Friday, June 27, 2008
Multisec Mob Ng Sahod, Trabajo, at Karapatan!
June 26, 2008
We participated in a 2,500 strong multisectoral mobilization. The march highlighted the immediate economic crisis: rising food, oil and electricity prices, as well as low wages, hunger and home demolitions. The rallying cry was for the ouster of GMA.
The cultural presentations and props at the rally were effective at re-creating the struggles of the masses.
Pahirap sa Masa! Patalsikin si Gloria!
We participated in a 2,500 strong multisectoral mobilization. The march highlighted the immediate economic crisis: rising food, oil and electricity prices, as well as low wages, hunger and home demolitions. The rallying cry was for the ouster of GMA.
The cultural presentations and props at the rally were effective at re-creating the struggles of the masses.
Pahirap sa Masa! Patalsikin si Gloria!
Ilitaw at Palayain Karen at Sherlyn!
June 25, 2008, the second anniversary of the forced disappearance of Karen and Sherlyn, two University of the Philippines students, accused of no more than standing on the side of the most oppressed sectors of Philippine society. Karen and Sherlyn were snatched in Bulacan, along with peasant Manuel Merino, from a rural farming community. To this day, Karen and Sherlyn have not been resurfaced, and their fate is unknown.
On this day Aiyanas and I attended a forum and protest rally at the UP, to call for the surfacing of Karen and Sherlyn, to educate the students and faculty of UP on the human rights situation in the Philippines, and to demonstrate to UP administrators and the government of the Philippines that political persecution and terrorizing of progressive forces must be stopped!
Context:
It is in the context of the daily human rights violations, of forced displacement due to military counterinsurgency and corporate plunder of natural resources, such as Canadian mining operations, that the struggle for genuine human rights, for land reform, and for national liberation arises.
Recent trends in poverty exacerbate a nation already pushed to the brink by political corruption, IMF/WB structural adjustment conditionality, WTO enforced trade liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and an intensified counter-insurgency program.
Annual average incomes have been dropping, from 145,000 Pesos in 2000 to 125,000 Pesos in 2006; this sum amounts to a National average daily income of Canadian $255 per month. 10%, or a full 1/5th of the workforce is working overseas in order to send home the vital remittances which keep the economy of the Philippines afloat.
It was in the context of the complete abdication of responsibility for the masses of Filipinos by the Gloria Macapagal Regime that UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan decided to dedicate their talents and energies towards serving the people through legal means. Sherlyn, an award-winning athlete, was the Basic Masses Integration Officer of the UP Student Council, responsible for connecting students with the lived conditions and struggles of workers and peasants, joining in pickets and actions, as well as taking students out on exposure trips to the communities and the countryside. Karen was a generous-hearted social sciences student who actively supported the struggles of the workers and peasants, and who participated in a rural exposure trip. It was on such a trip to an impoverished community to integrate with peasants, that these two bright young women were snatched by military forces and ‘disappeared’.
Since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power in 2001 following the ouster of President Joseph Estrada, there have been more than 900 extrajudicial killings, including leaders and activists from the trade-union, peasant, women, health and student sectors as well as from progressive political party lists. As the rate of the killings has decreased (but not stopped) in response to international pressure generated by grassroots and establishment human rights groups, the rate of enforced disappearances has simultaneously increased with 193 victims to date, most of them in 2006 and 2007 when international attention was most focused on the human rights situation in the Philippines. Yet, already this year there have been 13 extrajudicial killings and 1 forced disappearance!
All sectors of progressive Filipinos have felt the impact of the red-baiting, intense harassment, and political terrorism of the GMA regime. Both students and teachers alike have been targeted. On January 10, 2007, Jose Maria Sui, a 53-year-old university professor, was shot dead in his classroom on the University of Eastern Philippines North Samar campus. There have been 9 documented killings of teachers, and one teacher forcibly disappeared, according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), a legal organization of progressive teachers. Two of those victims of extrajudicial killings were members of the ACT National Congress.
There is a direct relationship between the black propaganda of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and those victims of extrajudicial killings. Jose Maria Sui was directly named in a red-baiting flier distributed on campus, and the very next week became a victim of extrajudicial killings. On the website of the AFP, progressive activists and popular organizations will be directly named as a de-facto list of political targets.
