Mothers of Courage

While many of us preoccupy ourselves with the daily woes of life and our personal goals, haven’t we stopped and thought for a while of the mothers who gave up their lives, even offered their own blood, for the sake of the greatest mom of all - the Motherland?

By Dennis Espada
Bulatlat.com

Mother’s Day has become a public observance in many countries all over the world, as Dear Mom’s unconditional love and unbridled sacrifices are honored and remembered through sweet music, love notes, and pink carnations.

It was in 1907, exactly 96 years ago, when Mother’s Day was first recognized. Ana Jarvis from Philadelphia, U.S. led a campaign to encourage ministers and church leaders in Grafton, West Virginia to institute a national celebration for all mothers on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the second Sunday of May.

While many of us are too busy with the daily woes of life by focusing too much on our personal goals, haven’t we stopped and thought for a while of the mothers who gave up their lives, even offered their own blood, for the sake of the greatest mom of all - the Motherland?

Tandang Sora

Melchora Aquino was a symbol of a brave mother of the revolution. Her volunteer work for the Katipunan was exemplary. History knows her mainly by the nom de guerre “Tandang Sora” whose contributions were largely material and moral in nature. She gave temporary shelter for the Katipuneros as well as food, medicines and other things.

At the age of 84, she was captured in Novaliches by civil guards and was interrogated in Bilibid Prison. Spanish colonial authorities exiled Tandang Sora to Guam despite her old age.

Repatriated after the revolution against Spain, Tandang Sora boarded the S.S. Uranus together with 76 other exiled patriots and returned to her home in Banlat. There she was warmly and tearfully welcomed by the villagers, including her children and grandchildren.

Despite the fact that she lived in poverty,Tandang Sora refused any material reward from the government for her patriotic services and sacrifices. She was contented with the fact that she had supported the Katipunan and suffered six years of exile for her country's freedom.

Oriang

Gregoria de Jesus or “Ka Oriang,” wife of Katipunan’s Supremo Andres Bonifacio, was entrusted with the crucial role of custodian of documents, a task she heroically accomplished. She had a son by him who died at six months due to chicken pox.

During the coup instigated by the traitor Magdalo faction, Oriang stood firm beside the Supremo until his tragic death. Accounts even showed that she was abused by Agapito Bonzon, leader of the Magdalo’s arresting party. Later, she would marry musician Julio Nakpil with whom she had eight children.

In her memoirs, Oriang wrote: “I had no fear of facing danger, not even death itself, whenever I accompanied the soldiers in battle, impelled as I was then by no other desire than to see unfurled the flag of an independent Philippines, and I was present in and witnessed many encounters. I was considered a soldier, and to be a true one, I learned how to ride a horse, to shoot a rifle, and to manipulate occasions …” (Alzone, 1964)

Lorena

Poet-activist Maria Lorena Barros, co-founder of the militant women’s organization Makibaka during the First Quarter Storm, was an epitome and proponent of the women’s liberation movement in contemporary times. Her views and example made clear the identity of the “new Filipina.” She was only in her early 20s when she became a guerrilla fighter of the New People’s Army (NPA) during the Marcos regime.

“We are suffering from a feudal sense of values in which women are considered adjuncts of the home—for the children, for the kitchen and for the bed…We are not trying to put down these traditional roles, we just want more active involvement from the Filipino women,” Lorena wrote.

Her poem, “Mother,” describes that mothers should have a duty to liberate the people: “Ano ang isang ina? Mayamang hapag ng gutom na sanggol. Kumot sa gabing maginaw. Matamis sa uyayi. Tubig sa naghahapding sugat…Ngunit ano ang isang makabayang ina? Maapoy na tanglaw tungo sa liwayway. Sandigang bato. Lupang bukal ng lakas sa digma. Katabi sa laba’t alalay sa tagumpay ang ina ko.” (Maita Gomez, Six Young Filipino Martyrs)

In the underground movement, she had a son named Emil to a fellow comrade. On March 24, 1976, government military troops raided a hut in Mauban, Quezon where she met her tragic death. It is said that she ordered her comrades to make a escape leaving her alone to repulse the military raid. She was only 28 years old.

Eden

Twenty-nine years old activist Eden Marcellana, who was brutally slain last April 21 in Naujan, Mindoro Oriental, was a mother of two kids. As secretary general of human rights alliance Karapatan in Mindoro, she went to far-flung areas of the island province and other Southern Tagalog areas to document cases of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by state military forces.

Her motherly role was indeed an extended one because she was also a “Nanay” (mother) to many young children who lost their families and relatives due to an increasing number of gruesome killings against militant leaders and activists in Mindoro.

 “Si nanay Eden ay pangalawang nanay ko…marami sa amin ang ulila na sa magulang at ngayo’y naulilang muli sa pagkawala nila,” cries Adelisa Albarillo, 10, on her demise.

“Napakasakit sa kanya na iwanan ang kanyang mga anak sa aming mga magulang para sa paglilingkod sa mga biktima ng karapatang pantao,” Orly, Eden’s husband, recalls. However, he vows to continue her legacy of serving the people and raise their children as what they mutually agreed on.

“Imumulat ko sila sa kalagayan ng ating bayan, na kung sakaling di pa tapos ang laban, sila ang magpapatuloy hanggang sa ganap na kalayaan,” he adds.

We are always at the thought that no one in this world could have loved us the way our own mothers guided us. Suffice to say, because of their mothers, they become what their children are today - devoted to the cause of freedom. Bulatlat.com

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