By Reisha Mae F. Valdez, UC student
As an intern in the City Mayor’s Office, I have attended numerous meetings, events, and courtesy visits. Most of them follow a familiar pattern. Guests arrive, introductions are made, discussions take place, photographs are taken, and everyone proceeds with the rest of their day.
On July 8, however, one courtesy visit stayed with me long after it ended.
H.E. Mounir Y.K. Anastas, Ambassador of Palestine to the Philippines, visited Baguio City and spoke about the situation in Gaza. Like many young Filipinos, I have encountered countless news reports about the conflict. I have seen photographs of destroyed buildings, read casualty figures, and watched videos circulating on social media. Yet there is a difference between scrolling past a headline and listening to someone speak about the realities his people continue to face.
What struck me most was the Ambassador’s reminder that many people believe the conflict has already ended. The world’s attention has moved elsewhere. New issues have emerged. New headlines have taken over. Meanwhile, families in Gaza continue to live with the consequences of war.
After the visit, I found myself reading more about the lives of ordinary Palestinians. One story described a young girl who became excited when a washing machine finally worked after months without reliable electricity. It sounds like a small thing. For most of us, it is a routine part of daily life. For her family, it was a moment worth celebrating.
That story forced me to think about how easily we take peace for granted.
We complain when the internet is slow, when traffic delays us, or when power interruptions last a few hours. These inconveniences are frustrating, but they are still inconveniences. In Gaza, many families struggle to secure necessities that we often consider ordinary. Children have grown up surrounded by rubble. Parents continue searching for ways to provide stability in a place where stability itself has become uncertain.
The Ambassador also spoke about Palestinian families who continue creating handcrafted products despite the hardships they face. I found something powerful in that image. Even amid destruction, people continue to work, create, and hope. They continue finding ways to preserve their dignity and support their families.
What I learned from that day was not a lesson about politics. It was a lesson about humanity.
It is easy to become numb when suffering is presented as statistics. Numbers can be read and forgotten. Human stories are harder to ignore. Behind every report from Gaza is a person who wants the same things we do: safety, opportunity, and a future worth looking forward to.
I attended the courtesy visit expecting to document an event. Instead, I left reflecting on a simple question: If we can spare time to pay attention to conflicts when they begin, why do we stop paying attention when people are still suffering?
The distance between Baguio and Gaza is thousands of kilometers. Compassion, however, should never be measured by distance.**
