Friends sometimes turn a blind eye to the shortcomings and excesses of their friends but we have always overlooked what the US has done to our country over the past century. The myth of friendship persists which allowed the US to expand its bases and military presence while claiming that all this is for our own good. To punish us for the sins of the few ungrateful ones, they even asked a former bully to play their war games in our backyard.
Nakaangkla ang transpormasyon ng edukasyon sa buod ng namamayaning politika sa bansa. Paalala ito na hindi pwedeng ang tore ng kaalaman sa loob ng klasrum ay ihiwalay sa kalagayan ng lipunan. Hindi pwedeng malaya ang unibersidad pero nananatiling pyudal ang kaisipan sa bansa. Ang paniwalang ito ang nagtulak sa akin, sampu ng iba pa, na suungin ang isang landas na maaaring palabas ng paaralan subalit ang inspirasyon at motibo ay pagbutihin ang kagalingan ng lahat ng paaralan.
Patuloy na nakapagsulat si Amanda Echanis kahit nakakulong at sa kanyang mga akda masusukat ang lalim ng kanyang pagnanasa na lumaya at higit sa lahat ay magpatuloy na lumaban para sa pagbabago.
The year 2023 affirmed the significance of enjoining the people to voice out their demands and aspirations while battling the social evils that continue to plague the nation.
Kapupulutan ng mayamang aral sa kasaysayan ang dula. Higit sa lahat, pinakita ang karaniwang mukha ng aktibista at hindi ang aktibistang ginawang demonyo sa propaganda ng mga pasista.
Given the constraints they face, political prisoners deserve our utmost respect for choosing defiance instead of compromise and collaboration with the class enemy. They provide a dignified example of how to live a life devoted to the cause of fighting with the oppressed. Their activism is demonized and criminalized by those who see no evil in the obscene hoarding of the nation’s wealth by the elite and the exploitation of the poor and powerless by those in power.
The “shutdown APEC” protests in San Francisco, California gathered more than a thousand people who shared testimonies about how APEC impoverished a generation, displaced Indigenous peoples, and undermined the rights of workers.
The fun of biking is undercut by the constant reminder that our roads are unsafe. Major thoroughfares may have bike lanes but this is wishful thinking in most secondary roads. Bike lanes are merely a slim extension of existing roads where potholes, manholes, and even open drainages are often located. It is used too as an emergency lane and frequently “patronized” by motorcycle riders.
The protest of Masinloc fishers highlighted the lack of attention given to ordinary people as officials relish their token role in the geopolitical ‘game of thrones’ in the Asia-Pacific. On one hand, they are bullied by oversized Chinese vessels in our own territory; but they are also barred from fishing during Balikatan war games. Dynamite fishing has been outlawed yet US troops used a missile to blow up a warship in Zambales.
We need more testimonies and reports highlighting the lesser-known protests that contributed to the building of a formidable resistance to the dictatorship.
Family reunions allowed us to catch up, reenact rituals of domestic living, and build new memories. Were they enough? For a child who sincerely wanted to express his love and gratitude, they were agonizingly inadequate.