filipino than say, someone who is born in the Philippines?

This really bothers me.

When I read your piece on this issue and having learned that no apologies will be issued by Arnold or the network, I begin to worry about some of our countrymen here who have brought their families with them. Will Arnold also berate their kids as less Filipinos than a muppet like Arn-Arn?

I think the offended party here is not so much the Azkals but the millions of OFWs and their children. It pains us to know that some people like Arnold thinks that the basic requirement for a citizenship is for one to have his color and for one to grow up in the Philippines.

I hope Arnold opens his eyes and grows up.

Best regards.

Sincerely,

Chito

Thanks for the letter, Pareng Chito. Keep those reactions coming.

By the way, I admire your photography. You got the eye for wonderful shots and puts life even to a dry landscape of the desert sand dunes. Most of all, you are every inch a Filipino and I am tugging my chest and pointing my head as I am saying this.

Until the next cup of Arabian coffee and dates on the side.

(For your comments, email me at bravoneil@rocketmail.com.)