Tag Archives: #SaveOurSchools

komentaryo

Lumad, first

Work kept me from visiting the Lumad Camp in the University of the Philippines Diliman early in the week. On Tuesday evening, their second night, I arrived close to midnight to bring a cash donation for the camp’s food fund and some medicines from a doctor.

Feeding 800 Lumad at P50 pesos per head is P40,000 pesos per meal after all. From the moment I heard that they were coming, this was what I wanted to raise funds and get donations for.

Thankfully, my network of real and virtual (i.e., social media) friends were ready and willing to donate, depositing varied amounts into my bank account and hoping it will help in any way. A writer-musician friend got the product he endorses to make a huge tocino donation, with some hotdogs for the kids to boot.

At the tail-end of the week, Art Relief (the heavens bless them!) was coming in to put up their mobile kitchen and feed the Lumad. Many food and water donations came in, too, throughout the week, and one can’t help but be glad that so many are rising to the occasion of the Lumad. (more…)

komentaryo

Meet the Lumad

I hear that the Lumad communities who have been in UP Diliman the past week will be transferring to Manila in Liwasang Bonifacio on November 1, and staying there at least until November 12. What I say in this essay stands still. And I hope that we all realize how these Lumad have traveled four days to get here, and are camping out in Manila for reasons far larger and more urgent and important than we can even imagine. I hope we realize that this behooves us to speak to them, engage with their stories, and listen listen listen. There is no justification for the kind of violence they have experienced, no rationale for the kind of displacement and fear they live with.  (more…)