Heroic in deed and thinking
In myths and folklore, a hero performed extraordinary deeds due to his or her divine origins. In actuality, “supermen” or “superwomen” do not exist. Real heroes are persons who, by responding to adversity or challenges, make this world a more hospitable one for others in similar or worse conditions.
This realization that anyone and everyone can be heroic and inspiring for others to emulate was recently drummed into the public consciousness by two recent events.
Last Aug. 31, six Asians received the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.
Recipients of what is widely regarded as “Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize” were Youk Chhang, whose documentation is crucial in the Cambodian war crimes trials; psychiatrist Bharat Vatwani, whose organization has aided and restored thousands of mentally ill Indians to their families; Howard Dee, a Philippine government negotiator during peace talks with communists in the 1990s; and Vo Thi Hoang Yen whose nonprofit group assists disabled Vietnamese find jobs.
This year’s Magsaysay Awardees include Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz, who gave poor East Timorese access to health care, education, and livelihood during their country’s transition to independence in 2001; and Sonam Wangchuk, an advocate fighting discrimination against minorities through education.
For bringing about changes benefiting society and the ecology, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) and Dr. Benedict Valdez of the nonprofit organization Maharlika Charity Foundation Inc. were recognised on September 1 with the Edgardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution and the Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual, respectively, during the 7th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (Rafi) Triennial Awards.
According to the Sept. 1 SunStar Cebu report by intern Jerra Mae Librea of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, the PEF has worked since 1987 to protect and propagate the endangered Philippine eagle. Its conservation efforts extend to 8.4 has. of forest in Davao, habitat of eagles, monkeys, and other wildlife.
The PEF trains and works with the indigenous communities so they can serve as forest guards.
Valdez heads a foundation that has carried out for free cleft and palate operations for more than 1,000 indigent patients. Envisioning a health system that meets the needs of those with less resources in society, Valdez trains the members of Davao’s 911 Emergency Medical System (EMS), reported SunStar Cebu.
Except for Dee, the awardees represent civil society, underscoring that one does not need to hold public office or have access to public funds to contribute to the welfare of the people.
The awardees—whether individual or institution—devote not just passion but sustained dedication over the years to efforts that do not bring overnight, ephemeral changes but transformations that translate into future gains.
At a personal level, this vision of transformation demands extraordinary sacrifice from ordinary persons.
Youk Chhang survived the campaign of genocide waged by the Khmer Rouge regime and the civil war that tore Cambodia in the 1970s. He lost “his father, five of his siblings and nearly 60 of his relatives,” according to SunStar Cebu’s Aug. 31 report on the Ramon Magsaysay Award-giving ceremony.
Though he entered the United States as a refugee, Youk Chhang returned home to set up a center whose documentation is essential for the investigation of crimes against humanity committed during the Cambodian war.
Aside from leading a center that collected more than a million documents, produced digital maps to more than 23,000 mass graves, and excavated victims’ remains for forensic investigation, the Cambodian awardee also contributes to establish a museum, archives, library, and a graduate program on crimes against humanity.
Youk Chhang sees in the Magsaysay Award an affirmation for the communal effort to “learn from the past”. That struggle alone demands the heroic.