R is for Jose Rizal, A-Z of Filipino Cultural Exports
Journalist, Poet, Activist, Doctor (1861–1896)
Born into a wealthy and affluent family, Jose Rizal was a gifted scholar, excelling in various subjects and fields of discipline – from the arts, to the languages and sciences. A proud Filipino, Rizal sought independence from Spanish rule. Inspired by the social impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s novel – Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), which also lay the the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement in America. Rizal took a similar approach in his novel ‘Noli Me Tángere’ (Latin for Touch Me Not), an accumulation of his research around the dark colonial past, which held back the people of the Philippines from fulfilling their true identities. Published in Spain and printed in Spanish, ‘Touch Me Not’ was banned, yet smuggled into the homeland. For this act of so called terrorism, Rizal was exiled and executed by the Spanish. The Spanish had removed the messenger, but the message lived on, the movement had begun and dissidence was united. In 1898, the Philippines became an independent country, in spirit Jose Rizal’s legacy was fulfilled. Rizal is recognised as being an instrumental force and icon in the Nationalist movement; his work continues to be celebrated today with ‘Touch Me Not’ being a compulsory read for high school students.
#OFW more than a country of good looking, half-wit, opportunistic terrorists
