Franzes Lalaine G. Cantos

Liberty Long Gone Oppression is dehumanizing. Even the mere act of forbidding someone of something, more so if forbidding someone of something that puts their lives in danger, is dehumanizing. Oppression is dehumanizing because it strips people of their basic necessities to survive– food, water, shelter, etc. It also puts people in shackles (not literally) by preventing their growth, development, and involvement. The oppressed cannot do what an ordinary person could– find a hobby, go out freely, talk to other people, etc., much more degrading where they came from. What does it take to be human? And what does it take not to become one? Humans are made to flourish with free will. Basic necessities to survive are only in the lowest level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, so what would happen if they were taken away in the first place? Can a person still achieve self-actualization? In the story, 'My Family's Slave' by Tizon (2017), though his family provided these basic necessities for their Lola, Eudocia Tomas Pulido, she has no complete access to them. She was eating, but only the leftovers. She was able to sleep, but on a pile of laundry, she was not finished folding. She can drink water, but only when everyone in the house is given a cup or when everyone has finished drinking theirs. She was not stripped of the rights to do all these, but she was not given full access either. This still makes Lola the oppressed in the story, or, as Tizon mentioned, a slave. She was enslaved at a young age during the Japanese colonization of the Philippines. Not able to go to school and grow up as an ordinary lady would. Even though the family can give her that, she was deprived of liberty because of many unfortunate circumstances. This is an act of oppression, slavery at its finest. The act of oppression and slavery was not that new to me as I became fond of watching movies about World War II, where it became clear to me the difference between the simple act of exercising power, to someone using it to place himself over people. Hitler's Nazi Party is just one example. The holocaust has taken the lives of innocent people, especially the Jews. They were imprisoned, enslaved, and killed mercilessly. One also cannot forget Filipinos during colonization. As a fellow, I am deeply still enraged by how they were treated, especially women. Numerous cases of rape, grooming, and other horrid acts have happened. And for which I cannot say it stopped happening. If I would ask myself, there was never a time when I experienced oppression and slavery. Not to a point where I needed to free myself both physically and mentally, which would take years and years. But looking at the situation in the politics we have now in the Philippines, I would say that Filipinos, including me, are still oppressed. It is still happening in the hands of someone of our own. Political leaders still place themselves over the people. I sometimes just wanted to shut down the news about them living their best lives while robbing the people and shamelessly promoting their egotistic selves. It was still a battle of fighting for liberation. Because the Philippines is a democratic country, it is decided that freedom is a gem that should be searched, treated with care, and preserved to last for many years until one doesn't know when. Oppression happens because someone acts as the oppressor. The blame will always be on their side. It will always be a dehumanizing act toward humans, not given that its effect is irreversible. People have to live with the trauma until they die and forever adjust to their once-taught-to-be prison as their home now. The autonomy of an individual and the sovereignty of a state is both a choice (Freire, 1968). The test is subjected to each one of us. How hungry are we for that freedom? How desperate are we to break free? References Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party. (2010). History. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. Mcleod, S. (2007). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology. Tizon, A. (2017). My Family’s Slave. The Atlantic.