Posted by Teejae
Paris, France, 6:39 am
I've been forwarned, the French are snobs.
When I alighted the plane from the Business Class section, we were told to line up to have our passports checked. I presented to the French Lady Guard my passport and my Business-Premiere Boarding pass for Mexico. She asked if I had papers for my Mexican trip (aside from the Mexican Visa on my passport). As I motioned to retrieve some papers from my bag, she told me to stand in one corner and wait for her. So I did.
I thought she would attend to me shortly after that, instead she finished looking at the passports of all passengers before she attended to those who were standing "at the corner"
My eyes scanned through the folks they set aside: Me, another Pinoy guy flying to the US from France,1 Chinese Girl, 1 Chinese guy on his way to Mexico and 1 Vietnamese lady. The Chinese girl had a French companion who talked to the guard, but the French companion was met with "You go, she stay". And so the French Companion left her Chinese friend, with the assurance that she'd wait for her by the Escalators.
Racial Discrimination is really the most stupid thing of all. Discrimination, in itself is bad, but when people discriminate against education attainment or status to choose a job, whereby a specific skill is required, you can probably be more understanding. But to sort people just by the way they look is really, really stupid.
Normally, I'd get pissed. But I was too tired. Besides I had a 4-hr leadtime before my next flight. It was also interesting to see the widely regarded European Superiority Complex happening before my very eyes.
I thought. Hey the White Guy in tourist class had so many tattoos but he wasn't questioned. That other white dude in trashy clothes went through without hassle. They don't block black folks too cause there are black French and Americans-- they may be citizens of affluent countries. But oh... the yellows and browns...they are all poor.
Maybe they just want to sneak into Paris to be domestic helpers. Forget that she purchased an expensive ticket or that she's wearing a plush trench coat. Maybe they'll fly business class to Mexico so they can cross the border and get to the USA. She's brown and she deserves to stand in the corner.
So she bugs the browns and yellows for papers. The Viatnamese girl didn't speak English well. So the Guard was irritated. She increased the volume of her voice: "Paper! Paper!" Frustrated, the guard turns to me and asks
"You speak English?"
I was tempted to say, Way better than you do. But instead I replied with a simple "Yes."
She proceeds: "Why are you going to Mexico?"
Duh? What's in it to you anyway? I'm not going to France. I'll just use your airport. Besides the Mexican Consul already deemed me fit to enter their country and granted me a visa so bug off! I didn't say that, of course. I just said: "I have a series of meetings in Latin America. Here's my email correspondence with Coca-Cola Mexico. That's my itinerary for South America. And this is my company ID. I work for The Coca-Cola Company. You can call Coca-Cola Mexico yourself if you like. The phone number is there"
Stunned, but still unwilling to humble herself, the lady guard asked: "What do you do for Coca-Cola?"
I swear I wanted to strangle her. Ano'ng pake mo? Di naman ako pupuntang France. But my better judgement told me to just pull-out my business card and hand it to her. The business card said: National Consumer Marketing Manager. And I told her: "I handle Marketing Activities for Coca-Cola in my country". With that, she let me go, but she didn't apologize for the inconvenience she's caused me. I don't know what happened to the Vietnamese Girl anymore.
Then I remembered what Tito Tony (Meloto) said about being Filipino. It doesn't matter where you migrate and make more money than you would here in Pinas. It doesn't matter if you amass richess in the Philippines and have you face plastered all over Lifestyle Asia and Philippine Tatler. Everyday when you wake up and look at the mirror, it's the same brown Filipino Face that stares back at you. The same brown Filipino Face the world looks down on. Sure you may get away with it sometimes. But chances are, you, any one of your family or close friends will be asked to "Stand at the Corner" by some White folk who doesn't know anybody.
So it's not enough to just make ourselves better. We should help make the Brown Filipino Face look better, by making the FACE of the Philippine Nation better. Individual Sucesses of Pacquiao and Lea Salonga are not enough.
We need to improve the way people look at us and our country -- right in our own home.
Why do Pinoys have to migrate to show that we are excellent, hardworking people? Why do we have to leave the country to know that we have the capacity to be disciplined?
We don't have to go anywhere. We can do it at home--THE PHILPPINES -- our home.
I've been forwarned, the French are snobs.