After the forum and memorial performances dedicated to Karen and Sherlyn, we piled out of the auditorium and marched to the Student Union building with the rallying cry:
“Karen at Sherlyn! Palayain!”
On this day Aiyanas and I attended a forum and protest rally at the UP, to call for the surfacing of Karen and Sherlyn, to educate the students and faculty of UP on the human rights situation in the Philippines, and to demonstrate to UP administrators and the government of the Philippines that political persecution and terrorizing of progressive forces must be stopped!
Context:
It is in the context of the daily human rights violations, of forced displacement due to military counterinsurgency and corporate plunder of natural resources, such as Canadian mining operations, that the struggle for genuine human rights, for land reform, and for national liberation arises.
Recent trends in poverty exacerbate a nation already pushed to the brink by political corruption, IMF/WB structural adjustment conditionality, WTO enforced trade liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and an intensified counter-insurgency program.
Annual average incomes have been dropping, from 145,000 Pesos in 2000 to 125,000 Pesos in 2006; this sum amounts to a National average daily income of Canadian $255 per month. 10%, or a full 1/5th of the workforce is working overseas in order to send home the vital remittances which keep the economy of the Philippines afloat.
It was in the context of the complete abdication of responsibility for the masses of Filipinos by the Gloria Macapagal Regime that UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan decided to dedicate their talents and energies towards serving the people through legal means. Sherlyn, an award-winning athlete, was the Basic Masses Integration Officer of the UP Student Council, responsible for connecting students with the lived conditions and struggles of workers and peasants, joining in pickets and actions, as well as taking students out on exposure trips to the communities and the countryside. Karen was a generous-hearted social sciences student who actively supported the struggles of the workers and peasants, and who participated in a rural exposure trip. It was on such a trip to an impoverished community to integrate with peasants, that these two bright young women were snatched by military forces and ‘disappeared’.
Since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took power in 2001 following the ouster of President Joseph Estrada, there have been more than 900 extrajudicial killings, including leaders and activists from the trade-union, peasant, women, health and student sectors as well as from progressive political party lists. As the rate of the killings has decreased (but not stopped) in response to international pressure generated by grassroots and establishment human rights groups, the rate of enforced disappearances has simultaneously increased with 193 victims to date, most of them in 2006 and 2007 when international attention was most focused on the human rights situation in the Philippines. Yet, already this year there have been 13 extrajudicial killings and 1 forced disappearance!
All sectors of progressive Filipinos have felt the impact of the red-baiting, intense harassment, and political terrorism of the GMA regime. Both students and teachers alike have been targeted. On January 10, 2007, Jose Maria Sui, a 53-year-old university professor, was shot dead in his classroom on the University of Eastern Philippines North Samar campus. There have been 9 documented killings of teachers, and one teacher forcibly disappeared, according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), a legal organization of progressive teachers. Two of those victims of extrajudicial killings were members of the ACT National Congress.
There is a direct relationship between the black propaganda of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and those victims of extrajudicial killings. Jose Maria Sui was directly named in a red-baiting flier distributed on campus, and the very next week became a victim of extrajudicial killings. On the website of the AFP, progressive activists and popular organizations will be directly named as a de-facto list of political targets.
After the forum and memorial performances dedicated to Karen and Sherlyn, we piled out of the auditorium and marched to the Student Union building with the rallying cry:
“Karen at Sherlyn! Palayain!”
Monday, June 23, 2008
ILPS Reflections
Just returned to Manila after a fulfilling Third International Assembly of the International League of People’s Struggles in Hong Kong!
Naturally, it was a pleasure to connect again with comrades such as Wali from Pakistan, Raquel from Brazil, and Lyn and Richard from the USA, to deepen our understanding about their work and strengthen our connections. It was such a pleasure and a privilege to talk in depth with our US comrades about our organizing work, our successes, our challenges, and our vision; after such discussions I felt the lack of mentorship for me and Aiyanas in Vancouver. However, we are resolved to march forward, and to maintain our deepened connections in the USA.
