Dose of X: REMEMBERING EDSA

Life can be ecstatic, exciting and extraordinary... if you make it to be.

REMEMBERING EDSA

Published Friday, February 24, 2006 by XY | E-mail this post

I was a young girl about to enter high school during EDSA. I was very grateful because my Ate and other vigilant Filipinos like her stood up against the dictatorship and eventually put a stop to the violence and unrest. They fought hard to regain democracy, so that the children like me, will have a chance for a better future in this country.

I was especially thankful because it meant never again seeing my mom cry on New Year's eve because Ate was spending the night (and a few more) in jail. Like many others, she got whisked away from the streets and thrown into jail without qualms. But unlike many others, she was one of those who got to live and fight some more.

Twenty-years later, those who fought in the streets have grown fat or thin and bald or white-haired or have passed on or left the country. The better future, nowhere in sight; our country, locked in a time warp.

Why do we commemorate EDSA, if not to finally take to heart the lessons learned then? What are we waiting for? Another twenty years?

For the sake of our children, I hope not.

(P.S. This admirable man not only fought in EDSA but also wrote a beautiful song about it. Read his thoughts here.)