Another feudal story, perhaps a little more raw.
Some years back I spent a lot of time in Baguio, a smallish resort city up in the mountains, but only 1 1/2 hrs. travel from the sea. I had neighbors with 2 sons, who were back from a term working as mechanics in Saudi Arabia. They hated Saudi Arabia (no women, booze, or gambling, the Filipino hell), and decided to buy a small truck and go into business shipping fish up from the coast, which they calculated they could do at substantial profit, at the prevailing prices.
When they brought their first load to the market, no vendor would touch it. At any price. They ended up taking the fish around to restaurants, selling out and getting orders for the next day. Unfortunately, on their way down to the coast the next day they were forced off the road by armed men, who slapped them around, slashed their tires, and told them in no uncertain terms that if they ever carried fish on that route again, their truck would end up in the ravine, with them in it.
The boys went back to Saudi Arabia, and fish is still very expensive in Baguio.
So it goes.
Also reflected a bit on Castro's "victory", and I wonder how much of a victory he will find it. He will of course get points for standing up to the norteamericanos - and nobody who hasn't lived in a small poor country can understand how big those points are - but he will also have had it demonstrated to all and sundry that even a communist can get a fair hearing, and win a common-sense case, in an American court.
That is probably not the message he would want to see communicated. Might stick in his craw one day. Let's hope. |
