Independent, yet not quite

Independent, yet not quite (tentative title)

Finding Filipino voices in an American colonial archive, like those at the University of Michigan, is difficult--but not impossible. In the William Clements Library is a 14" x 10" x 3" gray box labelled "Carl F. Eichenlaub Papers, 1944 -1955," containing letters from friends in the Philippines who wrote to Carl Eichenlaub, an American soldier stationed in the country during the Second World War. Spanning from 1944 to 1955, these correspondences capture a unique moment of rapid political shifts and a changing social order seen through the eyes of Filipinos.

Some early letters from the collection talk about the end of the war and the "victory." Ricardo V Ferrando, writing on October 1, 1944, in Davao, recounts:

This statement suggests the importance of the event in his life, of remembering the moment when the war ended. Marcelina Bamabalan, likewise, talks about this significant change when she asked Eichenlaub in a letter dated September 2, 1945, how he felt about the war's end:

 

In these letters, we find ordinary people's comments, opinions, and feelings about events that affected not only the nation and the world but everyday lives--a glimpse of what it must have been like to be a Filipino living in the Philippines after the war.

Because the war's end was followed by independence from American rule in 1946, hope and nationalistic fervour can be felt from these letters. On September 11, 1945, Aurora Ocampo wrote, "It's true we are all happy for the war is over, and we will be able to live in peace and rebuild our country more beautiful than before." And Marcelina Bambalan, on November 20, 1945, sends Eichenlaub the Tagalog lyrics to the song "Bayan Ko" (My Country), a patriotic song that speaks of the Philippines' suffering and longing for freedom.

These letters from the early years of the postwar and independence expressed an environment of need in the everyday lives of Filipinos. Amid the relief, hope, and excitement of the war's end and the nation's independence, we read about the poor living conditions and political unrest ordinary Filipinos experienced in these correspondences. Teacher Susan Penoria, in her letter on December 3, 1949, mentions the compromised education system, high prices of essential goods, the elections, the HUK rebellion, and the devastation of a recent typhoon. She describes the difficulties of her life that ordinary Filipinos like her must have also experienced. In the same letter she thanks Eichenlaub for the food, letter, and book she received from him and asks for shoes, clothes, and books. Several of Eichenlaub's Filipino friends, likewise, asked for similar things, including material for clothing and a typewriter. Eichenlaub, who must have seen the devastation and poor living conditions during the war, responded by providing basic goods that his Filipino friends needed.

This everyday situation in the lives of ordinary people mirrored the larger condition of the Philippines' dependence on aid from the United States. Despite being politically independent of the United States, the Philippines depended on US aid to survive through programs like USAID—much like the everyday situation we glean from these letters to Eichenlaub. Filipinos were relieved and happy about the war's end and hopeful for the nation's future. They were independent! However, despite political independence, they found themselves in need of basic things. Just as the United States provided aid to the Philippines, we see the same relationship on a much smaller scale in the everyday lives of ordinary Filipinos like Ricardo Ferrando and Susan Penoria.