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Hollywood.
Celebrities. HBO, NBA and MTV. This is what I see of America from
Philippines; what they broadcast is the America that most people who do not
have access to other information beyond what materials third-world
countries like the Philippines get from media conglomerates.
I came to
America
without the enthusiasm and expectation that some people might have
in living in
America
for the first time. I came to become a student in a new university,
new surrounding and new system. My purpose was clear: to finish a degree,
and then return home. The temptation of staying to earn extra income did
not really appeal to me intellectually, much less physically. I am a student.
But, I have become more than a university
student. Most cogently, I have become a student in the
University
of
Life in
America. This would manifest
poignantly when I became a volunteer with the Commission for Voluntary Service
and Action (CVSA). I went on a filed visit to some of the member
organizations that are in
Philadelphia.
to visit some of their member organizations in
Philadelphia.
I had to admit that I know nothing of
Philadelphia except from
what I discerned from the novel I read when I was a kid, Libertine’s
Destiny. The protagonist, Alexander Morrison came from the elite of
Philadelphia. So while
Susan Angus, the CVSA director was on the wheel, I was thinking of the
Cinderella story of Libertine and Alexander and half-expecting to
find the elite
Philadelphia
in the novel.
On the way to Philly, as
Philadelphia
is also called, we passed by
Camden,
New Jersey. It is the poorest
town in the
United States.
It was almost like a ghost town with hardly anything to see except houses in
such bad shape that I could not actually believe that the only superpower in
the world could actually have a city like this.
Once in
Philadelphia,
I did get to see the inner city and saw the beautiful buildings and the mural.
We passed by the Liberty Bell and I wasn’t feeling touristy enough to
actually go to the tourist spots. It was enough to pass by them. The winter
cold discouraged me from exploring the area, not to mention our time being
limited.
One of the organizations we visited was the
Eastern Service Workers Association (ESWA). Like the CVSA, the ESWA is also run
by volunteers who are dedicated to extending services and
assistance to the lowest income people in the city in many different ways, and
to organize for solutions for their problems. It was an education for me to
learn how such an all-volunteer group that takes no government funding has
lasted and grown for several decades.
We participated in a membership canvass in
South Philadelphia. It was a very cold winter day.
Being from tropical
Philippines,
I was very aware of the bitter cold. We knocked every door offering the
residents to sign up as members and at the same time learn of the
benefits that they could get as members. What I learned is something that
is not taught in schools, nor known in my country about the mighty Uncle Sam.
I guess I am mature enough to know that what
information we receive in the
Philippines
about mighty
America
and the “milk and honey” picture was never the true story. But the
feeling is different when you see poverty and homelessness in the face, in the
midst of such wealth! Experience is still the best teacher. On that chilly
Saturday, we knocked on several doors whose occupants are either running
out of food stamps or threatened to be cut off from having heat in the winter,
or already were without heat. To be hungry is one thing, but to be cold and hungry
at the same time is something that is just unbearable and inhuman.
I still believe that
America is a great country. It is
great because it has great citizens who volunteer not just their time and
money. Some people have dedicated their entire lives to help their fellow
human beings -- regardless of color, race, ethnicity and status—and to organize
to change these conditions entirely. At the end of that Saturday, I regretted
that we were not able to reach more people, and that our stay was short.
I left Philadelphia the following day happy with
the thought that the beautiful African American school-crossing guard we met
who ran out of food stamps with other six members of her family knew where she
could get help. When we knocked on her door, I was almost annoyed that we were
standing out in the cold doing something for her without her inviting us in.
Later, I realized that the reason might have been that it was as cold in her
apartment as it was outside.
I could not imagine myself being out on the
street in the
U.S.
for days, not only cold but hungry. Then I thought of the fact that 12.5% of
Americans are living in poverty: those men and women with their children
left homeless for months and years. For some people such as those we met in
South Philadelphia, they are lucky to have ESWA. But not
everyone who needs it knows there is an organization that they can go to.
Sometimes, when people are poor everything gets shut from them, from doors to
hearts of their fellow human beings and even information that could save them.
But then, there are still great ordinary citizens out there who not only brave
the cold but offer their whole lives to organize that people may know that some
hearts are not closed after all, and that change is possible through working
together. That is the other
America
that so much of the world has not seen yet. I am proud that I became a part of
it, and hope that its ranks continue to grow.
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