* * *Feature Examples

Topic: Abortion
COME TO me, Mama. Come, touch me and feel my pain. Don’t be afraid now, Mama.
You weren’t when you killed me.
Here, touch this... can you feel it now, Mama? The excruciating pain that consumed
my helpless body? You inflicted that, remember?
Look at my body, now a mass of rotting flesh and coagulated blood. The dregs of
what was a tiny human body. A body that was soft with a tiny head matted with a
sheen of baby hair. A tiny body with a tiny heart that pulsated in time with yours.
These were my fingers and ohh!... Here’s my thumb which I sucked while snugly
tucked inside you.
You see, I had long lashes just like Dad’s. My sensitive mouth was just like yours.
And here are my ears that heard your quickening heartbeat when you’re afraid.
I could have been a wonderful child if you’ve let me live.
I could have been baby boy, just what Daddy wanted. A strong, healthy and
bubbly bundle in your arms. My hypersensitiveness would have exasperated you.
Daddy? Hmmm... He could have coached me in playing basketball. He’ll be the
passer and I am the shooter. I could have grown into a writer. You would be proud of
me coz I’m gonna join contests.
Mama, see I was alive but not anymore. So, please let baby brother live. He could
also be as wonderful as me. His life wouldn’t be like mine. A life that never was.
Topic: Abortion
LISTEN TO the cry of the unborn.
Listen carefully and see. He is there—frail, delicate, heart beating with the glorious
thump of life. Blood running in his anemic veins, smooth hands, dainty feet, pink
flesh, unseeing eyes all in the protective shell of his mother’s womb. His soul’s voice
cries out in joy as he looks forward to the bountiful harvest he will reap in life. A
fresh breath of life; a new creation carefully molded by the hands of God.
But listen. He is there. Crying out in excruciating pain. He feels the sharp tingle of
needles tearing his flesh. His unseeing eyes roll up. In confusion and rage. His once
joyful soul now crying for the need of life. But no one heard him. No one heeded his
call as he plunged into the world of nullity. His last breath reeked of revenge. The
unborn was silent.
Listen to the cry of the unborn.
They stare at you and contemplate their sweet revenge.
Look around you. The guilt-ridden eyes of women carrying this burden state back at
you. They know their child will not be able to feel its parts during the first recital.
They know she will not be able to play Chinese garter or beat up the boys next door
because she is gone. They are gone. Millions of unborn children are presented with
the gift of life only to be taken away by selfish ambitions.
The burden they carry is their revenge. The guilt that is locked in their hearts is their
revenge—the revenge of the unborn.
Listen to the cry of the unborn.
Their chances in life were selfishly taken away. Their rights as human beings were
unjustly abused. Their hearts andsouls yanked out and were swallowed up in a cloud
as dark as ebony. They lust for death as revenge but they have novoice. They
cannot scream.
Listen to the cry of the unborn. They need you.

* * *Tomorrow
By Pamela Joy Go, AdI-SMCS·
700 words in 1 hour·
First Prize masterpiece, DSPC 2002·
Theme: Environmental Problems·
No. of participating schools: 25

HEAL the world,

Make if a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying,
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place
For you and for me

I could only stare at the third-grade pupils as they interpret this Michael Jackson
classic for their presentation during the flag ceremony. They seem to be so full of
life, so vibrant. Nothing in this world could seem to break the unbeatable character
they have glowing brightly inside them.
I sigh as my thoughts fall on the degrading society that we are having now. How
long will these naïve tots have the overwhelming spirit in them? How will they
manage to smile?
Look around you, human. What do you see? The pressing issues concerning the
destruction of Mother Earth is too real...too hard to ignore.
The huge forest fires that terrorize countless of species both here and abroad. The
perennial garbage problem that embraces the government like a cold pack of harsh
ice. The dwindling population of all sorts of mammals and reptiles...the endangered
species. The red list is getting longer and longer. Soon, I doubt if we’ll ever be able
to keep track of all the creatures that have disappeared from the face of the earth
forever.
Yes, we want to escape from these enigmas. We really want to. But listen. It’s also
we who are keeping ourselves chained to the enslaving powers of material riches.
We are blinded by the glitter of gold every time we cut down trees.
However, there are better realities in this issue our ancient mentality should just
think about. The contemporary ambience of people all over the world getting more
humane, more environment-friendly, more real is embracing us. Any maybe, just
maybe, we could start from here.
A year ago, I came across this Reader’s Digest article that suggested a different
view of this dilemma. While countless others would rather stick to the old, hopeless
sense of presenting these inevitable facts, the article examined the optimism that,
surprisingly, never left us.
We still have a chance. At least, that’s what the article said. People are becoming
civilized. We are no longer a heartless breed of warm bodies out for nothing but
earthly wealth. Through time, we have evolved to be persons with some sense. And
Mother Earth is pretty much depending on it. Her whole life, her whole existence is
actually relying on this so-called sensitivity that we are starting to acquire.
These are not made-up facts, ladies and gentlemen. No, this isn’t escapism. We are
not merely creating this news for the sake of lessening the parables that grasp us
by the throat. This is reality.
And this is where we could start. Instead of being a wet blanket, why not take a
positive paradigm shift? This maybe is the breakthrough we have been waiting for.
And this could take us somewhere in renovating our home, to say the least.
Yes, the predicaments around us are more than enough to last us a lifetime. There’s
no way they’ll be solved the moment we put our acts together. They may not even
be solved in the entire life of this generation. They may not even be solved at all.
But let us begin. Let us start now.
In John F. Kennedy’s words, “United there’s little we cannot do. Divided, there’s little
we can do.” If we hold hands now, if we open our hearts to one another and
disregard those barriers that keep us from being who we truly are, then maybe we
could still hang on to life.
As I watch the children hold hands and dance about the stage, I recognize in their
eyes what we almost lost—hope. The smiles pasted on their innocent faces spell a
promise that there will be a tomorrow. And that tomorrow will surely be better.
Tomorrow, the world will be healed.
Tomorrow, the world will be a better place.
For you and for me and the entire human race.

* * *Human Interest Feature Article

George, he’s a hero!
By Emilyn Martinez
IT IS “natural” for women to be lavanderas if that is the best thing that they can do
for a living, but have you heard of a guy who does laundry to support his family?
Well, there is such an unusual guy in our school.
George Francis, a 17-year-old junior, has taken on the difficult responsibility of
providing for his little sister and brother. He
is father and mother to them, since both his parents are deceased. His three other
sisters have their own families. Fortunately, his youngest brother is cared for by an
aunt.
To be able to feed his siblings and send them to school, George does the laundry of
a family in Moriones. Saturdays he washes their week’s laundry and Sundays, he
irons them, a back-breaking job that assures him P400 a week. And for schooldays,
at 5 p.m., when his classes are over, he cleans the house of his amo for a monthly
wage of P500. In one month, he earns a total of P2,100 which he says is enough for
their food, daily baon and monthly rent of P300.
“I’ve been doing this for three years now,” he says. “Mahirap, pero nasanay na ako
(It’s hard but I’m already used to it).” Despite his work, he manages to get good
grades. And although he has so much to do, he does his share of the housework
because he doesn’t want to tire out his brother and sister “I want them to
concentrate on their studies,” he says.
George Francis is only one of our many students who must struggle daily in order to
survive. If Rhona Mahilom, the girl from Negros who saved her younger sisters and
brothers when their house caught fire, is a hero, George is a hero for saving his
sister and brother from starvation, for giving them a home and family to afford them
the security they badly need in their formative years.
George’s touching story serves as an inspiration to us. We give you, George, a big
round of applause.
We are proud of you and may your tribe increase.