UP Ibalon Bicol: Life on the railway tracks & the fate of Isadora Duncan

Life on the railway tracks & the fate of Isadora Duncan

9/12/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

It’s the same accident that happened to 50 year old famed American dancer Isadora Duncan who met her gruesome death when her scarf was caught in a car's wheel while motoring on September 14, 1927 in Nice, France. (Isadora Duncan, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed., 2008)

Miss Duncan was choked by the constricting grip of a hand-painted scarf, a gift by Russian-born artist Roman Chatov. She who lived against the norm of her day claimed a place in history for her dance as much as her manner of passing.

In the Philippines, in a report which appeared in GMANewsTV on September 12, 2008, 22 year old Pandacan resident Imee Sapacio suffered serious brain injuries and almost died when her umbrella got entangled by a passing train on the way to Tutuban station in Divisoria, an old section of Manila.

She was knocked down, dragged and rendered unconscious before being rushed to the hospital.

Luckily she survived.

Life on the Railway Track (Vida en la via del ferrocarril)

"Marami ang palatandaan ng kahirapan: mga lumang bahay,
maduming barrio, mga lalaking walang kamiseta,
at ang tingin ng pag-aalala..."

"Dakul an senales kan pagti'os, mga lumang harong,
ma-ating lugar, mga lalaking mayong kamiseta,
sagkod hiling nin pag'hadit..."

"Muchas signos de pobreza: casas viejas,
pueblos sucios,hombres descamisados
y la mirada de angustia..."

"Many signs of poverty: old houses,
dirty villages, unshirted men,
and the look of anguish...."
---AFM, September 12, 2008

Imee may not like the life of poverty like Miss Duncan especially in a crowded blighted path of a train which snakes its way in the heart of the city. But it’s a perilous reality that she hardly can escape. Like thousands of squatters, she lives near the railroad tracks, ignoring the dangers of the squalid neighborhood and the noise of passing trains.

In spite of the government attempts to relocate the squatters, crowding continues. A fact of life, this is a big challenge in urban places like Manila which attract settlers from towns and provinces in search for better life. Photo Credits: olr2004; UPA; dy85duTpa; 3bp.blogspot; Maluche,A)