How many Filipinos know how to swim? How many Filipinos are trained to swim under extreme, emergency situations? People pitch in to pull in a small fishing boat's nets on the shore of Curimao, Ilocos Norte. June 2012 We are a nation of islands, but are we a nation of swimmers? I think we have a lot to learn from fishermen, surfers, white-water rafters and kayakers, sailors, long-distance swimmers, scuba divers, people who have experienced the different degrees of the force of water, people who know how to read rivers and oceans, people who have risked their lives in water but in the process learned techniques to survive in rough waters. Is there anybody out there that has developed a module of survival swimming lessons? Can this be taught in P.E. in elementary, high school and college? These are just crazy questions that popped into my head a few days ago, but may be something to consider if typhoons like Yolanda are going to become the new normal. In the Netherlands,
(notes from the voices in my head)