It was lovely to share a cabin with our Indian comrades and to witness some very charming conversations between Billy and Saibaba from the Revolutionary Democratic Front of India, a highly respected revolutionary leader and esteemed speaker at the conference. It was heart-warming that even though this man was expected to present at numerous workshops, and has a leadership role nationally and internationally, he is still readily willing and able to connect with a 6 year old. Of course, it left me somewhat saddened at the lack of family culture in the Left in Vancouver, outside the Kalayaan Centre, that is. The Organizing Centre’s focus on building communities of resistance will ultimately address this.
The keynote addresses on Wednesday were invigorating.
Varavara Rao, the leader of the Revolutionary Democratic Front of India, denied a travel visa to HK, was the keynote speaker via G.N. Saibaba, who presented his paper. Varavara concretely explained the inter-imperialist rivalries as a major contradiction; rivalries to be found in the breakdown of WTO negotiations, conflicts over oil and gas, the Euro threatening the hegemony of the dollar, and the ascendancy of Chinese and Russian economic and military powers.
To quote Varavara: “While these are bleak days for the world wide imperialist economy singing the songs of its dark times there are definitely songs of possibilities, of revolutionary opportunities, songs of freedom, of revolution for the most oppressed and wretched of the earth in this whirlpool of deepening crisis of imperialism.”
Varavara overviewed the vast and growing economic independent zones in India which are organized by the revolutionary forces.
Varavara concluded: "everlasting peace is only possible with the struggles that establish genuine peace, by removing exploitation of man by man”.
Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and Chairman of the ILPS, labelled as a ‘terrorist’ by the Canadian government, gave the report from the Chair.
A highlight of Professor Sison’s presentation was his clear and concise direction to launch and strengthen mass organizations; to initiate and launch mass campaigns; to take up the major concerns and disseminate the analysis and action as widely as possible. Professor Sison really hyped the practice at this Assembly, calling for forces to arise where they did not exist and strengthen where they did exist.
There was representation from Kenya in Wahu Kaara of the Kenyan Debt Relief Network. To resounding applause, Wahu remarked that “a world with justice, a world with peace, a world with human dignity, and a world where none suffer from want is here with us today!”
The workshops were rewarding. The workshop on the cause of National and Social Liberation was filled with rich learning on global history, geo-politics, and current analysis. With presentations from 8 respected leaders, including Kali Williams form the Malcom X Grassroots Movement from the US, the global overview was rewarding. The workshop on the Health Concern was an excellent opportunity to update with comrades from the health sector, and to carry on the theme of Professor Sison on the launching of new mass organizations; to present the history and progression of the Alliance for People’s Health as a case study. The conference plenary accepted our resolutions to continue the Health Now! Campaign and to promote the Health Workers’ Call for Peace and Justice. A migrant health worker’s conference in 2009 should give additional impetus to this work!
http://vcn.bc.ca/~aph
Aiyanas wants me to add that a highlight was my performance with Sophia at the cultural night. Sophia was brave, and volunteered to sing for us! She did a beautiful job, and garnered great applause, even though she forgot the final verse. The resounding applause came after I announced that this was our children’s third ILPS hosted conference!
The cultural night all around was definitely a highlight. Aiyanas had the opportunity for a deep discussion on Indian politics with Amit from the Committee for Release of Indian Political Prisoners. The rousing performances, messages of solidarity, and warm feelings of camaraderie that permeated the evening were inspirational. Not to mention Wali’s pop-star performance of an Urdu human rights song – we hope at the next ILPS conference he will be able to bring his 4-year-old daughter to co-star with him!
We leave the Third International Assembly with new friends, a renewed commitment to struggle for unity, to build our mass anti-imperialist organizations, reach out to new member organizations, build the AI united front, and further the struggle for social and economic justice.
In memory of Ka Bel…
Tuloy Ang Laban!
Long Live International Solidarity!
Naturally, it was a pleasure to connect again with comrades such as Wali from Pakistan, Raquel from Brazil, and Lyn and Richard from the USA, to deepen our understanding about their work and strengthen our connections. It was such a pleasure and a privilege to talk in depth with our US comrades about our organizing work, our successes, our challenges, and our vision; after such discussions I felt the lack of mentorship for me and Aiyanas in Vancouver. However, we are resolved to march forward, and to maintain our deepened connections in the USA.
