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Posted by Lani Estepa on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Kailian Ben Padua sent me something to post at this site but since it is also on his blog, you may visit it here instead. Reading about the abduction of James Balao reminded me of the case of Jonas Burgos, son of the late kailian Jose Burgos, Jr., press freedom icon and once a governor of Ilocos Sur in 1986. Jonas, an agriculturist and an advocate of organic farming working with peasants in Bulacan, was kidnapped in 2007 and has not been seen since. It is widely believed that the military had a hand in his kidnapping, and his mother, Editha, has exhausted all legal means including taking her complaint to the United Nations. More can be read at the Free Jonas Burgos site. As with Jonas, James Balao, described by Amnesty International as an “activist for indigenous people’s rights,” remains missing.
What I see here is the paranoia of those in power that people who devote their time working with the underprivileged in society pose a threat to them. There must indeed be a great force among the masses that those in power don’t want to be roused via the activism of people like Jonas and James.
In my honest opinion, those in power should truly serve and empower the people, especially the underprivileged; instead of needlessly feeling paranoid, and making selfless individuals “disappear.”
1 | Joy April 20th, 2009 at 3:26 pmThanks, Joy. I can’t help but think sometimes that these powers exist to perpetuate the chasm dividing the privileged and underprivileged and any attempt at educating the masses is perceived as a potential threat of class struggle (of enlightened masses) thus they (people like Jonas and James) must be quashed.
2 | Lani April 20th, 2009 at 5:19 pm