A Fighting Chance

We all need a fighting chance in life. To dream the impossible.  To beat the unbeatable.  To reach the unreachable.  To have bold visions in pursuit of our diverse interests and passions.  However, we all have different life circumstances.  We have different opportunities, challenges, and even luck in life.  Some are born with a silver spoon, but many don’t have anything to put in the spoon.  In some parts of the world, they don’t even know what a spoon is at all.  

For some, it’s a dilemma of what shoes to wear to match a wardrobe for an event. Yet, for some, it’s a luxury to afford shoes or slippers to withstand the scorching heat of the Saharan desert.  Some couldn’t decide what beverage or liquor to drink to match a hearty meal, but access to clean-potable water is already a treat for two billion people around the world without access to clean drinking water.  Life is not fair.  It is the survival of the fittest.  The powerful gets more powerful. The weak gets weaker, rich people gets richer, and the poor people gets poorer.  

Liposuction is a 4.7 B industry and growing.  It is an industry driven by people paying a large amount to reverse the result of overeating, while more than a quarter of the global population does not have anything to eat.  There are between 5 to 14 people dying of starvation per minute.  Every 5 minutes, there are 5 children under the age of 5 dying because of dehydration and diseases related to not having access to clean water in Africa alone.  So, by the end of this 5-minute read, there will be at least 5 people who’ll die of starvation and another 5 children who’ll die of dehydration.

After more than six million years of evolution of intelligent life on Earth, you might wonder why we haven’t discovered a solution and a formula to combat poverty, exclusion, and inequality. Well, I guess the answer lies from within; it’s all because of selfish human nature. The Law of self-preservation influences most of our actions.  DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and free education for all are still figments of our imagination.   Until morality, ethics, and pluralism prevail over nationalism, unconscious bias, and ego — we will be at the losing end of the battle, particularly those in the lowest economic bracket of society.

People close to me know that I never talk about politics and religion.  I personally believe that the politics-religion combo is the perfect recipe for disaster and has always been a major source of conflict throughout the history of humanity caused by differing beliefs that typically lead to wars and atrocities. In the medieval period, during the Crusades, Christians and Muslims waged wars against each other driven by territorial and religious disputes. Similarly, tensions in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants have historical roots in religious differences and preferences.  Jihad, in Islam, is technically described as the spiritual struggle for self-improvement.  Yet, groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS have invoked Jihad to justify acts of terrorism — claiming they are fighting for the defense of Islam against perceived enemies. The current Israel-Palestine situation is one of the most recent conflicts involving religion and politics.  This conflict was historically rooted in the religious significance of Jerusalem, being claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. In the early 20th century, Jewish and Arab nationalist movements emerged, they were both seeking sovereignty in the same land. The Balfour Declaration in 1917 ruled in favor of the Jews, promising a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.  The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 intensified the conflict.  On October 7, 2023, the "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" started when the Hamas group allegedly fired over 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes.  The impact of this conflict has reverberated worldwide, including on campuses.

Last May 23, during the 373rd commencement ceremony at Harvard Yard, some students walked out to support the 13 senior students involved in the pro-Palestinian encampment activities on the Harvard campus.  The undergrad and the college of law speakers supported and pleaded for the 13 seniors to walk during the graduation ceremonies. Shruthi Kumar, who delivered the Senior English Address, said, “I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and the right to civil disobedience on campus.”

I root for these students to graduate if they meet the qualifications and requirements.  However, we must also consider that Harvard has its own bylaws and protocols as a private institution.  This is the same as following the constitution if you live in any country, the bylaws of an organization if you belong to one, or simply abiding by the clauses of any contract.  Yes, the students have the right to protest peacefully, express their opinions, and fight for what they believe is right within what is permissible.  And if they know the consequences of their actions and still decide to take them, then perhaps it is for a higher noble cause worth the sacrifice.

Maria Ressa, the main Commencement speaker, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a fellow Filipino, and a journalist, warned Harvard not to silence student protesters. “Harvard, you are being tested,” Ressa said. “The campus protests are testing everyone in America. Protests give voice; they shouldn’t be silenced,” she added.

At the heart of Harvard’s emblem is a single word, “VERITAS” which means truth.  For humanity to evolve, we must first accept and admit the truth and reality to know right from wrong and combat ignorance.  Second, we need to favor pluralism and authentically embrace diversity by judging people by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin, religion, culture, sexual preference, political belief, economic stature, or nationality.  Third, no one should be privileged or prejudiced for the same reasons.  Fourth, education must be free, or at least socialized (based on one’s capacity to pay), to give those in underprivileged communities a fighting chance in life.  Through education, we can obtain knowledge.  Through knowledge, we can obtain the truth.  And the truth will give us the wisdom to do the right thing.  Therefore, education is the only way to cure ignorance — and live in harmony despite our differences.

I am Romeo Siquijor, born and raised in the Philippines, a third-world Southeast Asian country.  A country where it is common to see street children scavenging for food in the trash bins.  I grew up in a small province called Bulacan, in a middle-income family.  I had to work two jobs to get through college.  Education gave me a fighting chance, while hard work and finding or creating opportunities gave me an edge in life. 

In the last 25 years, I grew through the ranks to become the Regional Head of IT for North America in one of the largest building materials companies in the world called Cemex.  After six years and at 50 years of age, I finally graduated with a Masters in Information Management System (Cum Laude) at Harvard Extension School, a realization of a life-long dream.   And to give something back to the world, I’m committed to using all the things I learned at Harvard and in life to promote socialized education to help underserved communities and countries — and give them a fighting chance in life.  

While at Harvard, I founded the Metagen DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), a non-profit organization that aims to provide free and socialized education focused on teaching advanced technologies, ecology, and leadership to underserved communities and countries (click figure below to check our free courses).  Our mission is to give the next generations (the Metagens) a fighting chance in life.  A fighting chance to collectively combat global warming and climate change.  A fighting chance to collaboratively eliminate hunger and build a platform that will create generational wealth.  A fighting chance to promote peace and reduce the chance of self-destructing our planet.  A fighting chance for humanity to live in a golden era of prosperity and harmony within an international community.  A fighting chance to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion.  A fighting chance to instill diversity through pluralism — to unite rather than to divide.  A fighting chance to build a global society without prejudice of religion, culture, color, race, politics, and economic stature — no territorial boundaries nor walls, no “I’” but “we,” isn’t that a better world to live in and better cause to fight for?