Friday
Sep 10th
| 'My father was a formidable man' |
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| Written by Aya Zumel |
| Friday, 10 August 2007 14:39 |
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My father was a formidable man. It wasn’t only in his role as a man in the Philippine revolution, or a man fighting for a just cause. It wasn’t only in his determination in making a lasting change, or in his condemnation of oppressors. It was in his stories. His stories of hope, of humor, of adventure, and of remembrances that nurture people far away from home. It was in his embrace. His embrace that healed broken teenage hearts, celebrated small triumphs and good grades. It was in the way he cooked ginisang (sauteed) corned beef and rice whenever I pined for the Philippines as a young girl. It was how he chose his words, how there was fire when he spoke, and how he would be an even greater listener. It was in his encouragement. Encouragement to do what is right, but letting me get there in my own pace. It was his courage. It was in the way that my last moment with him on Aug. 13, 2001 was, he nodding when I cried to him: Papa, you are a fighter. It was in the way he danced with my mother, until that moment. But of course it is also in his role in change. It is his generosity with his idea of freedom, development and equality for all, that stretched to people he never had the chance to meet in places he never had the chance to visit. He taught me never to stop asking questions, questioning the unjust and being wholehearted when striving for what is right. And I love him for it, forever. In these, and a million things more, my father is a formidable man to me. Happy birthday, Papa! |
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