The last time I was in the Philippines was in 2006 when I participated in the Philippine Studies Program organized by Philippine Forum in conjunction with UP Diliman.  The experiences from this trip stay with me to this date, of course.  It had opened up to me the small -yet grand- world that is the collective of Filipin@s/Fil-Ams that struggle for national democracy in the Philippines.

    Before boarding the bus that took us to Banaue, I briefly spoke with my dad about where I was about to go.  He sounded really excited for me, saying, “you know, in all my 22 years of living in the Philippines, I’ve never been there.  I’ve never seen the rice terraces.”  I was 22 at the time and about to embark on a journey that probably no person in my family has ever taken.  Many of our parents immigrated in search of a better life for their family, their children.  How many of those parents ever planned for their own children to return to their homeland?  How many of those parents ever planned for their children to support the struggle of those who remain behind? 

    The Philippine Studies Program is currently on hiatus, but I hope this changes.  Programs like these open up opportunities for children of Filipino immigrants to experience the Philippines, from visiting historical sites, taking language/cultural classes, to meeting the masa. 

    Happy 5 years, PSPSIL06!  MAY THE FORCE STILL BE WITH YOU!

    • 1 year ago

    Tinariwen

    “The Sahara is one of the harshest environments in the world. Ranging across the West African nations of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Libya, it’s drought-prone and crawling with scorpions. But, for decades, the primary foe of the Tuareg people has not been nature but politics—restrictive borderlines, repressive governments and groups looking to exploit the region’s mineral wealth.

    “‘We don’t belong to any country, but the lands where we live are rich in [gas], oil and uranium, so governments and multinational companies are interested in our lands,’ they say. ‘This is only a problem of money and power—the problem of the entire world.’”

    Click image for full article.

    • 1 year ago

    Philippine Society and Revolution

    etmm:

    Click and read why the Philippines is not independent.  Read how it can be.   Only through the national democratic revolution led by the working class will we be free.

    • 1 year ago
    • 4

    JUSTICE FOR MELISSA

    Press Statement

    May 19, 2011

     

    Reference: Bernadette Ellorin, Chairperson, BAYAN USA, email: chair@bayanusa.org

      

    Filipino-Americans, Supporters Across US Stand With Melissa Roxas 

    BAYAN-USA Statement on the 2nd Year Anniversary of the Abduction and Torture of Founding Member

    Click HERE to view 2nd year commemoration video of the Justice for Melissa Roxas Campaign

    Click HERE to view a 2010 Democracy Now! interview with Melissa Roxas
      

      

    On the second year anniversary of the abduction and torture of Filipina-American human rights advocate Melissa Roxas by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Filipino-Americans under the banner of BAYAN USA and supporters across the United States reaffirm our support for Melissa and commitment to the pursuit of justice by way of demanding for an ongoing investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.

     

    The recent Commission on Human Rights (CHR) resolution absolving the AFP on the abduction at gunpoint that took place on May 19, 2009, while Melissa and two of her companions were conducting a community survey in preparation of a rural medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac lines up with the current Aquino administration’s overall cover-up of the crimes and human rights atrocities committed by its predecessor— Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. On July 2009, Melissa returned to the Philippines to testify in front of the CHR the details of her ordeal, under the protection of former chairperson Leila de Lima, while the latter gathered corroborating evidence as the result of an ocular investigation of nearby Fort Magsaysay, headquarters of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, pointing to the culpability of the Philippine military.

     

    It must be noted that shortly after assuming the office of presidency, Aquino appointed rabid red-baiter Etta Rosales to replace de Lima as the chair of the CHR, casting a questionable light on the integrity of the office to be objective and credible in handling cases of regular abuses committed against legal activists and dissidents associated with the aboveground Philippine Left. As a former House Representative of the party-list Akbayan, Rosales participated in McCarthyist tactics along with fellow Akbayan Representative Walden Bello to blur the distinct lines between the unarmed, aboveground left and the armed underground left, resulting in the wholesale targeting of legal civilian activists in the bloody counter-insurgency campaign of the Arroyo government known as Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL). In line with this, even a US citizen such as Melissa, who was volunteering for a medical mission for a poor community, was not exempt from being subjected to 6 days of heavy torture by her captors who attempted to force her to admit that she was a member of the New Peoples Army (NPA), which she refused to do.

