Rhejean Lozano Section 2A11

How Rizal is reflected then and now

Do you ever believe in the saying, “History repeats itself”? In my opinion, yes, history can repeat
itself. An example is shown on how related are the current situation we have with this Coronavirus
Pandemic and the situation Rizal had when he was deported in Dapitan and executed in Bagumbayan.
Each situation may happen on different era but the same lesson and essence lies within each of them.

During Rizal’s deportation in Dapitan, he stayed there for four years, wherein he was place
under the supervision of the politico-military commander of the district. He was not to escape the place
without the military authorities’ approval or order. It is somewhat the same to Rizal’s situation when he
was detained in Bagumbayan during his trial wherein he was guarded by Spanish soldiers and he can
only be visited by friends, camaraderie and family. The only difference is that in his deportation, Rizal
can go anywhere around Dapitan while reporting to Carnicero once a week; while in his arrest, Rizal
can’t go anywhere except the cell he was imprisoned into. This situations Rizal were into is reflected in
our current situation in battling with the Coronavirus disease. We are similar to Rizal in a way that we
cannot go to anywhere we like due to the lockdown imposed by our government to mitigate the
infections of the said disease. Like Rizal, we are prohibited by authorities to do certain things that we do
on a normal basis before. We must only stay at our homes or in the place we are located during the
lockdown and are as productive as we can during these times.

However, we would notice that in both in Dapitan and in Bagumbayan, Rizal never failed to be
as productive and helpful as he can. He built a clinic and a farm, attended church services, made
improvements in the plaza of Dapitan, taught students, designed waterwork systems, fell in love and
continued to study. Even in his arrest, he was still productive because he continued to pray and confess
during his stayed at the prison chapel, he gave out souvenirs to his family, read books, and finished
poems and some of his novels. This is applicable in our present situation wherein our frontliners are like
Rizal, treating patients of the Coronavirus. They continue to serve the people especially in this crisis just
like Rizal amidst his deportation and situation as an exile. Just like us students right now, we continue to
study amidst the pandemic through online classes with the guidance of our teachers through online
platforms just like Rizal continued to study. We can continue to learn our respective fields, gaining
knowledge that can help others in the future. We can also do gardening and improving our backyard at
our respective home during this lockdowns just as Rizal did to his farm and the watersystems in Dapitan.
We could also record the situation were just as Rizal did by making souvenirs and literature pieces to
preserve the situation were in. We can write short stories, journals or any literature pieces we can make
to describe what is happening to us during this crisis, how we feel about it and what are we currently
doing to address it. Lastly, and most importantly, we can strengthen our faith during this moment of
help and desperation by continuously praying and confessing like Rizal did. He exemplified how we can
improve our belief in God by reflecting by ourselves and what is happening around us.

To sum it up, history can repeat itself but it a different face and form. What repeats is the
lessons and gist that we can learn from it. Therefore, as history tells us that things and situation may
come again at us, we should never forget the lesson Rizal brought by applying it and being a means of
change not only during this crisis but in any situation we might face in the future. We should go back of
what he did along with others heroes for us not to lose on track and continue to walk on to the right
path.