Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES Described as the world’s most persecuted minority group, the Rohingya are once more in the news. Most of them fled their homes in Arakan, northwestern Myanmar (Burma), staying in refugee camps on both sides of the Burmese-Bangladeshi border. Unable to bear the conditions in these camps, they sell whatever possessions they have to pay for … Read more
Anna Jarvis, the American activist who started it all in 1908, became so incensed by the commercialization of “Mother’s Day” that she wanted this special day scrapped for the meaningless ritual it had become. This was supposed to be, she said, an occasion for warm thoughts and sentiments, and not for profitmaking. She, of course, … Read more
Anna Jarvis, the American activist who started it all in 1908, became so incensed by the commercialization of “Mother’s Day” that she wanted this special day scrapped for the meaningless ritual it had become. This was supposed to be, she said, an occasion for warm thoughts and sentiments, and not for profitmaking. She, of course, … Read more
Many people who watched the so-called “fight of the century” cheered for Manny Pacquiao not necessarily because they believe he is the superior boxer, but because they think he is an immensely better human being than the egocentric wife-beater Floyd Mayweather. In their minds, if there is justice in the world, he should have won. … Read more
Many people who watched the so-called “fight of the century” cheered for Manny Pacquiao not necessarily because they believe he is the superior boxer, but because they think he is an immensely better human being than the egocentric wife-beater Floyd Mayweather. In their minds, if there is justice in the world, he should have won. … Read more
Gratitude, the kind that wells up in every Filipino’s heart when prayers are answered, gripped the nation like a fever when the news came that Mary Jane Veloso was spared from execution. It was as if Pacquiao had knocked out Mayweather. But if this was a blessing that touched the millions who did not know … Read more
Gratitude, the kind that wells up in every Filipino’s heart when prayers are answered, gripped the nation like a fever when the news came that Mary Jane Veloso was spared from execution. It was as if Pacquiao had knocked out Mayweather. But if this was a blessing that touched the millions who did not know … Read more
All the news about her impending execution by an Indonesian firing squad carried such a ring of inexorability that one might forgive the Inquirer’s grim headline yesterday morning: “Death came before dawn.” Death indeed came at dawn on Wednesday, April 29, for the eight other drug trafficking convicts, but spared the lone woman in that … Read more
One of the first places Pope Francis visited after he became pope was a small island in the Mediterranean Sea called Lampedusa. Lying just 180 miles away from the coast of North Africa, this Italian island has been a mute witness to the perilous flight of refugees from war, violence and chaos. There, where countless … Read more
When the leaders of the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) gather this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, their agenda will be dominated by the launch of the 10-year roadmap toward the realization of the Asean Community. But, apart from regional economic integration, President Aquino has other things in mind. The Asean summit … Read more