The scholarship grant for Academic Year 2005-2006 given by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI) to students who wish to pursue higher studies in Spain is about to end in less than three months. I am very fortunate to have been included in this batch of hopefuls and even more fortunate to have been renewed for another year.
This sounds overly maudlin, but I still can remember all the procedures I have gone through to get this scholarship. While the stipend and other benefits are rather generous, the paperwork is hell. One has to secure letters upon letters of recommendation. All documents should be translated, verified and reverified by government offices; each office collects a hefty sum of money. Coordinating with the university and looking for a place to stay further worsen the whole process. In the end, when the scholar finally reaches Spanish soil with his 30-kilo luggage, he exposes himself to another barrage of paper and people.
Are all these hassles worth it?
I have been pondering on the question for awhile, and I have to confess that many times I find the answer confusing. After all, why would anyone exchange a comfortable life in the Philippines for a life of endless nostalgia and anxiety in Spain? Why would anyone prefer cooking his own meals and doing his own laundry to having a shared space with the family? Why would anyone risk associating himself with Spaniards who could be very cold and reserved?
At first glance, the answer comes across as unconvincing at its best. The money is good, yes, but when you begin spending as a student and as a tourist, you realize that whatever stipend you receive would soon be reduced to just barely enough. Learning the language is another thing, but I know Filipinos who speak Spanish masterfully without having gone to Spain.
Then the trivialiaties begin coming out: finding yourself a partner in Spain, marrying a European, looking for work in the country, starting anew etc. From this vantage point, it seems to me that the scholarly aspect of the program is relegated to the background while the socioeconomic realities impose themselves on the scholar. And for a good reason: a professional who holds a graduate degree earns less and has less social security in Manila than does a chamber maid in Madrid or a caregiver in Andalusia. To be sick in the Philippines automatically means condemning yourself to a life of debts and frustrations while the same situation translates to free health services and medical assistance in Spain. Growing old in the Philippines is waiting for death to come while in Spain it only means getting more involved with the gentler side of life and some quiet walk in the park.
In short, to choose Spain over the Philippines seems to be the wiser choice. Had only the Philippines been better…
Then it hits me: this is exactly what international cooperation means. International cooperation does not mean landing yourself a job in Spain after studying. It does not mean jumping at the first European to be your mate as if human relationships are empty business decisions and changing partners is as easy as signing a cheque. It does not mean sacrificing the dignity of academic formation for a chance to lead a relatively secure albeit redundant life of domesticity. International cooperation does not mean escaping the problems back home.
I still remember what I wrote in my application: I am applying for this scholarship because I want to learn more about Spain and I want Spain to learn something about the Philippines. While I do not have anything against anyone who prefers to stay in Spain after the scholarship, I feel that for any international program of such proportions to be effective, it is necessary to go back to where the candidate comes from and serve.
Many people have asked and urged me to stay in Spain as an immigrant. But I have a simple reason why I would want to return to the Philippines in 2007 and that is, if I stay here, I would not have used what I have learned and what Spain has spent money for.
The situation back in the country is bleak and seemingly hopeless, but the objectives of the AECI program — or anything scholarship grant for that matter — require those who have had the exposure to the developments overseas to return and rally their country toward the same direction. The impression that Spain has given must not be taken as a mere invitation to love it, period, but as a challenge to revive the Philippines. Sooner or later, one has to disengage from the utopian sensations of the privileges of the grant and engage in the more demanding but necessary task of national development.
(A todos mis colegas filipinos en el programa AECI del año 2005-2006, para que contribuyamos todos juntos al bien común de Filipinas en cualquier manera que nos convenga a cada uno.)
