Bakas ng pananalakay
Story by Sharmaine Paden
“Binalya nila ako, sinira at kinumpiska ang stall at paninda ko,” kwento ni Aling Linda Ramos, 68 taong gulang.
Mahigit-kumulang 42 taon nang nagtitinda si Ramos sa sidewalk ng Mercury Drug-Philcoa sa lungsod ng Quezon (QC). Bakas sa kanyang mukha at sa tono ng pagsasalita ang poot habang sinasalaysay niya kung paano sila sapilitang pinaalis sa kanilang puwesto, kung saan sila ay kumukuha ng pamumuhay mula taong 1974. Ito ang lugar na naging parte na ng araw-araw nilang sistema, ang pinagmumulan ng kanilang hanapbuhay, ang lugar kung saan sila bumuo ng maraming alaala.
At day's first light: Chronicling Dumagat Education
Story by Faith Brown and Beatriz Zamora
Perched high atop the Sierra Madre mountain range is a life built on dried leaves of palm trees, scraps of corrugated metal and chopped wood.
A life toiled for by the hands of those who live it; a survival they owe to no one but themselves.
On a normal day at the summit of a nondescript mountain, the indigenous people of Norzagaray, Bulacan, would usually spend hours feeding their animals, tending to their humble plantations and reconstructing their houses with wood acquired from the lush forests of their ancestral land. Called Dumagat, which means “people of the sea”, they now reside in the mountains of the Sierra Madre.
Drawing the line of disability
Story and photos by Maegan Gaspar
Before the heavy rain pours down and a muddy road gets in the way, a man quickly gets off of his wheelchair. He goes on his hands and knees to transfer to a motorcycle, which will send him to the nearby lake to collect water lilies.
“Kumukuha ako ng waterlily kahit umuulan,” said Manny Cruz, a 46 year-old worker from the charcoal-making cooperative in Taguig City. When he was a child, he contracted polio, a condition that weakens his muscle and impairs his ability to walk.
Kumikitil na ang amihan
Story and photos by Jobelle Adan
Hindi maitago ng madidilim at pasikot-sikot na eskinita ng Happyland ang mala-bituing ngiti ng mga batang maya’t mayang naghahagikgikan at naghahabulan.
“Ate! Ate! Papicture!”
Ngunit hindi kayang maitago ng malakas na tawanan ang bigat sa puso ng mga residenteng takot na anumang oras mula ngayon, isa-isang kukupas ang mga bituin.
Tangay-tangay ng hanging natutunan na silang lasunin.
Long walk home:
The Lakbayani diaspora
Story and photos by Mark Kevin Reginio
The noon heat did not deter them in forwarding their legitimate calls as they have experienced longer, harsher walks.
Thousands of Moros, indigenous peoples (IPs), and different sectors marched from Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola, Friday afternoon, to culminate the weeklong caravan of the national minorities for self-determination and just peace.
Privileging beauty: Unmasking the plight of the indigenous
Story by Alyanna Chio
Photo by Andrea Jobelle Adan
Good looks contribute a great deal to one’s rise to fame, especially when the beauty one possesses passes of as ‘natural’ or ‘true’. “Carrot Man” and “Badjao Girl”, both members of the national minority, are good examples of this.
Carrot Man and Badjao Girl are only two of the many unheard and unseen faces of the national minority. If not for society’s affinity for standardized beauty, their lives would not have transformed from that of the marginalized to that of the seemingly privileged.
After 365 days: Returning to paradise lost
Story by Eunice Lei Wu
Photos by Inna Cabel & Eunice Lei Wu
The diminutive woman stood strong in her purple bandana and bright red skirt. She cried her passionate plea, unfazed by the ceaseless beating of the late morning sun’s glare.
The steps of the University of the Philippines - Diliman’s (UPD) Palma Hall and Roxas street before it teemed with the press of many attentive red and green clad bodies. They bore signs and banners of who they are, of their calls to action.
Amidst the shadows of oppression
Story by Julia Maaño
Photos taken by Maegan Gaspar
Radiant, newborn light spilled across the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman’s Oblation as national minority leaders from all over the Philippines performed a sunrise ritual yesterday, opening the Kampuhan sa Diliman proceedings.
Approximately 3,500 members of the national minorities are in UP for Kampuhan sa Diliman, a two-week integration activity that aims to bring awareness to the struggles minority groups face.