The tourism industry should be one of the stars of the Philippine economy, given the country's beaches, mountains, golf courses, casinos - and friendly people. But foreign tourists are not coming. The conventional wisdom here is to blame terrorists for scaring them off.
There's the home-grown variety, such as the Abu Sayyaf, a small band of armed Filipino Muslims who are in the habit of kidnapping tourists from beach resorts for ransom. And there are communist guerrillas who are occasionally accused of taking pot-shots at visitors climbing the Mount Pinatubo volcano. Both groups are regarded by the government as terrorists. Then there's the more international Jemaah Islamiya, who have been blamed for the bomb attacks in neighbouring Bali, and who are often described as the south east Asian wing of al-Qaeda.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2638423.stm
Reflection:
Filipinos are caught in between the false belief of the purpose of terrorists’ attacks and the core meaning that answers why it should happened. As part of the mob whose adrenaline becomes alerted just by hearing the word terrorism, I also view terrorists as the unjust, wild, anonymous, heartless, inhuman and the door-opener of suffering and death. Oh come on, I am kind of exaggerating my mind's eye. The truth is that they’re like a child denied of the joy of play. I hate to say this but our government is also acting like a child who’s happy to play with others’ toys. Does this imply that life is really a game and that we should play it? I take my stand that death is not a play so the government must address the cry of the terrorists and other people regarding political, economic, and/or religious grumbles and grievances before another attack kills another innocent.
As to the effect in our tourism, my eyes are captured by a scenic black-and-white image that conceals a hidden yet meaningful story behind it and the only key that could unleash the tale is to find the mislaid colors. I don’t have any doubt in our country’s tourist pots and tourist must haves because we are enormously blessed by such. The beaches where people can unwind and go swimming, snorkelling and fishing, the green nature that can help us relax, contemplate and have fun, the variety of Philippines’ craved fruits and delicacies that can fulfil our taste buds down to our hungry stomachs, and the hospitable and smiling Filipino people we can meet and make friends along the journey – these are just an overview of the satisfaction and pleasure of leisure offered by our country. However, it will remain undiscovered until safety and security is absolute.
Isn’t it lovely to know we’re receiving money for our economy while giving smiles and wonderful memories to other people? But, how painful for us Filipinos to know that we are still recovering from the condemnation of our neighboring countries due to the unwanted hostage taking incident between the dismissed Philippine National Police officer and the Hong Kong Nationals last august, 2010. Not just the foreigners are seeking for justice but also for us Filipino citizens because the act of the few affects the present and the future of the most.
I know it’s quite impossible in the short run but I hope someday, the people and our country will get hold of with the things and the credits we deserve.
