Grim History of US Imperialism Repeats Itself
The Universe
(June 06, 2004)
One of the biggest missionary
tasks that came my way some years ago was what to do about the presence
of the huge American naval and air stations in the Philippines. I was
assigned by the Columbans in Olongapo City where a huge sex industry had
been setup to cater to the sexual demands of the sailors and marines at
the naval base there.
The military bases had been there
since 1899 when the United States became an occupying colonial power.
The Filipino army of independence had the Spanish surrounded in their
walled city of Manila and almost defeated when the United States landed
troops promising to help bring freedom and democracy to the Filipinos
and get rid of the oppressive Spanish dictatorial rulers. Sounds much
like what happened in Iraq.
They were not welcomed
by the almost victorious Filipinos. Inevitably the American troops were
soon fighting the Filipinos as soon as the Spanish had surrendered. A
bitter and atrocious war of resistance against the American forces
erupted and went on for almost three years with over 120,000 Filipinos
killed.
American firepower was
decisive and the Filipinos were eventually won over by the
reconstruction and education provided. The huge military bases were
established and maintained to consolidate the global power of the United
States in Asia and later they became a launching and supply platform for
the Korean and Vietnam wars.
US plans to turn over
the administration of Iraq to a selected governing board and retire to
fortified Military bases is a recipe for prolonged conflict. As in the
Philippines the bases will be a grim reminder of who really controls the
county. They ought to learn from history.
The US continued to
manipulate Philippines governments and ignored the crushing of democracy
and freedom by President Marcos when he declared himself absolute
Martial law ruler. The presence continued until the fall of Marcos and
the new government rejected a treaty to allow the bases to remain.
One of the greatest
social problems arising from the US Bases in the Philippines was the
prevalence and spreading of the HIV/AIDS from countries where the virus
was rife.
At that time there was
nothing much we could do to help the many Filipina women and children
infected with HIV and other STDs.
Nevertheless PREDA
social work began and intensive public campaign of preventive education
to save as many young people as we could.
“Loving Faithfully is Loving Safely” was what our poster said. We strove to teach young Filipinos corrupted by the promiscuous behavior displayed by the Americans to be disciplined and self controlled, to understand that love is more than an emotional and erotic expression, it is a spiritual relationship as much as a physical one.
That work continues today and the availability of low cost drugs than can control the virus is a big breakthrough for the millions who suffer throughout the world.
