Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism. This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. How Filipino am I? What right do I have to voice out my opinions about what is happening in the Philippines right now? The last US census in estimated around 3. And yet even if this minority group comprises around 1.
These layers of people are often white , he said. Its premise is heartbreaking: Jay decides to fly from his cold Michigan home all the way to the Philippines after the death of his cousin Jun in the hands of Philippine police. He is confronted with his Filipino relatives who have chosen to forget about his cousin and be silent about the circumstances of his death. Its project is to talk about the drug war through the eyes of a Fil-Am teen, and it does what it sets out to do.
Ribay said he read every article he could pull up regarding the drug war from international and Philippine sources alike. His book pays tribute to this existing reportage. Throughout the book, Jay walks the reader through stories of kids killed in the drug war. He mentions Kian delos Santos, a year-old who was killed on the eve of a high school exam.
Then, they removed the sack, untied him, and slapped a gun in his hands. They stepped back and raise their own, pointing the barrels directly at his face.
I think my job as a novelist is to prepare them for the world, not protect them from it. Ribay is also a high school English teacher, dealing with kids who are between 14 and 18 years old. Jay comes to the Philippines in medias res. His cousin has been killed, linked to drugs. In Manila he meets year-old Mia, a journalism student, who Ribay envisioned as the character that would guide Jay through all of his cluelessness.
