Arts & Life, Events

From Mindanao to CSULB with Love

An indigenous people under attack in Mindanao, Philippines – the Lumad face displacement and death as their community is ravaged by government forces and anti-communist paramilitary groups.

On Saturday, Lumad leaders, along with various cultural groups, will join the Long Beach community in a presentation titled “To Mindanao with Love,” which will take place on the Cal State Long Beach campus at Lecture Hall 150.

Indigenous people from Mindanao will gather for a night of performances aimed to raise awareness of the Lumad people and the dangers they face living in the southern Philippines.

The event will open with a Lumad ritual leading into cultural presentations followed by performances from Long Beach-based band, “Bootleg Orchestra” and a hip-hop performance from Long Beach community members.

The program, hosted by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and the CSULB Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, will also screen clips from “Pangandoy: The Manobo Fight for Land, Education, and Their Future,” a film about schools built by the Lumad themselves.

“These indigenous schools teach the Lumad children about their history, culture, and their ancestral land,” said Hiyasmin Saturay, the director of “Pangandoy.” “The government hasn’t provided education to these remote communities and it is rare to find schools that genuinely serve the community’s needs, and yet they are being attacked by the government’s military.”

Government military groups consistently ravaged Lumad communities in 2015 by killing members of the Lumad community and terrorizing their homes and schools.

On Sept. 1, 2015, at least 2,000 residents from the village of Diatagon in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, were displaced after a group of paramilitary killed Emerico Samarca.

Samarca was the executive director of the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, according to news network Rappler.

ALCADEV is a privately operated learning institution that provides basic education to Lumad children in communities rarely reached by government services. The school was threatened to be burned down by paramilitary groups in 2015, as reported by Rappler.

“The Lumad are constantly in danger of being displaced by military forces and we know the it is our tax dollars that help push out indigenous communities from their ancestral land.” secretary general of the political organization Anakbayan Long Beach Johnny Rodriguez, said. “We hope that students will hear the stories of the Lumad and be moved to support the struggle for land and culture.”

“To Mindanao with Love” will highlight opportunities for students to get involved and even join an international delegation to the Philippines, according to Rodriguez.

Among the various leaders at the event is secretary general of the Coalition of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines, Argee “Pya” Macliing Malayo. Malayo advocates to fulfill the aspirations of the indigenous people.

Francis Laminero is the executive director of the organization “Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao” and plans on speaking at the program. Laminero’s organization serves as a voice for peace based on human rights across the Philippine archipelago, according to their website.

“To Mindanao with Love” will be held Saturday from 5-7 p.m. in Lecture Hall 150.

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