21ST CENTURY LITERATURE

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V I V I E N B L A I S E J . B A J A R D O
S T E M 1 2 . 1

M Y R I S H T . A L A M
2 1 S T C E N T U R Y L I T E R A T U R E T E A C H E R
 REFLECTION PAPER ON
THE SAFE HOUSE
Sandra Nicole Roldan, The Safe House's
author, is a literature and creative writing
professor at the University of the Philippines in
Diliman, Quezon City. At the same university,
she got a degree in Creative Writing. She has
received both local and international writing
residencies in addition to obtaining the
Philippine Free Press literary award for essay.
The plot begins with what could be
viewed as a housing project for middle-class
members of society. Visitors will mostly come
to the house at night, when the family is
sleeping, and no one would notice. They would
spend all night and hold gatherings where
"soldiers, dead bodies," and "escape through
the tall grass is the best way" were frequently
mentioned. A year later, in full view of
everyone, including the neighbors, the father
was apprehended in front of their home. This
sparked the mother's decision to leave; she
does not want any more of this, and she
questions the motivations for a revolution,
believing that it will lead nowhere. She packed
her belongings and left, but not before giving
the children painful kisses while they slept. She
is no longer the innocent little girl who began
the story; she now knows everything. Her father
is one of the revolutionaries who arrived in the
middle of the night.
Sandra Nicole Roldan's story The Safe
House gave me a new perspective and more
insight into Marcos' martial law period. The
activities of Sandra Nicole Roldan's 'The
Safehouse' occurred under the presidency of
Ferdinand Marcos. From her point of view, the
whole plot revolved around a little girl who was
5 years old at the time when her near-ideal life
began to fade away. The story is unique,
intriguing, well-written, and educational. It
expresses the viewpoint of the activists who
fought for independence against Ferdinand
Marcos. In this story, martial law was extremely
oppressive under Marcos' administration and
therefore has no rights, no mercy, and many
people bear the burden of his
rule. I recommend this story to everyone
because it will give them a better
understanding of the history of "martial law,"
but from the perspective of children who
witnessed and experienced the terrible events
that occurred during President Marcos'
dictatorship.