New York City -- The voices of spoken word artists,
musicians and former political prisoners resounded
over a room packed with people at the Brecht Forum
last Saturday night. RECLAIM: (Re)Affirming Our
Culture of Resistance, organized by the Justice Not
War in the Philippines Campaign, drew over 200 people
to an evening that was a fundraiser, party,
performance and lesson on the Filipino people's
continued struggle for justice.
RECLAIM was conceived to commemorate two dates in
recent Philippine history: September 21, 1972, the
declaration of martial law under the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos; and September 16, 1991, the ousting
of the US military bases. Reinforcing the collective
memory of those dates, the evening's lineup included
Linda Abad and Ramon Mappala, who gave stirring
testimonies of their persecution under the Marcos
regime. Later in the evening, Gloria Pacis, the mother
of US Marine Stephen Funk, told of her son's
courageous effort to speak out against the war in
Iraq. The three speakers, together with interwoven
stories of youth activists under attack under
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's