After watching "Paraisong Salat", a documentary by Kara David, I have learned a lot of things. The documentary was interesting because it covers the life and struggles of a family living on the island, and it definitely was an eye-opener for me and for the whole class. It shed little information about the island, but instead it highlighted the lives of Sarfaina and her family confronting the difficulties of everyday living on the island where there is no water, no electricity, not a school for the children or health center for the infirmed.

I was amazed and at the same time felt bad for the family, especially for Sarfaina. Sarfaina at her age of 14, and being the oldest of the nine children, has been paddling their family's boat every day of her life. She has been tasked with the most important chore in their house which is fetching water from the mainland. It seems that Sarfaina never did once complain about their life. If I was in her situation, I would not know if was able to become like her as she remains full of hope. She even went back to studying, unmindful of the fact that she is too old for Grade 4. Because for her, education is her only avenue to her dreams. In my own opinion, living on the island is such a great deal to anyone. This is shown when Sarfaina traverse the Moro Gulf, which takes her almost an hour and lining up with the rest of waterless Zamboanga residents can take her almost two hours.

I have watched a lot of documentaries in the past, but this is one of the few where I felt a genuine connection. Seeing those people enduring the harshness of living on the island would make me realized that there are more people who are suffering greater than me. This documentary truly enlightened me; before watching it, I barely had an understanding of the life of other people. But after watching this, I have learned to open my eyes and understand what life do other people have, and how do they live that life..

pur-new-sol

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