Sketches

(I wrote this on March 30, 2005)

All through out Manila, posters showing sketches of suspected terrorists are displayed as warnings to the innocent public. But to which public do these warnings cater to? Is there a difference from the innocent Muslim public and the innocent non-Muslim public?

Yesterday while I was on my way to attend my graduate studies in Taft Avenue, I just had to simply stop at an LRT station and look at these sketches in order to decipher if I can recognize any of the faces. Being a concerned citizen and a civil servant, I believe it is of my best interest to keep myself informed of these things.

Months back, the posters designed by the office of the anti-kidnapping unit, headed by Mr. Angelo Reyes, showed pictures of suspected kidnappers and provided the amount of reward money for any information leading to their whereabouts. I believe that was a noble cause, and that we should put these faces out into the open. Surely, photographs can provide positive identification of criminals that lurk our metropolis, and Mr. Reyes was very successful in capturing a number of kidnappers. Photographs would allow common folk to immediately recall any familiar faces from the roster of the most-wanted kidnappers list. Photographs. Not sketches.

How will someone immediately identify terrorists from these sketches? These are but sketches, and rough sketches at that. Is there a difference from the face of a Muslim and a non-Muslim? The first thing that a passenger of the LRT might do in order to see if the person next to him is of any resemblance to these sketches is by looking at that person’s wardrobe. Observers would have to use another identifying quality of the people in their surrounding in order to make use of these warnings, and in the process, people will be on the lookout for Muslims, not terrorists. The famous Filipino actor Robin Padilla professes to be Muslim. Now, would he qualify as a suspect? As I was looking at the drawings, any male Filipino could fit the description. Only the names and the aliases make these sketches culture bound.

As I prayed to God this morning, I asked the Almighty that no innocent Muslim would be harmed as a consequence of these posters, because if ever, it would not be the first time innocent Muslims were tagged as members of terrorist groups. This past January, the Imam who came to Manila to officiate my wedding was among the group of Muslims inside a prayer area in Malate, Manila who were wrongfully arrested and detained as suspected terrorists. Inside the prayer area, they were made to lie down on the floor as guns were pointed at them. Some were even said to have been physically abused during the arrest. The Imam, Aleem Arab Aguam, was among the first to be released a few days before my wedding. In fact, all those who were arrested were later released and they have now filed charges against the law enforcers responsible. I still feel hurt at the fact that such a man of peace was treated in such a way. Was it because he dressed in the same way a terrorist would dress? Was it because his name was spelled the same way that these aliases of suspected terrorists are spelled? Or is it because he faced Mecca in order to pray to God the same way that a Muslim terrorist would? What is a Muslim terrorist anyway? Is there such a thing as a Christian terrorist or an Atheist terrorist?

These sketches do not protect innocents from these suspected terrorists, and most definitely they do not protect innocent Muslims from being tagged as terrorists. If this process of branding is the policy of our security forces, then by all means, let us post sketches of every suspected criminal, reminiscent of the Wild, Wild West. Anyway, that is how gung-ho our government has become: they approach the situation in Mindanao with guns-a-blazing like the European settlers trampling on the lands of the American Indians. Why won’t the government post sketches of NPA leaders, drug-lords, gambling lords, or even suspected corrupt government officials? Truly, these people hold responsibility to a number of crimes and atrocities in our nation as well.

For a government that engages in peace talks, how do these sketches promote peace? If Mr. Reyes was able to acquire surveillance photographs of his most-wanted kidnappers, can’t the government at least provide the same for these suspected terrorists? Don’t get me wrong, I am against the blatant execution of innocents and any other form of terrorism. But I am also against discrimination of race, culture, religion, and belief. For me, acts of degradation and discrimination are acts of terrorism as well. These sketches are nothing but another form of terrorism: it causes fear and anxiety to innocents, be they Muslim or non-Muslim.

Hello

Assalamu Alaikum w.b.t.

This is my first entry, and at the moment, I'm also trying to finish a report here at the office.
I work for the Philippine Government, thus qualifying me as a true civil servant. At least, I consider myself one.

I think that one's sense of altruism is something that is lost in most public officials, considering the number of scandals and graft&corruption cases that are being headlined as of late. It scares me, really, that one day, I will forget that I believed I am altruistic...that I have a selfless attitude of servitude to this country. Maybe that's the main reason I'm starting this blog, so that I can reflect in the future.

I used to pity government workers because of the low pay and almost lack of benefits that they receive. But when I became one, I started to admire them. Of course, not the corrupt ones. And I think corruption can come in different forms, not just the sensationalized multi-million peso illegal transactions advertised in the newspapers. Like, right now, if I wasn't using my coffee break to write this blog entry, that could be considered as corruption. I'd be using taxpayer's money to write this.

But altruism can only get me so far. If I even want to aspire for a promotion in my present office, I might have to wait for ten years to get some space in the plantilla until someone retires from the service. Security of tenure is pretty tight in the civil service, where its almost impossible to take out non-performing assets and replace them with high-potential recruits. I could share my thoughts on that some other time. When I said that altruism can only get me so far, at least in this office, I really mean that I don't intend to be a civil servant for long. But when the time comes that I do rejoin the private sector, I know that I will bring with me the selfless qualities that I've developed as being a government employee (bullsh*t). You know, I do not know why I am actually writing this. I must be bored out of my wits here. Actually, I need to do something other than work so that I can still function normally. And I'm out of coffee. And I don't smoke (a bonafide quitter, I am). Well, gotta go back to work.

My name is Khairy, and I'm a Human Resource practitioner responsible for recruitment, selection, and placement for a government office in the Philippines.

Wasallaam.