How do the French view Filipinos?

The French are the first to admit they are baffled at times by the Philippines. With few historical connections to the country, they’ve made their way here as expats, diplomats and businessmen — often flying blind, as it were.

Until now. Last week, a comprehensive guide to the Philippines, written in French and containing essays by 24 scholars — most of them Filipino — was launched at Alliance Francaise in Makati.

Called Philippines Contemporaines (Contemporary Philippines), it’s a wide-ranging 560-page monographie that collects scholarly essays on migration, demographics, folk medicine, social sciences, languages, the environment and education, among others to provide a multi-disciplinary take on contemporary Philippine society.

But — as Filipino media guests were quick to point out — it’s written in French.

French Ambassador Gilles Garachon quickly addressed why this is so: “The explanation is very simple: we French people do not know enough about the Philippines. For French people, the Philippines is a kind of question mark. So our deepest hope is that this book will contribute to make French people understand better the social, political, economic situation of the Philippines, but also something exceptional about the Philippines: the warmness of the Filipino people.”

So yes, the book is primarily written as a guide to the French in the ways of the Filipino (there are some 1,200 French nationals living in the country). But naturally, Filipinos would like to know exactly what is being said about them.

Project coordinator William Guéraiche, who brought together the multinational team of scholars — eight of them from UP, a number from Ateneo and other institutions, a handful from France, the US, New Zealand, Australia, etc. — is well aware of this concern. “At the beginning of this project,” he said, “I wanted to depict, not the Philippines, because it’s not possible in its entirety, it’s too complex, but I wanted to depict the Filipino identities in the lowlands — not in the mountains, not in Mindanao.

“I wanted also to bridge the gap between our countries, because I was aware from the start that my fellow countrymen had misrepresentations, misconceptions about this country — that it’s superficial, unorganized, and nothing works because it’s so unpredictable, and so on. There are so many commonplaces regarding this country that I felt it was my duty to point out that it was a bit different. The more I worked in this country, the more complex I found the structures and the Filipino mindset.”

Note the plural: Filipino “identities.” I asked if it was possible to draw conclusions after completing such an extensive work.

“No, because it’s wide open,” Guéraiche noted. “It’s very complex. Nothing changes in this country, yet it changes every day: there is this duality between changes and continuity. The legacy of the past, that also leverages how we can change this country. So it’s important to keep up thinking and to adjust our understanding of how it works, how it changes, or not.”

What he seemed to be saying is that the Philippines is an ever-moving target. No wonder a guide became necessary. Also a bit of French diplomatic charm doesn’t hurt: “I have been here for 15 years,” Guéraiche pointed out. “I am an OFW in this country, of sorts. The Philippines Filipinized me, so to speak.”

IRASEC director François Robinne added: “Not only does the publication help put the Philippines back on the ‘map’ in the domain of the social sciences, but it also brings together the work of 16 Filipino researchers… (It’s) exactly what we at IRASEC want our collaborations with local institutions to be: rigorous academic research that offers new and inventive analyses on important themes.”

Also in attendance was National Artist F. Sionil Jose who, while not included among the selected essayists, was certainly a jumping-off point for Guéraiche’s examination, especially his landmark book, Why We Are Poor.

While some quibbled over the selection of scholars for the monographie, the many French guests assembled seemed cheered by the prospect of better understanding between the two countries. The book was published by the Institut de Recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est Contemporaine (IRASEC), a Bangkok-based French research institute dedicated to studying the political, social and environmental evolution in the 11 countries of the region. Previous entries have focused on Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. And yes, the French ambassador said he would certainly look into a translation into Tagalog or at least English. “It’s a bit complicated, but we’ll see if it’s possible.”

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For information on Philippines Contemporaines, you can visit the Alliance Francaise de Manille, N. Garcia St. (formerly Reposo), Makati City, call Embassy of France to the Philippines (857-6916) or visit www.ambafrance-ph.org.