What were the worst years?
Within the lifetimes of four generations of my family, my parents, Manolo (August 11, 1898 – November 29, 1970) and Rosita (April 7, 1906 – May 26, 1986); me, Linggoy (born October 12, 1948), my children (born in 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1980), and my grandsons (born in 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2006), what were the worst years?
The leading candidates are: 1898–1902, Philippine American War; 1919, Spanish Flu; 1941, Japanese Invasion; 1942, Fall of Bataan and Corregidor; 1945, Liberation and the Battle of Manila; 1972, Declaration of Martial Law, and 2020, COVID-19 and quarantines and shut downs.
My parents were born at the Twilight of the Spanish Era and the Dawn of the American Era.
Since their families lived in Intramuros and Quiapo, Manila, they did not feel nor suffer the direct effects of the Philippine American War.
Since their families both belonged to the Filipino mestizo urban elite, they did not suffer from the ravages of cholera, malaria, small pox, tuberculosis, and other contagious and/or tropical diseases.
WW I And Spanish Flu
World War I was concentrated within Europe except for a few German colonies in Africa and the Pacific.
However, conscription and mobilization of several million men armies helped spread what became known as the “Spanish Flu”.
At that time, there was hardly any civilian or military air transport. The pandemic had to depend on land and sea transport to spread from America and Europe to the rest of the world.
The death toll in the Philippines was about 80,000 out of a population of about ten million.
I did not hear any stories from my parents, uncles, aunties and older cousins about major problems and sufferings between the World Wars, except for the “Spanish Flu”.
Fascinated About Wars
Neither the Great American Depression nor Worldwide Depression seemed to have made a deep and lasting effect on our mostly agricultural and mining economy.
In fact, during my childhood, elders spoke longingly about “Peacetime”, the period before World War II.
My father hardly talked about the Japanese War – Invasion, Occupation and Liberation.
My mother, on the other hand, had no hesitation in telling us war stories. My older cousins regaled us with war stories.
Every February, I buy war books and read them.
Whenever, available and possible, I attend lectures and symposia about World War II around the world as well as in the Philippines.
Since the Allied Victory Days in May and September 1945, there have been so many wars, that people learned to forget about “Peacetime”.
Among them were: Cold War, Korean War, Indo China War, many Arab–Israeli wars, many Civil Wars in Africa, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, India Pakistan Wars, China India Wars, Falklands War, Afghan War (Soviet), Iraq Kuwait War, Balkan wars, Al Quaeda War, another Afghan War, the second Bush’s second Iraq War, Arab Spring, ISIS Wars, and, always and forever, the Anti-Terror War.
Insurgency, Rebellions
Except for our DFA, DOLE, OWWA, and POEA, as well as our OFWs in the affected areas, the Philippines at large was not affected too much by these many foreign wars.
We have also had our long-running Communist Insurgency and Muslim Rebellions.
If you combine the PKP/HMB and CPP/NPA Rebellions, we have reached their Diamond (75th) Anniversary.
As regards, our Muslim rebellions, you can have your pick of Golden and Diamond Anniversaries as well as Centennials and beyond.
More lives have been lost and more civilians have been displaced in our Muslim conflicts than in our ideological wars.
More Filipino lives have been lost, more have been wounded and more refugees created by the Filipino American War, the Spanish Flu, the 1941–1945 Japanese Invasion, Occupation and Defense/Retreat, the Muslim and Communist Insurgencies than the past year of COVID-19 and quarantines.
2020 Is No Match
The misery and terror that our older relatives suffered under the Japanese, could never be matched by our frustration, inconvenience and suffering under the IATF, DOH, DlLG, DSWD, DOTr, LTFRB, PNP, MMDA, and LGUs.
2020 was not the worst year in the collective memory of four generations of my family.
We still have many things to thank God for.
Let us see what is in store for Us in 2021 as well as what we can do and actually do, to move on, recover and improve our and our countrymen’s lives!