Feeling Low During the Lockdown?

"I Wish to Inform You of my Intent Not to Wake Up Tomorrow." How would you feel if you wake up to that note from a family member? Millennial writer George Deoso penned those words when grappling with his mental demons and provides us an insight on the state of mind of a person contemplating suicide.

The recent spate of suicides worldwide, including the Philippines, particularly among young people, has raised the ante on addressing very real mental health issues that used to be ignored or swept under the proverbial rug by a culture that stigmatizes them. Mercifully, after long years of denial, the Philippines finally has a law that will hopefully bring solutions. Noted psychologist Lucita S. Lazo provides us a situationer in "A Promise to be Fulfilled -- the Mental Health Law of 2018." 

With the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Filipino Americans are similarly challenged. PF contributor BJ Gonzalvo, a psychology researcher, provides some salve to lonely souls in "Mental Health Care for Self and Kapwa During the Pandemic."

On a brighter note, here's the third list of "Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous" compiled by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco. 

Comfort food is the common quest during these times of uncertainty so, for the Happy Home Cook, here again is Arroz ala Cubana, in two versions:

Elizabeth Ann Quirino's traditional version https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-arroz-a-la-cubana?rq=arroz%20ala%20cubana

Richgail Enriquez's vegan version https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-vegan-arroz-ala-cubana?rq=arroz%20ala%20cubana

And your links to more good reading:

Eid'l Fitr 2020: 'The bigger the test, the greater our faith'
https://www.rappler.com/nation/261821-eidl-fitr-2020-bigger-test-greater-faith

Troll Armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may be coming soon to an election near you
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-19/troll-armies-routine-in-philippine-politics-coming-here-next?fbclid=IwAR0G2gFwn2247kzkflF-os7NbGx6IpVciXXSnVeChF_wlfQpkh_R722Hopo

'Blues Clues & You!' host Joshua Dela Cruz on talking to kids about coronavirus racism
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/blues-clues-you-host-joshua-dela-cruz-talking-kids-about-n1211351?fbclid=IwAR2zBkRr5SecXfdbcgb5elXGwazz4hmSdt1U2t1UxV-nKas7n4GrzQ6M43M

Locked down in paradise: Foreigners in COVID-19 quarantine rave over Philippines' beauty

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/travel-and-tourism/2020/05/19/2015079/locked-down-paradise-foreigners-covid-19-quarantine-rave-overphilippines-beauty?fbclid=IwAR2wzfFtxsUjS-xGp1ao58hXGYR0RPDUav1ez8VJdz6gMpOIPH_QLnC2Yqg

Abuse in Lockdown: Gender Violence in the Philippines
https://www.fairobserver.com/coronavirus/christianne-france-collantes-covid-19-domestic-abuse-lockdown-gender-violence-philippines-news-15211/?fbclid=IwAR2X2AYqLg7Nm1AwidM5hBr4GD90M7VqbVqkGHh-4WCxJipu2m2gtU7MUcE

Our Video of the Week, Trevor Noah of The Daily Show talks to Jose Antonio Vargas about the plight of undocumented workers in the time of Covid-19.

ABS-CBN Shutdown: Once More, the Trauma

One Saturday morning in September 1972, I left for work early because it was going to be a busy day -- we were going to shoot a promo announcing the first nationwide broadcast of ABS-CBN, then as now, the Philippines' largest network. The sight that confronted me was chilling: Metrocom soldiers in full battle gear were guarding the gates of the sprawling complex in Bohol Avenue, Quezon City. Across the street, my fellow employees gathered, faces perplexed and fearful. It took a while before the collective whisper reached me: martial law had been declared, and just like that we lost our jobs, our personal stuff in our offices inside, and our freedom.

I didn't realize how deeply embedded that trauma is in my psyche until I woke up this morning to the news that ABS-CBN, the network that has since expanded tenfold since our time, has been ordered closed by the Duterte administration's National Telecommunications Commission. Once again, I felt shivers down my spine. The end was just as dramatic as 1972 -- one minute viewers were watching a regular news program; the next, the screen just went dark.

Beyond the legalese and the sycophantic justifications, we know that ABS-CBN has once again fallen prey to political vindictiveness that goes all the way to the top. It was that way in 1972, albeit under different circumstances; it is the same reason now. Talk about ill-timed and ill-conceived. With the country reeling from a pandemic and its subsequent economic turmoil, when information dissemination is vital, the nation's largest broadcast network is silenced. 

This story of course is just beginning. It took 14 years and a dictator's ouster for ABS-CBN to rise again. Will history repeat itself?

Our stories this week:

US Marines veteran and military brat Alex G. Fabros Jr. tells a cautionary tale of how an epidemic victimized his childhood friends in "Do You Remember Polio?"

Retired Philippine ambassador Virgilio Reyes Jr. relates his Covid-19 story in "Living with Corona, a New Yorker's Perspective."

For those in search of good books to read in quarantine, history professor Vicente L. Rafael shares his "Lockdown Reading List: Filipino Fiction (Mostly)."

To celebrate Mother's Day, I wrote down my thoughts on motherhood, "Love, Patience and Renewal."

Read Again Carolyn Prasad's touching tribute to her "mail-order bride" mother, "The Making of a Matriarch." 

And Cathy S. Babao's story about "A Lesson My Mom, the Actress Caridad Sanchez, Told Me" 

For the Happy Home Cook, treat yourself to a repeat of Elizabeth Ann Quirino's Mango Refrigerator Cake, because it's May and mangoes are in season. Plus, hopefully, you've been good in quarantine. 

Here are this week's links to stories you have to read: 

Commentary: Racism is the other virus sweeping America during this pandemic
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-coronavirus-asian-americans-morita-20200420-ep3bmn3tincczfihw3qvl64boa-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3G9NjNjFhxwBKVTWFSZWMbo5XjmyezMeB7APFYs4LGQ-QxirXK-6KwZ5s

Philippine nurses, long treated like exports, now told to stay home to fight coronavirus
https://news.yahoo.com/philippine-nurses-long-treated-exports-013256696.html

The Philippine Peso’s Resilience Is a Risk to the Economy
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/philippine-peso-resilience-risk-economy-221454976.html

'Second tragedy': Cremation traumatises in virus-hit Philippines
https://news.yahoo.com/second-tragedy-cremation-traumatises-virus-hit-philippines-043849393.html

The Heartbreaking ‘Last Shift’ of a New York City Nurse
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/heartbreaking-last-shift-york-city-170412559.html

Which ABS-CBN businesses can still operate after NTC's cease and desist order?
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/05/20/which-abs-cbn-businesses-can-still-operate-after-ntcs-cease-and-desist-order?fbclid=IwAR1w8Z5dLemXle9LzpyL28VeNw0VTv3vuoX0xlYzQi9h4l9LCMC7iVNJTYM 

For video of week, the Filipino-American Airmen community of the US Air Force put together their version of the “Don’t Rush Challenge” on social media