By: Alex P. Vidal
“Such is the endless dilemma of dialect. Not every reader will ever agree with the way that I handle it, no matter how hard I work to keep everything readable. But again it’s that balance I have to maintain between keeping it easy and keeping it real, and I know that I’ll never please everyone.” – Susanna Kearsley
I WOULD be in the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters in New York City when the 74th Annual United Nations General Assembly opened officially morning on September 23, 2019.
I’d be there as a journalist from the South East Asia or “the Third World.”
My primary duty is to listen to the speeches of state leaders and collect materials for my references and future articles.
I have no major role except to gather important facts and share the stories with my blog and newspaper readers.
More importantly, I’d help chronicle this great event, which unfolded this week against a backdrop of crises – from the warming planet to economic uncertainty to flaring conflicts that threaten to further entangle the United States in the volatile Middle East.
There is a myriad of global issues that don’t directly involve my country, the Philippines, such as trade wars, migration, energy supplies, climate change and the eradication of poverty underpin the basic themes of the 193-member General Assembly agenda, but, in one way or the other, will affect how the Filipinos will live and interact with the rest of the world in the next 10 years and beyond.
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Meanwhile, if were the Philippines’ representative in the United Nations (U.N.), I would speak in Kinaray-a or Karay-a, my second local dialect (the first is Hiligaynon).
It would be the job of the U.N. interpreters to translate my words; they have been translating in English some of the most grotesque and tongue-twister languages for decades.
Some of the most controversial state leaders in history who had spoken in the U.N. General Assembly didn’t deliver their speeches in English, yet the world listened.
Kinaray-a is one of the most colorful dialects in the world.
The Kinaray-a inhabit the coastal areas and riversides of western Panay, and interior of Panay island in the Western Visayas Region; and certain villages in Mindanao, according to the Ethnic Groups of the Philippines.
They are reportedly concentrated in the provinces of Antique and Iloilo. Hiligaynon, the language of the Ilonggos, was derived from the Kinaray-a language.
The Kinaray-a are striving to preserve their traditions, it added.
They have reportedly created their own kind of music called OKM (Original Kinaray-a Music), reminiscent of their melodic composos (narrative verses).
Their theme song, “Antique, Banwa nga Hamili,” expresses their love for their home, their banwa–the birthplace of a hardworking, brave group of people, added the Ethnic Groups of the Philippines.
In the 1940s, many Kinaray-a reportedly left for Mindanao, especially those without good farmlands in Panay, lured by the promise of bountiful fertile lands. Being industrious, those who settled in Mindanao established well-heeled communities and achieved great prosperity with their lands.
Regrettably, tension has been reportedly growing between the Kinaray-a and neighboring Muslim groups; who feel their lands have been unfairly taken by the Kinaray-a.
It’s about time the U.N. heard the Kinaray-a in its august halls.
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Among the issues that concern our Asian region during the U.N. General Assembly is how to resolve the conflict between Japan and South Korea, America’s key Asian allies.
Their leaders are reportedly not on speaking terms.
A protracted feud between Japan and South Korea, rooted in the legacy of Japan’s wartime occupation, has led to downgraded trade relations and the end of an intelligence-sharing agreement, reported the New York Times.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea are not expected to meet with each other.
Whether Mr. Trump can induce them into a three-way conversation remains unclear. And an objective shared by all three – North Korea’s nuclear disarmament – may see little or no progress.
While Mr. Moon is expected to urge Mr. Trump to renew his push for diplomacy with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, no senior North Korean official plans to attend the General Assembly.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
