Justice for the Ampatuan Massacre Victims
November 28, 2009 by lisa
Filed under philippines
Baguio and Maguindanao are on opposite sides of the Philippines and very few things that happen in either place affect the other. But the Ampatuan Massacre is a knife that is thrust into the hearts of every Filipino, wherever they may be in the world.
I have not been able to sleep well because I have this ache in my heart that will not go away. In this “Season to be Jolly,” my days and nights are filled with reunions and meetings and parties and getogethers — and yet I find my mind wandering off to a place I have never been to, imagining a beautiful countryside littered with the bodies of the victims of a political clan that decided that the solution to perpetuating their hold on the province would be to kill their opponents and supporters in such a barbaric fashion.
I cannot enjoy the good company I am with, and when I am meeting up with people in a mall, for example, I wonder how others can even go Christmas shopping after what has happened. I wonder how one can go on pretending the carnage did not happen for a little of me died when I realized that in this civilized age, there can be animals like the Ampatuans and their minions roving this earth.
Election-related violence in the Philippines is nothing new. In fact, the Ilocos Region with is in northern Luzon and a few hundred kilometers away from the City of Pines, is notorious for that. But what happened in Ampatuan, a town that is named after the Arroyo-supported clan that rules beautiful Maguindanao through force, is a crime against humanity. It is a crime that cries to the heavens for justice.
In my quiet moments I let out a silent scream.
I have no words to express my outrage, except to cry out “Justice for the Ampatuan Massacre Victims!”
We just...
Lisa, though I’m outraged by the massacre, there is fear about commenting on it. Call me a coward if you wish.
Same here–I haven’t been able to focus much on my activities of daily living. Just knowing all about what is happening in this country is very disturbing. It happened there, it can happen here (Hopefully not!)
I had to let out all these negativity, so I opted to bring it out through blogging–publishing posts and a poem–and commenting in every post in the Pinoy blogosphere that I can come across. This recent occurrence in Philippine history is weighing me down…
By the way, I added you to my “tag list” for the Blog Prayer Brigade in Choosing the Right Future President of the Philippines. Hope you could join.
Hiya Resty,
Oh EVERYONE’S commenting on it — Twitter, Facebook, blogs. That’s why I did not go into the gruesome details anymore but had to register my protest officially through a blog post. No one should ever be afraid to condemn evil in this world.
Hello Rogue/Hero,
The travesty does weigh one down. It’s the politics of impunity that is prevalent in this country — they steal with impunity, they cheat with impunity, they kill with impunity. Since the time of Spain, Filipinos have been silenced. We must learn to speak up, and speak up sensibly and without fear.
Yeah, you’re right.
Sadly, it would seem that we never evolved from the Spanish era to become bolder and proactive citizens. Although the change is slowly picking up, thanks to every bit of setback that the Filipino goes through.
This is pure insanity. It’s history in the making and will forever be etched in the memory of many especially those who lost their friends and relatives.
Those that are found to be responsible should be imprisoned for life.
Hi again Rogue/Hero,
On top of Spain, Marcos silenced us for decades and with this forced silence comes uncritical thinking and unanalytical thinking. This is why it’s so easy to enslave the Filipino, because generations were raised to cower. But I did notice also that we are maturing little by little already and am so happy about that.
Hi TruBlue,
You’re trust in the failing system of justice in the Philippines is heartwarming. There are many calls for the restoration of the death penalty, for an eye for an eye but we have to raise ourselves above the level of the Ampatuans themselves, and show the world that only THEY are uncivilized assholes (I’m still being kind by using this word to describe them).
This is a crime against humanity, not just the victims and their relatives. It just so happens it did not happen to us or our own. But it can if we allow savagery to rule the land.
I hope mabigyan ng justice lahat ng namatay sa Ampatuan Massacre at sa iba pang mga taong dumanas karahasan.
Hi Hezron.
Real justice, in my opinion, would be the fix our system to ensure that warlords no longer rule the country sides the way politicians no longer rule our country, that the freedom of the press be guarded. This is something we as citizens can do. We must never forget this, and in their memory, work for a Philippines that is truly free.