FUEL TO FIRE
There are three necessary components to
start a fire – heat, oxygen, and fuel.
A material, if exposed close enough to
a source of heat, especially if there is fuel to serve as a catalyst, will
undergo a chemical reaction called combustion. The sustained visible portion of
this chain reaction is called the flame. Altogether, this burning substance
would then be able in itself, to release heat, light, and even have the
potential to cause other combustible material in proximity to erupt into
flames.
The youth is a good example of a highly
combustible material, but of course not in the literal sense. We all have the
potential to ignite a spark within us, to light a fire against adversity, to
blaze a trail towards empowerment. But some of us lack fuel – a drive to make a
change, some lack heat – an urgent calling, and the harsh reality is that most
of our country’s young lack oxygen – the bare necessities to survive.
Heat, oxygen, and fuel - all three
elements are vital to start a fire. How can you light up the youth when even
just its components are so hard achieve?
SPARKS AND EMBERS
The Philippines has one of the youngest
populations in Southeast Asia, a large majority of our country’s citizens
falling between the ages 5 to 24 years old. This has been equated as a major
economic advantage moving forward, with a growing young labor force, the
Philippines has great potential for economic growth and development. Rizal’s
famous words – “the youth is the hope of the fatherland” – seems almost like a
prophesy waiting to be fulfilled, except that the latest statistics point the
other direction. An increased unemployment rate for fresh graduates has been
reported for 2015, and a significant rise in the incidence of poverty in our
country leads you to question if we truly are progressing.
Though we, the youth, make up more than
half of the Philippine population, labelled the hope our country and the
supposed driving force that will lead our nation forward, we have very little
say in the affairs and endeavours of our country. Our politicians have done
very little to represent the youth sector in the government, with a select few
lobbying for bills that truly benefit us students and the underprivileged out
of school youth.
Education, a right of all Filipino
citizens as mandated by the 1987 Constitution, has become a privilege. Marred
by corruption, commercialization and an underfunded Department of Education,
many are deprived of the right to enrol and learn. The international UNESCO
standard is that at least 6% of a country’s Gross Domestic Product should be
allotted for Education. The Philippines fall short of this, at 2.9%, barely
amounting to half of what is ideal to subsidize public education for all.
It’s estimated that 1 in every 8
Filipino youth is deprived of schooling. With 36.23% of Filipino’s aged 6 to 24
declaring themselves as out of school youth, most citing insufficient family
income as a barrier to education. It’s not difficult to deduce why the power of
the Filipino youth remains largely untapped, when even their basic right to
education is denied.
How can the youth spark change when
they are weighed down by poverty, a lack of education, and a lack of
involvement?
BLAZE THE TRAIL
The collective fire of the Filipino
youth is weak. We’ve been sidelined and relegated to the outskirts of nation
building for so long that it almost seems like we’ve all but lost the potential
to be the hope of our fatherland.
Rizal once compared our freedom to
fire, saying “The divine flame of thought is inextinguishable in the Filipino
people.” We have somewhat proven our hero’s words true - as a nation, overcoming
years of struggle and emerging even stronger from the ashes every time. But the
fire that burns within us all has been stifled by decades of corruption,
oppression, and poverty.
It’s in times like this one should
remember - a light that goes out can be rekindled by a spark from another
person. Much like how a single burning candle can spread embers like wildfire
if given a chance, even a lone youth can make a difference in this world,
advocating greater progress, urging his peers stand for their rights, blazing a
trail for generations to come.
One should be vigilant when lighting up
the youth, watchful of the elements that are being forged together to raise
them. At first, with great care, like shielding a candle’s flame with one’s
hand to protect it from the occasional gust of wind, but then gradually fanning
the flames encouraging them spread. After all, the youth is the hope that will
bring light to the world, holding our country’s greatest potential to achieve
its goals. It’s high time we take matters into our own hands and begin the
change ourselves.
Hope and change can be likened to a
growing fire – first a feeble spark, next a flickering flame, then a mighty
blaze, ever increasing intensity and power as more feed its blaze. Let’s light
up the youth and start the chain reaction.
Photos by Chalcedon Sañor
