Back in the Philippines, Corpuz's 16-year-old son, Lance, and his brother Virgil, 13, open the box their father sent home.

NPR: Gift Boxes Help Migrant Filipinos Keep Ties to Home

Perhaps, just like the Provisionals' old twin track armalite and ballot box strategy, society has to keep its options open.

BBC: Can the dissidents be brought in from the cold?