MANILA, Philippines - Steve Psinakis?s ?A Country Not Even His Own? (Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008) is the riveting autobiography of the Greek engineer and activist married to prominent Filipina, Presy Lopez, of the Lopez clan.

It?s the long-awaited sequel to the author?s first book, ?Two Terrorists Meet,? written in 1981, when Psinakis was called a ?terrorist? by President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

?Yet on the front cover of the first book is the picture of the author and that of Imelda Marcos, whose own and her husband?s connections with Presidents Richard Nixon and Reagan are undeniable, scandalous and self-defeating,? writes former Sen. Jovito Salonga in the foreword to ?A Country Not Even His Own.?

Psinakis writes he owes to former President Corazon Aquino the title of his new book. Aside from his being a close friend of her husband, Ninoy, she writes in the book?s first foreword: ?Steve?s steadfast commitment all those years to the struggle to restore democracy in the Philippines was admirable and inspirational. For him, the Filipino cause took precedence over everything else and never did he waver in making whatever sacrifices were necessary.?

After Greece, the Philippines became Steve?s second country.

Relevant

This book?s relevance is best described by Salonga when, a year after Psinakis had been honored by Filipino public officials (including an Aquino presidential citation in 1988) and civic society for all he had done in helping restore freedom and democracy in the Philippines, Psinakis was indicted for an alleged violation committed five years earlier:

?Why should President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz and their subordinates persecute Steve Psinakis? Why should the prosecutors even offer to enter into a plea-bargaining agreement with him?an offer Steve refused? This book gives the answers and puts into question what is going on in Iraq and other places in the world under President George W. Bush.?

This 304-page volume not only tells of the childhood years of Steve, his first marriage, but also his early days as project mechanical engineer at Meralco tasked with the building of its Rockwell power plant.

His love for the Philippines and its people started during those days, as shown by his appreciation of the skills of Filipino engineers, who he felt was being shortchanged by the American management.

?I gradually identified well-educated and competent Filipino engineers and advanced them to managerial positions. I gave them technical books on power technology which they quickly absorbed. I challenged them to outdo their American colleagues, which they easily achieved because they were better qualified and motivated. The company?s morale, profits and overall performance improved considerably,? writes Psinakis.

When Don Eugenio Lopez bought Meralco, Psinakis observed that the then powerful tycoon ?did something the previous owners never did. He said: ?We are all one team; we work together as a family,? which included the American employees. He did not fire any of them, he just let them gradually retire and the positions that opened up were filled by Filipinos.

Psinakis relates how he became close to the Lopez family, particularly to the owner?s first-born son, Geny, eventually marrying his ?baby? sister, and Don Eugenio?s ?crown jewel,? his only daughter, Presy. Their relationship did not come without a threat from Don Eugenio that he would disown and disinherit her.

After overcoming obstacles, it would be a marriage that has lasted till the present, ?thirty-nine years of happiness, every day of which I am grateful for,? says Steve.

Turbulent years

Psinakis? account of the Marcos years; the falling out between the Marcos and Lopez families; martial law, kidnappings, murders, human-rights violations; the imprisonment of Geny Lopez and Serge Osmena; their families? sufferings during those trying years; the surrender to the Marcos cronies of the Lopez companies; the dramatic escape from prison; the opposition?s role in the Philippines and in the United States; Ninoy?s assassination; Cory?s presidency; the author?s own ordeal with the FBI?are dramatically but concisely told, replete with documents, letters and newspaper clippings as appendices.

The book provides a history of the Philippines during its very troubled years, coming from one who helped restore democracy and from someone who can fill in the gap of what really happened.

It?s the story of foreign relations between two allies, the Philippines and the United States. But most of all, this book is for the youth, for those who have not had the chance to live through those turbulent years and may forget what truly happened.

Geni Lopez-Psinakis, the author?s daughter, and his nephew Yorgos, in their introduction to the book, sum it in these words: ?Although on one day they (Filipino people who are gregarious, cheerful, forgiving) may revolt and demonstrate by the hundreds of thousands to topple a regime, given time they may forgive and elect the very person they tried to oust, back into office. Then that person has a chance to rewrite history?justify the wrongs done, legitimize theft, pardon corrupt officials, release convicted murderers, make heroes out of executioners, make villains out of freedom fighters, ridicule sacrifice. Rewrite history.?

Available in leading bookstores.