...is when I couldn't
have been more than six years old. Dad is just a couple of years or less into
his first foreign assignment in Washington DC, and he is called upon to
be a member of the Philippine delegation to the United Nations during its
annual General Assembly. I can't recall how long Dad has to stay in New York
for it, but Howie and I can't miss school, so we stay in DC with Mom. On
one of those weekends, Mom takes us to New York to visit Dad. One of the few
vivid memories I have of this trip, indeed of this stage in my life, is when
Dad leads us on an exclusive tour of the United Nations Headquarters for an
inside look at what goes on in the most important international body in the
world.
Up on the balcony where observers view the proceedings on the General Assembly floor, each seat is equipped with a set of headphones. One turns a dial to select the language into which you need the proceedings translated. I don the headphones and begin searching through the various languages - Spanish, French, Mandarin, Russian, Japanese, Swahili, Arabic, Urdu... The one particular language that I am looking for is missing.
Disappointed and curious at the same time, I turn and looking up at Dad I ask, "Dad, why isn't Tagalog on here?"
He chuckles lightly and smiles to me, "We Filipinos don't need translation, because we already speak English."
With that very simple and very direct statement, Dad launches me on my lifelong journey of cultural and socio-political consciousness; such was the power of Dad's words. He was blessed with a profound dignity of language that could heal divisions, transcend deep protracted historical conflicts, forge friendship across not just nations, but entire regions. He teaches us how peace is maintained on a complex and diverse planet, all the while a model of humility and gentleness. Dad was a genuine peacemaker of rare authenticity, vision and articulation.
In the Gospel: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
- Matthew 5:9
In the Midrash: "The only reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world was so that there would be peace among humankind."
- Bamidbar Rabbah 12A
In the Quran: "It may be that God will grant love between you and those whom ye hold as enemies. For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful."
- Quran 60:7
In the Bhagavad Gita: "Without peace there can be no happiness."
- Bhagavad Gita 2:66
In the Dhammapada: "Happy is the devotion of those who are at peace."
- Dhammapada 194
In the Old Testament: "O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us."
- Isaiah 26:12
Peacemakers have a divine ordination. While Dad is no longer of this Earth, the
legacy of his vision remains. From him arise generations of peacemakers
he has inspired, and upon whom he will continue to shed timeless light. In
a world in which men who have the capability to inflict unprecedented levels of
destruction upon the world are routinely threatening each other, the work that
Dad has begun in his lifetime is now more critical than ever. We who are left
with his legacy must carry on...
 |
| 1965, the moment it all began - Dad, center, being sworn in to the diplomatic service by his father Rodolfo Sr. (my Lolo Dolfo), right, who himself is legendary among the first generation of Philippine foreign service officers after independence in 1946. (Photo from the Severino family archives.) |
https://soundcloud.com/the_presidents_crucial/06-track-6
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