Please support LFS’ BalikSamBayanan Summer Exposure Trip to the Philippines! Funds raised will go to funding the trip and the various communities and organizations we visit! If you cannot attend the show but would still like to donate funds, please email LFS-SFSU @ lfs.sfsu@gmail.com
Not convinced yet? Let this year’s hosts change your mind!
This past Saturday a press conference was held in Los Angeles, CA to address the recent abduction of Melissa Roxas, a member of Habi Arts- LA & BAYAN-USA, by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). For the first time, Melissa was able to speak out in public to what had happened to her and take questions from the media. While the Philippine Government and AFP are doing their best to deny these events took place, even going as far as to claim that the kidnapping was staged, they cannot deny the real human emotion that Melissa displayed during the press conference. The physical and psychological scars that she carries with her serves as testimony against the Philippine Government’s stance on basic human rights. Unfortunately, she is not alone. As long as the current administration’s policy is to demonize and attack organizers who are trying to serve the needs of the people, this will continue to happen. As long as the U.S. Government continues to give the AFP $30 million a year in aid, they will continue these atrocities. We must do what we can to 1) inform folks about what’s going 2) put pressure on our government to stop all military aid to the Philippines. Otherwise, Melissa won’t be the last victim of kidnapping and torture in the Philippines.
It has been a while since we’ve done this. but like the rest of the world, LFS’ members were struck by the news of Michael Jackson’s death. While we recognize the controversy that surrounded him and his music career, one cannot doubt his impact on popular culture throughout the world. You didn’t have to be a fan of his to know who Michael Jackson was. With all that said, enjoy a Michael Jackson Medley brought to you by SFSU’s own MissCarolinexoxo!
There have been numerous articles and statements written about the extra-judicial killings that have occurred in the Philippines since 2001 under the regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Philippine-based human rights organization, Karapatan, has been at the forefront of documenting these crimes. But the investigations don’t come without roadblocks, especially from those who are the perpetrators of the abuses. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are supposed to protect the people from threats foreign and domestic, but several organizations have stated that they do the exact opposite. Human Rights Watch has issued reports (“Scared Silent” & “Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines” to name a couple) on the human rights situation and directs blame towards elements of the AFP. The PNP allows these acts to continue because of their lack of action and prosecution of the killers. UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston stated in his report that: “The AFP remains in a state of almost total denial”.
With all that said, it is important to remember those who came before us. During these past eight years, three members of LFS in the Philippines have been killed and one more kidnapped and still missing. We seek to remember them and their work. Though we are the only LFS chapter in the U.S., there is a special bond we have with the LFS chapters in the Philippines. Our conditions are different, but the reasons why we joined are similar. We struggle with being a student and organizer, balancing the work with our daily lives, connecting with our peers who seem to have the big picture no where within their vision. While we are thousands of miles apart, we are all members of the LFS, all youth and students, all apart of the National Democratic movement, all fighting for true liberation for all oppressed people around the world. We will continue to fight for peoples’ basic right to change their oppressive conditions.
L-F-L-F-S TUNAY PALABAN MAKABAYAN!
Cris Hugo
-20 years old
-A native of San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon, Philippines
-Regional Coordinator & National Council member of LFS (Bicol University, College of Arts & Letters)
-4th year Journalism student
-Newly elected Grand Chancellor of the Alpha Phi Omega Chapter at BU
-Killed on March 19, 2006 from multiple gunshots by masked gunmen on motorcycles while walking with a professor from BU
Resources:
“A Small Guy with a Big Conviction”
“LFS-SFSU: Mabuhay si Cris Hugo at ang Kilusang Kabataan”
“Youth Leader Killed in Albay”
Yes, it is finals week for those of us at San Francisco State University! Some may have finished finals already, or at this very second you are in the middle of an all-nighter, or you’re getting ready for the very last day of your very last final for the Spring 09 school year (or maybe your entire college career). In any case, we would like to offer you some study music to help push you towards that finish line. From Monument to Masses is a band that started in 2001 one here in the Bay Area and includes former LFS-SFSU member, Sergio Robledo-Maderazo. He currently organizes with Liwanag Kultural Center in Daly City. They just finished up a month-long cross-country tour promoting their new album, “On Little Known Frequencies”. Check out this offering, and all their other live performances on youtube. Enjoy!!!
So our semester is winding down and we’re hitting those books preparing for finals. But while we’re drinking our coffee/ energy drinks and staying up until the wee hours of the morning finishing papers and studying for tests, we can’t forget the reasons why we do the work. The motivations that get us up in the morning to go to school/ meetings/ events/ etc. LFS would like to inject some nationalistic music to go along with those energy drinks to help stimulate all your senses. Today’s song is brought to you by Deep Foundation out of the East Coast and features numerous emcees, including BAYAN-USA Deputy Sec. Gen. Jack “Kiwi” De Jesus and Nomi from Power Struggle and ALAY (Active Leadership to Advance the Youth). Enjoy!
This past Monday, LFS- SFSU conducted an educational discussion on “Arts & Activism” and the use of cultural work within organizing. In order to understand how we can use culture and media (like blogs…) to advance the fight for National Democracy in the Philippines and the liberation of all struggling people, we have to analyze how its being used by our “enemies.”
Being in a free-market, capitalist society, we are fed images everyday. Most of these images are created to advance the financial interest of a corporation, conglomerate, financial entity, etc. In simpler terms, to make money. In our society, art and culture has been commodified to promote certain ideas of the dominant culture. The United States was very effective in doing this when it first colonized the Philippines and we even see it to this day.
One of the resources our facilitators used was a documentary called “Mickey Mouse Monopoly.” It is a critical look into Disney as a commercial/ cultural entity and certain ideas it has promoted and reinforced throughout its history. Disney is just one of the many outlets that has been set up to mold our thinking. Use this as a starting point to ask yourself critical questions about the media you see on the daily. Then compare it to the various examples of cultural work that our movement is trying to promote (see LFS Music Breaks). Enjoy!