     

    Despite campaign promises to investigate and prosecute the wrongdoings of the Arroyo administration, the Aquino government has coddled known human rights abusers in the Arroyo administration. Not one from the over 1,200 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances under Arroyo’s counter-insurgency campaign OBL has seen an arrest nor a trial. Instead, the same pattern continues under Aquino’s version Oplan Bayanihan, which additionally purports so-called community development in the most marginalized areas of the Philippines as the unabated killings of unarmed civilian legal activists continue.

     

    As an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations across the US, of which Melissa was a founding member back in 2005, BAYAN USA has lost confidence in the integrity of the justice system in the Philippines to resolve Melissa’s case. Sadly the Aquino administration, like the Arroyo administration, has amply proven its platform of lawlessness and non-interest in putting a leash on the mercenary-character of the Philippine military, one of the largest beneficiaries of US military aid in Asia.

     

    As Melissa continues to tell her story to listeners across the United States, a real peoples movement is growing in support of Melissa. This includes seeking justice by way of international venues and particularly the court system in the United States, which set a precedent when it ruled in favor of the thousands of victims of human rights abuses under the dictatorship of the former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos.This also includes building the movement in the US to cut US tax dollar support to the Philippine military.

     

    Now that she is no longer protected by sovereign immunity under the presidential office, the time is ripe to arrest and prosecute Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her ilk for similar crimes against humanity. BAYAN USA will stand with Melissa and all other victims of human rights abuses in the Philippines for however long it takes for justice to be served.

     

    Justice for Melissa Roxas!

    Prosecute Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!

    Justice for All Victims of Human Rights Violations in the Philippines!

    Scrap Oplan Bayanihan!

    Stop US Military Aid to Philippine Death Squads!


    ————————————————————————-


    BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the U.S. representing organizations of youth, students, women, workers, artists, and human rights advocates. As the oldest and largest overseas chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the U.S. For more information, visit www.bayanusa.org


    J4M (Justice 4 Melissa) - AnakBayan Los Angeles


    • 2 years ago

    Terminally-iLL: Elevated Masses - She

    justraness:

    Tell me sister am I seein’ fresh, are you the lady at my dreams best

    Heavenly honey, sowing…

    • 2 years ago
    • 3
    High-res photo kommunityx: I went to REVOLUTIONARY BIBLE STUDY yesterday…which is so unlike me.  In fact, I haven’t gone to church regularly in years.  After 12 long and devout years of Catholic school, confirmation retreats, alter serving, and lectering I finally decided that church wasn’t for me.  I was 18 years old at the time and it was the first time that my family wasn’t FORCING me to go to mass, which was a relief because I could finally sleep in on Sundays.  When I started college and began to “see the world,” I realized that my faith traditions and my growing political beliefs were often in contradiction with each other.  I made a conscious effort not be part of an institution that I felt had a long history of oppressing poor folks, women, lgbtq folks, and other marginalized communities. Eight years later I find myself lost in translation, and still looking for a higher purpose.  Sometimes, I find myself feeling numb and disconnected spiritually- while academically, professionally, politically, and socially i feel stronger than ever.  I think one reason I stepped away from the church is because I have family and friends who tell me that my political activities are a waist of time, that things will never change, and that the best we can do is “pray.”  I disagreed with this, and thus conflated “The Church” with conservatives and fundamentalists who are more likely to maintain the status quo- then actually follow the revolutionary teachings of Jesus.  But I think I was wrong…and that I have underestimated that there are progressive people- even among those who still keep the “faith.” Though I don’t think I am going to be a “Church-goer” anytime soon, i do find value in the fundamental teachings of different churches.  I realize that my involvement in community-organizing, Anakbayan, and the movement were based off of things I learned in Catholic school.  They were based off of years of personal reflection and my real-life experiences learning the difference between what is “right” and what is “wrong.”  I don’t want to go to church just because its a tradition, or because I like that “tingly feeling” you get on the back of your neck when you kneel and pray.  I want to be spiritual because I truly believe that “faith” is synonymous with “justice.”  That as a Filipino progressive, an Anthropologist, and a community-organizer I still recognize that the Church and Revolution can go hand-in-hand. The Pastor who led the Revolutionary bible study yesterday said to me that for centuries the Bible and Christianity has been co-opted by the ruling elite and the powerful in order to oppress people, convince them that they should accept their “fate,” and not  fight  back against an unjust system.  But when you read the “Gospel” you see that even Jesus fought against the ruling elite (Pharisees), integrated with the masses ( ate with prostitutes, tax collectors), criticized capitalism and exploitation (chastised the money-changers/vendors at the Temple), and even healed the sick (need for socialized & universal healthcare).  I doubt that I will be going around preaching the Gospel any time soon, but i want to reach out to my family and friends who are religious, yet resistant to my community work.  I want them to know that the Church and its teachings are still in line with my activism, and that my spirituality/morality is still my inspiration for serving the people.  Like the good ol’ Pastor said, “In the past, Faith has been used as a tool to subjugate the people, but Faith can also be used as a tool for liberating people as well.”   Makibaka, Huwag Matakot! -Kommunity X

    kommunityx:

