This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 33, September 25-October 1, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Horrors of Martial Law Recounted Davao
activists, young and old, met to commemorate the 33rd year of martial law
declaration last Sept. 21, showing that the seeds of political activism planted
way back in the martial law years continue to grow.
By
CHERYLL D. FIEL DAVAO CITY – The covered
court of one of the oldest elementary schools here, the Magallanes Elementary
School, was where Davao activists, young and old, met to commemorate the 33rd
year of martial law declaration last Sept. 21. The activity became a
reunion for old activists and a solidarity night for everyone and was attended
by members of the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa
Amnestiya (association of ex-detainees against detention and for amnesty) -First
Quarter Stormers (SELDA- FQS), League of Filipino Students (LFS), Anak ng Bayan
(nation’s youth or AnB), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and
National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP), as well as members of the
cultural group Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (young artists for
genuine freedom or Karatula). Alliances and people's
organizations like Karapatan, Bayan and Gabriela and Kahugpungan sa mga
Magtutudlo ug Kawani sa Edukasyon sa Mindanao (KAMKEM or organization of
teachers and employees in education in Mindanao) were also represented.
If the well-attended affair
were an indication, activism in Davao is, indeed, not only alive but continues
to grow as well. This may well be because the seeds of political activism
planted way back in the martial law years and even before that have paid well.
Prepared by the city’s
young activists, the program was replete both with reminiscences expressed in
poetry, dances, songs and chants as well as rage that came out in the skits and
slogans. Activists from the First
Quarter Storm era (1970s) gave testimonies of their martial law experiences. To
the crowd's amazement, they could still recall the exact places where they were
arrested, the “UG” (underground) houses they used, the camps where some of their
comrades fell, the people they met in detention and, yes, even the rooms where
they were tortured by military and constabulary men. Accounts of how the
narrators outsmarted their captors received the loudest cheers from the young
ones in the crowd who were obviously enthralled as they listened intently to the
stories of their predecessors. The more than a hundred
activists present agreed that their lives as activists may be decades apart but
the cause for which they converged that evening was one and the same – to have
the courage to fight any force or person seeking to trample on their freedom and
civil liberties. As the narrations unfolded,
it became clear they were not merely accounts of suffering; more than anything,
they were stories of strength and determination. Those who survived to bear
witness to the horrors of martial law said they will never get tired of telling
their stories. The presence of new faces, referring to the new generation of
activists, makes each telling take on a different meaning, they also said.
That evening, young
activists depicted in a comical skit Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a president more
brutal than the dictator that former President Ferdinand Marcos was. According to the
presentation, Macapagal-Arroyo is not only callous to the cries of the people
but has also ordered the killing of countless farmers, workers and activists,
most of them conveniently charged as “communist rebels.” In the light of her
declaration that she will now be implementing "get-tough" policies on protests –
no doubt due to the activism displayed in Davao that evening and in many other
areas of the country where commemorations of martial law were also held – the
activists, young and old, showed that they have not forgotten and will never
forget the lessons of martial law. With this, they showed as
well that Macapagal-Arroyo had also better learn her history lesson well.
Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
■
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