Girl Takes Ka Amado to
Labor Rally
One person stood among
the array of speakers who denounced political repression and called for
the ouster of President Macapagal-Arroyo during the Labor Day rally at
Liwasang Bonifacio last week. The speaker – an eight-year-old girl –
recited a poem of National Artist Amado V. Hernandez, holding the
thousands of people spellbound for two minutes or so.
By Lino D.
Interino III
Contributed to Bulatlat
SO YOUNG AND SO
MILITANT: Caryl, 8, recites a poem
by Amado V. Hernandez paying tribute to activist martyrs
Photo by Alexander
Martin Remollino |
Clad in red shirt, blue-green checkered pants and black bandana, she was
called to the stage by the two emcees to recite a poem during the 25th
anniversary of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May First Movement) noon of May 1
at Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila. In the scorching heat, her strong voice and
the mighty content of her poem entitled “Enrique Sta. Brigida:
Paghahatid sa Immortalidad” stirred up the emotion of the crowd to cry
out their feeling of being “repressed” by the government. The poem was
written by national artist, Amado V. Hernandez.
With her young voice, she recited thus, “Iisang higanteng nagbabalikwas
na paa’y/Central
Luzon at ang ulo’y/Sierra Madre,
nagsisigaw sa sansinukob:/Makibaka, huwag matakot,/Hanggang sa ang bulok
na sosyedad ay bumagsak at/Madurog!”
(…A giant restive, whose feet/Are Central Luzon and whose head/Is the
Sierra Madre, shouting to the universe:/Fight, fear not/Until the rotten
society/Is felled and crushed!)
The 10,000-strong crowd gave her a thunderous applause at the end of her
two-minute recitation.
She is Caryl, an
8-year old girl and incoming Grade 3 pupil in Bulacan province, just north
of Manila. Like a typical girl, she loves playing and doing things kids
normally do. Her favorite pastime is watching television. But, unlike the
TV junk shows many children usually watch, she indulges herself to
watching news programs.
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“Mahilig po ako
maglaro at manood ng TV pero kadalasan po balita ang pinapanood ko” (I
like playing and watching TV but I usually watch news programs), she said.
“Minsan po
nakikita ko sa TV ‘yung problema na kinakaharap natin tulad ng pagtaas ng
presyo ng langis at mga bilihin” (Sometimes I see on TV the problems
that we face nowadays such as the rise of oil prices and commodities), she
added.
Rally
Bulatlat asked Caryl
what she understands about activism and why at a very young age she is
joining a rally. But the girl, fidgeting like many children her age,
answered with conviction.
“Kasi po masyado
na pong nahihirapan ang ating mamamayan. Mataas na ang presyo ng mga
bilihin at langis”(Because the people are suffering too much. The
prices of oil and commodities are going up), she said.
Asked what she wants
the government to do, she answered, “Babaan po ang presyo ng gasolina
at mga bilihin at dagdagan ang sahod ng mga manggagawa ng P125”(The
prices of gasoline and commodities must be lowered and workers’ wage
should increase by P125 [$2.30])
“Nagtatrabaho po
kasi ang mga manggagawa para mabuhay ang pamilya nila at hindi upang
magpakapagod lamang”(They’re working because they want to make a
living for their families and not only to get tired), she added.
Witness
At a very young age,
Caryl is witness to the sufferings of the people, particularly in Central
Luzon. She saw how the workers at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac suffered so
much, exerting too much effort on their jobs but getting a low pay.
Although she has not
personally gone to Hacienda Luisita where seven striking workers were
massacred on Nov. 16 last year, she has felt and witnessed the cane
workers’ plight after watching a feature documentary about them.
“Napanood ko po
sa video ‘yung hirap ng mga manggagawa sa Hacienda Luisita lalo na po yung
nag-alsa ang mga mangagawa doon. Marami po ang namatay doon. Naawa po ako
lalo na dun sa pamilya ng mga namatay” (I saw on video the sufferings
of the workers in Hacienda Luisita especially when they protested. Many
died. I felt pity for them especially to the families of those who were
killed.), she said.
Caryl said her family
went to the interment of those killed in Hacienda Luisita to extend their
condolences.
Young age
Caryl traces her
social awakening to her father Roy, who in college joined the League of
Filipino Students (LFS) and later the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang
Luzon (AGML or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon).
Roy told Bulatlat he
joined LFS because he saw that not all people could afford to study.
“Although education is supposed to be right, not all youth can enjoy that
right especially when you don’t have money to be able to go to school,” he
added.
At an early age of 4,
Caryl was already being asked by father to recite poems for rallies of
AMGL in Central Luzon.
Somehow she seems to
have already tracked her future when she grows up. “Gusto ko pong
maging abogado para maipagtanggol ko ang mga mahihirap”(I want to
become a lawyer in order to defend the poor), she says when asked what she
wants to become.
“Marami po kasi sa
atin ang mga naaapi at nalalapastangan ang karapatang pantao kaya gusto ko
po silang ipagtanggol.”(Many people are oppressed and their rights are
violated, that’s why I want to defend them.)
Asked what she can
say about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, she pointedly answered that
she doesn’t like her. The President Arroyo is “causing too much pain” to
the people, she said.
She wants the
President to “step down.” What will she say if she meets Arroyo in person?
“Masama kang tao!” (You’re bad!), she said. Bulatlat
The poem, Enrique
Sta. Brigida, To Immortality in English, was written in 1970 at the onset
of the First Quarter Storm. Amado V. Hernandez wrote it as a tribute to
seven student activists slain in the “Battle of Mendiola” and an open call
for revolutionary armed struggle.
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