When I alighted the plane from the Business Class section, we were told to line up to have our passports checked. I presented to the French Lady Guard my passport and my Business-Premiere Boarding pass for Mexico. She asked if I had papers for my Mexican trip (aside from the Mexican Visa on my passport). As I motioned to retrieve some papers from my bag, she told me to stand in one corner and wait for her. So I did.
I thought she would attend to me shortly after that, instead she finished looking at the passports of all passengers before she attended to those who were standing "at the corner"
My eyes scanned through the folks they set aside: Me, another Pinoy guy flying to the US from France,1 Chinese Girl, 1 Chinese guy on his way to Mexico and 1 Vietnamese lady. The Chinese girl had a French companion who talked to the guard, but the French companion was met with "You go, she stay". And so the French Companion left her Chinese friend, with the assurance that she'd wait for her by the Escalators.
Racial Discrimination is really the most stupid thing of all. Discrimination, in itself is bad, but when people discriminate against education attainment or status to choose a job, whereby a specific skill is required, you can probably be more understanding. But to sort people just by the way they look is really, really stupid.
Normally, I'd get pissed. But I was too tired. Besides I had a 4-hr leadtime before my next flight. It was also interesting to see the widely regarded European Superiority Complex happening before my very eyes.
I thought. Hey the White Guy in tourist class had so many tattoos but he wasn't questioned. That other white dude in trashy clothes went through without hassle. They don't block black folks too cause there are black French and Americans-- they may be citizens of affluent countries. But oh... the yellows and browns...they are all poor.
Maybe they just want to sneak into Paris to be domestic helpers. Forget that she purchased an expensive ticket or that she's wearing a plush trench coat. Maybe they'll fly business class to Mexico so they can cross the border and get to the USA. She's brown and she deserves to stand in the corner.
So she bugs the browns and yellows for papers. The Viatnamese girl didn't speak English well. So the Guard was irritated. She increased the volume of her voice: "Paper! Paper!" Frustrated, the guard turns to me and asks
"You speak English?"
I was tempted to say, Way better than you do. But instead I replied with a simple "Yes."
She proceeds: "Why are you going to Mexico?"
Duh? What's in it to you anyway? I'm not going to France. I'll just use your airport. Besides the Mexican Consul already deemed me fit to enter their country and granted me a visa so bug off! I didn't say that, of course. I just said: "I have a series of meetings in Latin America. Here's my email correspondence with Coca-Cola Mexico. That's my itinerary for South America. And this is my company ID. I work for The Coca-Cola Company. You can call Coca-Cola Mexico yourself if you like. The phone number is there"
Stunned, but still unwilling to humble herself, the lady guard asked: "What do you do for Coca-Cola?"
I swear I wanted to strangle her. Ano'ng pake mo? Di naman ako pupuntang France. But my better judgement told me to just pull-out my business card and hand it to her. The business card said: National Consumer Marketing Manager. And I told her: "I handle Marketing Activities for Coca-Cola in my country". With that, she let me go, but she didn't apologize for the inconvenience she's caused me. I don't know what happened to the Vietnamese Girl anymore.
Then I remembered what Tito Tony (Meloto) said about being Filipino. It doesn't matter where you migrate and make more money than you would here in Pinas. It doesn't matter if you amass richess in the Philippines and have you face plastered all over Lifestyle Asia and Philippine Tatler. Everyday when you wake up and look at the mirror, it's the same brown Filipino Face that stares back at you. The same brown Filipino Face the world looks down on. Sure you may get away with it sometimes. But chances are, you, any one of your family or close friends will be asked to "Stand at the Corner" by some White folk who doesn't know anybody.
So it's not enough to just make ourselves better. We should help make the Brown Filipino Face look better, by making the FACE of the Philippine Nation better. Individual Sucesses of Pacquiao and Lea Salonga are not enough.
We need to improve the way people look at us and our country -- right in our own home.
- Reduce the slums by helping make suitable homes and livelihood for them. Sacrifice that Venti Double Esspresso Cafe Mocha once a week.
- Improve the quality of the Filipino Workforce by not stopping at learning.
- Eliminate corruption by resisting the temptation to bribe MMDA officials and take responsibility for your traffic violations
- Do not slack at work and always strive to deliver excellent results
Why do Pinoys have to migrate to show that we are excellent, hardworking people? Why do we have to leave the country to know that we have the capacity to be disciplined?
We don't have to go anywhere. We can do it at home--THE PHILPPINES -- our home.
