June 18, 2008

Last year at about this time, I was talking about the impossibility of holding a Philippine Independence Day picnic Haarlem-style in Doha. The obstacles posed by dust storms and searing temperatures are simply insurmountable. This year, the sandstorms and the heat are even more unforgiving but the Filipinos in Doha showed that there is a way if there is a will to celebrate united as one. Under an umbrella organization called Philippines Independence Day Organizing Committee (PINOC), 99 Filipino organizations pooled their resources together and staged the first ever grand-slam Independence Day party in Doha, if not in the whole of Middle East, inside a huge air-conditioned shopping center called Hyatt Plaza.

Named Fiesta, Fiesta ‘08, the daylong celebration of the 110^th anniversary of Philippine Independence took place last June 13, a Friday, Qatar’s equivalent of a Sunday. It started in the morning with an Alay Lakad, an Ati-atihan parade and a motorcade from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office to Hyatt Plaza. At the car park of Hyatt Plaza, Ambassador Isaias Begonia started the festivities with the release of 110 red, blue, white and yellow balloons and then opened the booths and bazaars inside with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Dignitaries from other countries like the ambassadors and diplomats from Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei and Nepal were around to witness the opening ceremony.

It was a fiesta as any Filipino fiesta could be. Our kababayans had a grand time singing their hearts out in some karaoke booths, playing chess and darts and relishing goto, puto, laing, sapin-sapin and other native delicacies. They were also treated to a free medical and dental mission, 30 minutes of magic and acrobatics, murang gupit, consular services and cultural and dance shows. Children had the chance to show their talents in an art contest and to enjoy some games and story-telling sessions. Filipino singers such as Lovi Poe and Jan Nieto flew all the way from the Philippines to come and entertain the crowd.

More than 20 booths and bazaars were put up by Filipino organizations and other enterprising groups. There was a Mediacom booth giving chances to would-be Pinoy celebrities to showcase their karaoke talents. There was a Bicolano booth displaying handmade regional products and allowing visitors to sample their free laing. There was a booth selling printed Proud Noypi shirts. And, a part of the parking lot became the car show booth where Filipino motor enthusiasts competed for the best manually renovated and modified car and for the best-looking driver; their proceeds will be donated for the operation of a child in the Philippines to remove a growth in his arm. Needless to say, throngs of Filipinos had great fun going from one booth to another, looking for something pinoy to bring home as souvenirs.

But, the highlight of the daylong event was the “Give me Five! For Peace, Love and Unity.” In essence, people pay QR5 to be able to leave their handprints on a 3 m by 5.5 m replica of the Philippine flag. The funds collected from the event will be used to help many distressed Filipino workers in Doha. Adonis Canonicato, Chairman of PINOC, said the flag would also be registered with the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest flag ever made from handprints. There is also a plan to subdivide the canvas into 2 ft by 3 ft sizes and to auction them to dignitaries and diplomats at a gala dinner PINOC will host in the future.

In the evening, trophies and prizes were given out during the closing ceremony. There were awards for the winners of the darts and tennis competitions, for the Best in Booth, Best in Concept, Most Organized Filipino Organization, Best Parade Contingent, Most Colorful Contingent, and Most Visited Booth. During the awarding ceremony, Ambassador Begonia congratulated the Filipino organizations and the whole Filipino community and expressed his satisfaction for the show of unity that made the celebration a resounding success. "Hundreds of Filipinos came together today and that gives us a sense of oneness, showing the people here in Qatar that we are united, that we belong in one race, one country, one nation - the Philippines," he said.

The awarding ceremony was a big event itself. The Philippine School Doha (PSD) faculty performed a medley of folk dances from different regions of the Philippines. The Lord's Choir sang two Filipino songs entitled 'Kapayapaan' and 'Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin' The Philippine International School Qatar's (PISQ) presented a short musical play about the sacrifices, pains and joys of OFW's. As a finale, the Youth for Family and Life from Al Khor sang the nationalistic song, 'Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika' (One Blood, One Race, One Music) and 'Balut'.

But, the celebration did not end there. “Isang Musika,” a musical concert followed afterwards. Different Filipino bands in Doha gathered for the first time and gave our kababayans a night to remember. The Filipino crowd was treated to different types of music from heavy metal rock to contemporary alternative music and pop. Some of the participating bands were Glass Onion, Instant Karma, Zyklone, Fahrenheit, Kasa Fuego, Sand Dune and Soul Bands. It was well past midnight when the concert ended with a little girl’s soulful rendition of an Alicia Keys’ song.

Of course, the Friday the 13^th celebration wasn’t the only one held for the 110^th anniversary. On the morning of June 12, itself, a quiet celebration took place at the Philippine Embassy compound. Embassy officials, teachers, community leaders, media persons and guests attended the event. It started with a flag ceremony and an interdenominational prayer. The message of President Arroyo was then delivered by Ambassador Begonia. Consul General Rosario P Lemque then read the message of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G Romulo. Afterwards, the patriotic song 'Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika' was interpreted by Marvin Herrera, followed by the ceremonial releasing of balloons. At the end, everyone partook in a breakfast dubbed as 'Almusal ng Bayan.'

The 110^th Philippine Independence day celebration in Doha was certainly a quantum leap compared to the ones of previous years. After reading all the accounts in the papers and in the online forums, we knew we missed a big one. Had we known there was such a thing, we sure would have driven 25 kilometers through blistering sandstorms just to breathe in the fiesta atmosphere. But, we just arrived from the Philippines then and we were still recovering from flu and jetlag. Besides, our not-so-happy experience with Independence Day last year dampened any interest to find out what was brewing. Next year, though, we will be there.

This is not to say we did not have our own fiesta for that day. Good news from the Philippines that morning prompted us to go out and have a celebration of our own.

Last month, Carol’s mom had a bad fall forcing them to cancel their intended 6-month vacation to Doha and forcing us to go home to the Philippines instead. It turned out Divine Providence had a real reason for “messing up” our plans and it had nothing to do with sisig. While we were there, Amy, Carol’s sister, was diagnosed with a stage 3 breast cancer. The immediate surgery to remove the breast and the 6-cm lump was successful but, given the advanced stage, the doctor could not guarantee the cancer cells had not yet spread to other organs. Only a comprehensive scan could tell. At the rate the doctor was telling us to have faith and pray, we really couldn’t help but be afraid. We left the Philippines not knowing the results of the scans she underwent. Last June 13, we received the most wonderful news that all her organs tested negative for cancer cells. The doctor said the surgery couldn’t have been more on time. If it had been delayed a couple of weeks, which would have happened had their vacation to Doha pushed through, she would have become a hopeless case. Now, according to the doctor, she will just have to undergo chemotherapy and then she can live for another 70 years after that.

We celebrated the news with a jubilation that could only be found at Hyatt Plaza that day. We feasted on some crispy chicken and magic corn at Landmark. There was no way to convince Sema other types of food were more fitting for the occasion. Though, our private fiesta did not have a symbolic releasing of balloons to the sky, Sema and I had our customary Friday plane ride at the Circusland where we soared up so high -four meters high, to be exact - that we could almost reach the sky - the fake sky, that is. After several dizzying rounds, I got an immense sense of freedom and relief that the ride was over. Naturally, that feeling of liberation was nothing compared to what we felt when the good news finally freed us from the fear and anxiety that slowly gnawed at us ever since fate juggled our lives in order to give Amy a new lease on life.