What's in a name?

“That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet”, so the famous Bard is often quoted casually. But then when the name carries an ugly connotation, or plain ugly-sounding, it cools off friendship.

In high school and in college, at the inception the students are yet “strangers” among themselves – no prior acquaintance as yet – known only by their surnames. Instead of calling their first names or nicknames, the surnames are common tags of identification. Worse is coining nicknames from surnames that may be rude, or unpleasant that deters closer relationship or intimacy.

 Among the community of nations, country appellations may be popularly tagged, say, Japan as the “Land of the Rising Sun”, old China then as the “Sleeping Giant”, or the Philippines as “Pearl of the Orient Seas”, and the like. Variations may come in depending on the current events or incidents that affect or identify particular nations or people.

 Recent coinage by global media refers to the Filipinos as “mules” of illegal drugs trafficking from one country to another. Instead of “couriers” or whatever else, “mule” is adopted as apt, including the connotation of the mule as offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, or a bastardized mating, procreating a “stubborn” offspring.

The reference is borne out by many incidents that dispel mere happenstance, or accidental occurrence. The sad wastage of three Filipino “mules” in China by lethal injections is a gospel fact. What’s sadder are the 75 other Filipino “mules” languishing in jail also in China, awaiting their final fatal destinies. Like the last-minute attempts to spare from death sentences of Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, and Elizabeth Batain, most of the 75 “mules” on death row could also be beyond saving.

 There are 50 “mules” jailed in South America, like, in Brazil, for drug trafficking. Other drug couriers have also been reportedly nabbed in the Middle East where concentrations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are found. The temptation that sweetens the pie, so to speak, for family breadwinners hard to resist, is the US dollar return. Even at the lower exchange rate of P40 to every US dollar, say, ranging from $800 for shorter trips, up to $2000.00 to $5000.00 is a whopping bonanza.

A former mule named “Japa” confirmed drug “odyssey” with other countries before being picked up at particular destinations. He stressed that most Filipino mules knew what they were entering into, but “napilit ‘yun dahil sa pera”. In effect, the image being sketched is that the Philippines has become enmeshed in the international trade of banned drugs.

For being caught and punished had the mules to blame for their weakness to resist the temptation, is easy to say. And, it’s nastily cruel to condemn them with the cryptic remark of “mirisi”. Such harshness is to forget that Filipinos are invariably influenced by strong family ties; thus, when their children/families are hard-up and wallowing in poverty, the risk of death doesn’t stymie them – at the time of crisis – just to earn extra bucks.

And to conclude that these “victims of circumstances” lacked foresight, or whatever deficiency for the risky adventures resulting in getting caught and sure death – and more sufferings and trauma to their loved ones – is an aftermath moot and academic. Indeed, life is a gamble, especially to the very poor with family members who are sickly. Being a “mule” for that extra mile of risk for the seemingly “easy bucks”, is to the non-affluent and less fortunate in means to tide over family needs, not stupidity.

Sadly still many others are out there to take the gamble. And when caught, they just attribute it to being unfortunate or “dimalas” Should the gamble get through without hitch, it’s also fated by the roll of the dice. How do we call these proliferating chance takers? Whatever term or name they end up – whether heroes or heels – it appears they don’t give a damn in dire moments of family necessities in abject penury.

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