It was lovely to share a cabin with our Indian comrades and to witness some very charming conversations between Billy and Saibaba from the Revolutionary Democratic Front of India, a highly respected revolutionary leader and esteemed speaker at the conference. It was heart-warming that even though this man was expected to present at numerous workshops, and has a leadership role nationally and internationally, he is still readily willing and able to connect with a 6 year old. Of course, it left me somewhat saddened at the lack of family culture in the Left in Vancouver, outside the Kalayaan Centre, that is. The Organizing Centre’s focus on building communities of resistance will ultimately address this.
The keynote addresses on Wednesday were invigorating.
Varavara Rao, the leader of the Revolutionary Democratic Front of India, denied a travel visa to HK, was the keynote speaker via G.N. Saibaba, who presented his paper. Varavara concretely explained the inter-imperialist rivalries as a major contradiction; rivalries to be found in the breakdown of WTO negotiations, conflicts over oil and gas, the Euro threatening the hegemony of the dollar, and the ascendancy of Chinese and Russian economic and military powers.
To quote Varavara: “While these are bleak days for the world wide imperialist economy singing the songs of its dark times there are definitely songs of possibilities, of revolutionary opportunities, songs of freedom, of revolution for the most oppressed and wretched of the earth in this whirlpool of deepening crisis of imperialism.”
Varavara overviewed the vast and growing economic independent zones in India which are organized by the revolutionary forces.
Varavara concluded: "everlasting peace is only possible with the struggles that establish genuine peace, by removing exploitation of man by man”.
Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and Chairman of the ILPS, labelled as a ‘terrorist’ by the Canadian government, gave the report from the Chair.
A highlight of Professor Sison’s presentation was his clear and concise direction to launch and strengthen mass organizations; to initiate and launch mass campaigns; to take up the major concerns and disseminate the analysis and action as widely as possible. Professor Sison really hyped the practice at this Assembly, calling for forces to arise where they did not exist and strengthen where they did exist.
There was representation from Kenya in Wahu Kaara of the Kenyan Debt Relief Network. To resounding applause, Wahu remarked that “a world with justice, a world with peace, a world with human dignity, and a world where none suffer from want is here with us today!”
The workshops were rewarding. The workshop on the cause of National and Social Liberation was filled with rich learning on global history, geo-politics, and current analysis. With presentations from 8 respected leaders, including Kali Williams form the Malcom X Grassroots Movement from the US, the global overview was rewarding. The workshop on the Health Concern was an excellent opportunity to update with comrades from the health sector, and to carry on the theme of Professor Sison on the launching of new mass organizations; to present the history and progression of the Alliance for People’s Health as a case study. The conference plenary accepted our resolutions to continue the Health Now! Campaign and to promote the Health Workers’ Call for Peace and Justice. A migrant health worker’s conference in 2009 should give additional impetus to this work!
http://vcn.bc.ca/~aph
Aiyanas wants me to add that a highlight was my performance with Sophia at the cultural night. Sophia was brave, and volunteered to sing for us! She did a beautiful job, and garnered great applause, even though she forgot the final verse. The resounding applause came after I announced that this was our children’s third ILPS hosted conference!
The cultural night all around was definitely a highlight. Aiyanas had the opportunity for a deep discussion on Indian politics with Amit from the Committee for Release of Indian Political Prisoners. The rousing performances, messages of solidarity, and warm feelings of camaraderie that permeated the evening were inspirational. Not to mention Wali’s pop-star performance of an Urdu human rights song – we hope at the next ILPS conference he will be able to bring his 4-year-old daughter to co-star with him!
We leave the Third International Assembly with new friends, a renewed commitment to struggle for unity, to build our mass anti-imperialist organizations, reach out to new member organizations, build the AI united front, and further the struggle for social and economic justice.
In memory of Ka Bel…
Tuloy Ang Laban!
Long Live International Solidarity!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Picassa Albums
If you click on the slide show and link to Picassa, we have posted some photo albums.