    I went to REVOLUTIONARY BIBLE STUDY yesterday…which is so unlike me.  In fact, I haven’t gone to church regularly in years.  After 12 long and devout years of Catholic school, confirmation retreats, alter serving, and lectering I finally decided that church wasn’t for me.  I was 18 years old at the time and it was the first time that my family wasn’t FORCING me to go to mass, which was a relief because I could finally sleep in on Sundays.  When I started college and began to “see the world,” I realized that my faith traditions and my growing political beliefs were often in contradiction with each other.  I made a conscious effort not be part of an institution that I felt had a long history of oppressing poor folks, women, lgbtq folks, and other marginalized communities.

    Eight years later I find myself lost in translation, and still looking for a higher purpose.  Sometimes, I find myself feeling numb and disconnected spiritually- while academically, professionally, politically, and socially i feel stronger than ever.  I think one reason I stepped away from the church is because I have family and friends who tell me that my political activities are a waist of time, that things will never change, and that the best we can do is “pray.”  I disagreed with this, and thus conflated “The Church” with conservatives and fundamentalists who are more likely to maintain the status quo- then actually follow the revolutionary teachings of Jesus.  But I think I was wrong…and that I have underestimated that there are progressive people- even among those who still keep the “faith.”

    Though I don’t think I am going to be a “Church-goer” anytime soon, i do find value in the fundamental teachings of different churches.  I realize that my involvement in community-organizing, Anakbayan, and the movement were based off of things I learned in Catholic school.  They were based off of years of personal reflection and my real-life experiences learning the difference between what is “right” and what is “wrong.”  I don’t want to go to church just because its a tradition, or because I like that “tingly feeling” you get on the back of your neck when you kneel and pray.  I want to be spiritual because I truly believe that “faith” is synonymous with “justice.”  That as a Filipino progressive, an Anthropologist, and a community-organizer I still recognize that the Church and Revolution can go hand-in-hand.

    The Pastor who led the Revolutionary bible study yesterday said to me that for centuries the Bible and Christianity has been co-opted by the ruling elite and the powerful in order to oppress people, convince them that they should accept their “fate,” and not  fight  back against an unjust system.  But when you read the “Gospel” you see that even Jesus fought against the ruling elite (Pharisees), integrated with the masses ( ate with prostitutes, tax collectors), criticized capitalism and exploitation (chastised the money-changers/vendors at the Temple), and even healed the sick (need for socialized & universal healthcare).  I doubt that I will be going around preaching the Gospel any time soon, but i want to reach out to my family and friends who are religious, yet resistant to my community work.  I want them to know that the Church and its teachings are still in line with my activism, and that my spirituality/morality is still my inspiration for serving the people.  Like the good ol’ Pastor said, “In the past, Faith has been used as a tool to subjugate the people, but Faith can also be used as a tool for liberating people as well.”  

    Makibaka, Huwag Matakot!

    -Kommunity X

    • 2 years ago
    • 11

    though its practices vary from culture to culture, one thing’s for sure: respect is universal.

    • 2 years ago
    • 2

    Culture(s) of Sound: As MLK day approaches: take inventory of snapshots

    cultureofsound:

    I am contemplating how some folks I have come across in various circles idealize MLK. This isn’t a post about his methods. This is about leadership and collective work. I have met many progressive folks calling for a new MLK type of leader.

    I do not think it is productive to remember our leaders…

    • 2 years ago
    • 2

    "… We can revise our maps only when we have the discipline to overcome that pain. To have such discipline, we must be totally dedicated to truth. That is to say that we must always hold truth, as best we can determine it, to be more important, more vital to our self-interest, than our comfort. Conversely, we must always consider our personal discomfort relatively unimportant and, indeed, even welcome it in the service of the search for truth…"

    — M. Scott Peck

    • 2 years ago
    • 1

    Blackstreet - Take Me There ft. Mya

    Inspired by PoG’s post.  Definitely made me smile.  Although, I didn’t get to go to Disneyland, my past weekend was pretty rad, too. =]

    • 2 years ago
    • 1