Filipinos and Hannibal Barca

In 249 B.C., Hannibal Barca, the greatest enemy of Rome, grew up in a military camp commanded by his father, the famous Hamilcar Barca, who led Carthage in the first Punic War. Hamilcar would bring his son to battle whenever he could, so that the boy would become a great warrior and leader one day. Thus, young Hannibal learned how to use weapons of war and how to command men even before he had learned how to read and write. Historians even say that Hamilcar taught his son to hate the Rome at a very early age so that Hannibal dedicated his entire life to wage war against the eternal city. According to the Roman historian Livy, before embarking to Spain, Hannibal swore an oath at the behest of his father: "I swear so good as age will permit... I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome."

Carthage, Rome's greatest rival city, held a few colonies in Spain, but because of general Hamilcar's ambitions and desire for vengeance against Rome, Carthage conquered the majority of the Iberian Peninsula. He conquered the area in order strengthen his family's political power and influence in Carthage, and consequently reaffirm Carthage as the greatest naval and military power in Europe. Carthage had lost of Sicily to Rome in the First Punic War and this greatly tarnished his city's prestige and reputation in the entire mediterranean.

Thus, in 236 B.C., Hamilcar, with his son Hannibal, set out for Spain. There he spent several years conquering the Spanish tribes and states in the area, and there, Hannibal was versed in the ways of the Spanish sword. In 228 B.C., his father fell in battle, and Hannibal became the leader of a powerful army composed of soldiers, mercenaries, and criminals.

He then used this army to cross the Alps and kill thousands of Celtic tribes in the process. His goal was to invade the Italian peninsula and pillage Rome herself. After crossing these mountains, he challenged Rome's best legions, destroyed them, and then sacked Italy. In the pivotal Battle of Cannae alone, Hannibal and his men annihilated 70 thousand Romans in a single day. There Hannibal cut off the fingers of hundreds of dead Roman nobles and offered their fingers and rings to his patron God Baal as thanksgiving!

Even after Scipio Africanus had defeated him in the Battle of Zama, Hannibal served the Seleucid King Antiochus III and led the Seleucid navy against the Romans at the battle of Eurymedon.

Defeated there, Hannibal the Great died poisoning himself near the sea of Marmora, before being captured by Roman agents.

This man hated Rome so much that he killed hundreds of thousands of people, marched hundreds of miles with a band of murderers, and then travelled to the most inhospitable places the world had to offer. He wasted his entire life hating a nation that could have been a loyal ally and friend to his family and his country. Because of hate, he destroyed the not only the lives of his enemies, but also the lives of his loved ones.

Filipinos should learn from Hannibal Barca. Simply put, we should learn from history.
Children in the war-torn areas of Mindanao are taught how to use automatic machine guns in a very early age. Worse, their parents teach them how to decapitate their captured and defenseless enemies. Remember what happened to an Italian priest in Mindanao years ago? This unnerving hate has been passed on from father to son, so that the cycle of violence in Mindanao has kept on repeating itself for decades. This, together with the problems of poverty and unemployment, create a hopeless situation for children living in these affected areas. Why wouldn't these children want a piece of the action? They can get paid handsomely if they work for separatist rebels, as they are offered wages way above the minimum wage and their families get cash benefits and protection as well. Kids their age are more heavily armed and better supported than government soldiers and can get to eat three times a day out there in the battlefield!
And if they ever get caught killing a dozen government soldiers, all they have to do to be set free is to start crying "Human Rights!".
Then come Human Rights lawyers from Manila ever-ready to defend them.
Being a soldier in Mindanao is clearly a better deal for these children than begging on the streets, selling drugs, and even becoming child prostitutes.
Solve this hate and you end the war.
Fuel this hate and our country will be burned to the ground like the great Carthage, by an angry mob of vengeful and desperate children!
It wouldn't be a good idea to breed an army of Hannibal Barca's, not in this day and age, since the Hannibal Barca's today carry machine guns!
So, take my advice and restart the Mindanao Peace Talks.
It's the Christian thing to do.
http://miguelgoitia.blogspot.com/