Boso Boso Health Work
Saturday June 15
Back from Boso Boso, where I finally got to experience some great hands on health work, as well as experience herbal hunting, and do my first popular education on women's health and childbirth! While this trip didn't provide much opportunity for Aiyanas, as we anticipate Negros will, he did get to spend some quality time playing basketball and gathered quite the local B-ball posse! The kids loved the rice fields, the beautiful forests, and the zillion friends they made.
Too tired to write much now. I write this from the CHD office, where we are sleeping tonight, exhausted from moving around, adjusting and re-adjusting. Today Aiyanas and I visited the provincial prison in Bulacan and accompanied a physican from Health Action for Human Rights on a medical visit to one of the political prisoners. So many activities to fill our time.
Back to Boso Boso. This particular community based health program was initiated in 1993 in reponse to the crisis in maternal mortality and morbidity due to the long travel to the nearest public hospital and the unpaved status of the road at that time. Now the program is 15 years old, and has hit a plateau. There are many skilled CHWs, but they have become clinic-focussed and too heavily geared towards their small Western-based pharmacy. My schedule of prenatal clinic, herbal gathering, and maternal-child health education was intended to help re-inspire the CHWs to get back out into the community, do home visits again, and refresh their tremendous herbal knowledge. It was exciting for me to a) be able to share my skills concretely, b) learn so much in such a short time about available herbal remedies, and c) use all of the knowledge and teaching skills I have practiced so much at South Commmunity over the last year and a half. While I saw many pitfalls of Community Based Health Programs, there were many successes gained through this program, and some leadership and direction could spark some innovative new practices for Boso Boso.
The highlight of this exposure / health integration was the prenatal visit I did in what I could best describe as a sweat shop where women were sewing children's clothing for some brand name I didn't recognize. The door-to-door prenatal afternoon was incredible, and I hope to do this more in Negros. The most challenging visit was the young woman having her second baby and suffering terrible pain from a large palpable symphysis pubis separation; I hope the PT pointers and mobility suggestions I passed on will help - but sleeping on the floor and doing physical work all day will not!
Sleeping is what I must do now. Good night, all.
Back from Boso Boso, where I finally got to experience some great hands on health work, as well as experience herbal hunting, and do my first popular education on women's health and childbirth! While this trip didn't provide much opportunity for Aiyanas, as we anticipate Negros will, he did get to spend some quality time playing basketball and gathered quite the local B-ball posse! The kids loved the rice fields, the beautiful forests, and the zillion friends they made.
Too tired to write much now. I write this from the CHD office, where we are sleeping tonight, exhausted from moving around, adjusting and re-adjusting. Today Aiyanas and I visited the provincial prison in Bulacan and accompanied a physican from Health Action for Human Rights on a medical visit to one of the political prisoners. So many activities to fill our time.
Back to Boso Boso. This particular community based health program was initiated in 1993 in reponse to the crisis in maternal mortality and morbidity due to the long travel to the nearest public hospital and the unpaved status of the road at that time. Now the program is 15 years old, and has hit a plateau. There are many skilled CHWs, but they have become clinic-focussed and too heavily geared towards their small Western-based pharmacy. My schedule of prenatal clinic, herbal gathering, and maternal-child health education was intended to help re-inspire the CHWs to get back out into the community, do home visits again, and refresh their tremendous herbal knowledge. It was exciting for me to a) be able to share my skills concretely, b) learn so much in such a short time about available herbal remedies, and c) use all of the knowledge and teaching skills I have practiced so much at South Commmunity over the last year and a half. While I saw many pitfalls of Community Based Health Programs, there were many successes gained through this program, and some leadership and direction could spark some innovative new practices for Boso Boso.
The highlight of this exposure / health integration was the prenatal visit I did in what I could best describe as a sweat shop where women were sewing children's clothing for some brand name I didn't recognize. The door-to-door prenatal afternoon was incredible, and I hope to do this more in Negros. The most challenging visit was the young woman having her second baby and suffering terrible pain from a large palpable symphysis pubis separation; I hope the PT pointers and mobility suggestions I passed on will help - but sleeping on the floor and doing physical work all day will not!
Sleeping is what I must do now. Good night, all.
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