Melissa Roxas' Abduction & Torture Only Makes Her A Stronger Ally To Freedom.

Several posts back I blogged about the abduction and surface of Fil-Am activist Melissa Roxas who was doing work in the Philippines. After missing for 6 days, she was returned to her family. She now reports that she was tortured, and that although torture is a mechanism used to break spirit and silence dissension, more than ever, she values the fight for human rights and freedom. In her own words:

When my own experience of abduction and torture ended and I was reunited with my family it was not a second birth for me, I realized that it is a continuing journey for the search for truth and justice. Repressive governments and military use torture as a form of control, to instill fear in people in debilitating ways, so they stay quiet and lose their light inside. But I realized no amount of pain or suffering or fear can stop that earth in me to keep rising. Instead it gave birth to new births. My experience has convinced me even more of the value of freedom and justice and the importance of fighting for and upholding the principles of human rights and human dignity.

This woman has such a strong fire blazing in her heart. I'm glad she is on our side. Welcome home Melissa.

You can read more of her inspiring words here.

.

Surface Filipino-American Activist Melissa Roxas And Comrades Now!

Bloggers, activists, people of conscience (and influence) please repost far and wide! My friend Kiwi has posted on his blog about his missing friend, Melissa Roxas. May the doors open to her safe return, as well as the other FilAm activists.

BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino American organizations and chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan Philippines), is calling on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Department of National Defense, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to immediately surface Melissa Roxas, an American citizen of Filipino descent who was abducted in the Philippines on May 19. BAYAN-USA also urgently calls on our representatives in the U.S. Congress to act quickly to ensure the safe return of Roxas.

Roxas is a well-known Filipino American activist, who served as the first Regional Coordinator of BAYAN-USA in Los Angeles and co-founded the cultural organization Habi Arts. Roxas is an active human rights advocate and was instrumental in organizing a BAYAN-USA contingent that participated in the International Solidarity Mission in 2005, an international fact finding mission that called attention to the escalating human rights violations in the Philippines. Roxas went to the Philippines in 2007 to pursue human rights work, where she became a full time volunteer health worker. She was abducted on May 19, 2009 at approximately 1:30 PM in Sitio Bagong Sikat, Barangay kapanikian, La Paz, Tarlac. She was with two other volunteers, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc.

Based on reports filed by the human rights group KARAPATAN and the La Paz police, Roxas and her companions were taken by at least 8 armed, hooded men riding two motorcycles and a Besta van without any license plate numbers. There has been no word on the whereabouts and condition of Roxas and her companions since the abduction. The circumstances of Roxas’ abduction typify the abductions and enforced disappearances of over 200 innocent civilians, allegedly last seen in the hands of suspected state security forces.

To report leads, or to connect for action contact:

Kuusela Hilo
BAYAN-USA Vice Chair
vicechair@bayanusa.org

Rhonda Ramiro
BAYAN-USA Secretary General
secgen@bayanusa.org

Also please take a moment to sign this petiton.

and Kiwi, if you need a dj for a consciousness raising / action / event, holla.

.