Dean Kagan, Vice-Dean Alford, professors, classmates, families, and friends. Let
me first thank our tireless graduate program staff. They were the first friendly faces who
greeted me, told me which functions offered free food, and what to do if you faint during
your final exams. Assistant Dean Jeanne Tai, Nancy Pinn, Heather Wallick, Curtis
Morrow, Jane Bestor, Chris Nepple: This year would not have been possible without you.
But this goes to everyone: Thank you all for truly making us feel part of this
community. We LLMs became your fellow students after your Salsa Party, Chinese and
Korean New Year, African Night, and our International Party. To honor you, we took
Europe by storm, winning in the inaurgural Negotiation Challenge, in the European Law
Moot Court, and in the Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court. Of
course, you truly become part of Harvard Law School when you're featured in the Parody.
Not so long ago, Cambridge seemed a strange, unfriendly place- especially when
I first saw Gropius. I went to John Harvard's with the British, who began chittering in
what I discovered was actually English- the real English. I complained I was not used to
cold, but a Saudi Arabian reminded me that you can fry eggs on a sidewalk in Dubai. An
Italian gave me tips on women because Italian men are the world's greatest lovers, with
the disclaimer that their style does not work on American women. A Malaysian was
asked to explain the religious significance of the color of her hijab, or headscarf. She
would answer: It had to match her blouse.
Soon, we found that great substance that keeps any law school together: alcohol.
On New Year's Eve, a Belarusian handed me a glass of vodka, but scolded me when I
began to sip it. Sipping, he emphasized, was not the Russian way. I shared a Frenchman?s
champagne, a Peruvian's pisco sour, a Costa Rican?s pina colada, a Brazilian?s caipirinha,
a Mexican's tequila, and a Japanese sake. And apologies to the Germans, but I learned
how even weak American beer is potent when you drink it with the Irish.
We found greater common ground. The Swiss complained about American
chocolate, the New Zealanders complained about American cheese, the Sri Lankans
complained about American tea, the Indians complained about the lack of vegetarian
food, and everyone complained that American food makes you fat. An Austrian made
homemade apfelstrudel. A Nigerian made homemade fried plantains. The Pakistanis
made a non-spicy version of keema, and I only needed eight glasses of water during the
meal. All the Americans had was Three Aces pizza.
As for me, I come from the Philippines, a former American colony best known for
Imelda Marcos?s shoe collection. I remember being a six-year old watching my parents
walk out of our house to join the crowds gathering to depose the dictator Ferdinand
Marcos and form human walls against tanks. I remember being a twenty-year old in a
different crowd deposing a different but equally corrupt president.
It was liberating to hear how a Chilean danced with crowds in the streets when
Pinochet was arrested. How the Chinese come to grips with Tiananmen Square, while
convinced that one cannot transplant American-style government wholesale to Beijing.
How life changed in the former Soviet Union; how it was like growing up in a fledgling
Eastern European country. How a Pakistani discussed Musharraf?s assault on judicial
independence with a South African worried about Mugabe?s own acts in Zimbabwe.
It was even more liberating to hear from a Korean prosecutor how his country
sent two former presidents to jail. How the Swiss have preserved their tradition of
independence and referendum. How Ghana threw off its colonial fetters and inspired a
conscious African solidarity. How a Bhutanese wants to help shape her constitution after
her king voluntarily gave up absolute power.
I cannot deny that our generation's issues will be complex, but I can guarantee
that they will never be abstract, not after having a classmate who was an Israeli army drill
sergeant, not after having a Chinese classmate with a Taiwanese girlfriend, nor after
having a classmate chased by gunmen out of Afghanistan. In fact, when George W.
Bush's speechwriter visited, my Iranian classmate introduced himself: "Hi, I'm from an
Axis of Evil country."
Friends, my most uplifting thought this year has been that the more we learn
about each other, the more we realize that we are all alike, and the more we inspire each
other to realize our most heartfelt yearnings. My single most memorable moment here
came when I met South African Justice Albie Sachs, left with only one arm after an
assassination attempt during apartheid. My classmate stood up and said: "South Africa is
the world's second most unequal country. I come from Brazil, the world's most unequal
country, and I admire how the South African Constitutional Court has inspired the
progress of human rights throughout the world."
And this is how Harvard has changed us. We recall struggling with English to
keep pace with the world's most brilliant professors, especially with Elizabeth Warren's
Socratic blitzkriegs, and we thank Harvard for raising our thinking to a higher, broader
level. But even the most powerful ideas demand passion to set them aflame. The passion
we ignite today is fueled by a collage of vignettes that will remind us in this crucible of
life that our peers in faraway lands face the same frustrations, the same nation building
ordeals, the same sorrows, and ultimately, the same shared joys and triumphs.
How do a mere 700 change the world, even with overpriced Harvard diplomas?
Before a great battle in China's Spring and Autumn Period, the legendary King Gou Jian
of Yue was presented with fine wine. He ordered his troops to stand beside a river, and
poured the wine into it. He ordered them to drink from the river and share his gift. A
bottle of wine cannot flavor a river, but the gesture so emboldened his army that they
won a great victory. We of the Class of 2007 shall flavor this earth, whether we be wine,
champagne, pisco sour, pina colada, caipirinha, tequila, sake, jagermeister, raki, Irish
stout, Ugandan Warabi, or Philippine lambanog.
Thus, my friends, and this includes our American classmates who will soon lead
the world's lone superpower: let us transcend our individual nationalities and affirm that
we are CITIZENS OF THE WORLD. Maraming salamat po, at mabuhay kayong lahat.
*My Law Sch classmate forwarded this speech by Atty Tan, who's a friend of his. Atty Tan's a Filipino. I'm posting it in the spirit of sharing. :D I am certain everyone who's gone out can very much relate to the experiences of the Harvard Law Grad. 'Di ba?
Eek, maybe not. Not for overseas workers doing mean jobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment