WeDpro Managing Director, Aida Santos, talks about the struggle Filipinos fathered, then abandoned, by US soldiers, in the December 31, 2012 issue of the Guardian. “We are hoping there will be a discussion even just to open the issue,” says Aida Santos, managing director of Wedpro, the NGO that has helped the Amerasians form an advocacy group, United Philippine Amerasians. She said: “There are more Amerasians than the eye can see. They need shelter, education, training, jobs.” Read the full article on The Guardian online.
Futures Without Violence, a non-profit organization that works to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world, made WeDpro a 16 Days of Activism Honouree in November, 2011. We’re happy to announce that WeDpro’s partner organizations, Buklod and NAGKA, recently received a $700 award from Futures Without Violence based on donations received from attendees at the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence held in March, 2012. Buklod and NAGKA were featured at the conference along with other 16 Days of Activism honorees, viewed by over 1000 participants, and the donations were divided among designated honoree organizations. “This is a small token of appreciation for their amazing work at the crossroads of health care and gender-based violence,” writes Leni Marin, Senior Vice President of Futures Without Violence. “Futures Without Violence is very fortunate to be connected with you and your efforts.”
Futures Without Violence publishes materials that address violence against women and health. Here are a few of them.
Information Cards for Women
Materials for advocates/activists/healthcare and public health professionals
(Amidst the sounds of fury over the Southeast Asian Sea)
Stop the War Coalition Philippines
6 June 2012 World Peace Bell,
Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City, Philippines
The contending states claiming territorial jurisdiction over sections of the ‘Southeast Asian Sea’ are only heightening regional tensions to a frightening degree. In particular, the contentious row between the Philippines and China is being amplified by certain quarters to a near-conflict level for seemingly nationalistic, but in fact chauvinistic reasons. And as the almost daily sounds of fury raise the stakes for the region’s masses of humanity, many more sober voices of concern must now come out to be heard and not be silenced by the saber-rattling of a deluded few.
Southeast Asia’s regional security environment faces a clear and present danger. The Manila-Beijing standoff emanating from their rival claims to the Southeast Asian Sea must urgently be turned around and be resolved through a process of open diplomacy between the two nations. Both sides need to do so swiftly in order to avert a possible scenario of military confrontation affecting the wider Asia-Pacific region. If this happens, it would only cause a massive blow to the Philippines—its peoples, the economy and society at large.
Undoubtedly, today’s international situation is highly fluid and volatile. The global capitalist system remains dominated by an elite few and its economic and political control over the world’s social majority is primarily upheld by a corporate-driven and profit-oriented neoliberal paradigm. But ever since last year’s worldwide mass upsurges of the global poor, the 99% was able to directly challenge the exploitative and oppressive rule of the 1% across many regions of the world. Yet still, the world continues to dangerously swing from one economic crisis to another, from one toppled regime to the next, and from one war of aggression to yet one more.
And here in the Philippines, the PNoy regime is now seemingly driving our country into a potential state of war with China. Malacañang’s over-reactive pro-US imperialist foreign policy stance is needlessly provoking Beijing into taking a more belligerent attitude towards Manila. Instead of initiating and pursuing a long-range strategic foreign policy thrust premised on the universally acknowledged internationalist principles of sovereign independence, humanist solidarity, people-centered development and progressive self-determination, the PNoy regime is merely maintaining a century-old dependency track in managing our external relations.
At the same time, China must also be firmly admonished for its increasing militarization and power-bullying of other regional claimants in the Southeast Asian Sea. Beijing must realize that the only long-term comprehensive resolution to the regional crisis is through a regionalized multilateral approach which does not have to involve the world’s chief imperialist power, the United States. If China adheres to regional cooperation, it can reap more respect and friendly allies from around its neighborhood without having to impose its powerful might to justify its ends.
In the meantime, the United States is now re-positioning and enhancing its forward power-projection capabilities around the broader Asian region with its aggressive foreign policy framework of an ‘Asian Pivot’. This explains why Washington continues to remain actively involved within the ASEAN Regional Forum’s (ARF) political-security dialogue process, which also includes China and all the ASEAN member-states. Yet given this context, a parallel regional dialogue mechanism which only involves the ASEAN, China, plus other interested and concerned Asian states, can already be initiated and set up to specifically concentrate on resolving the Southeast Asian Sea dilemma without Washington’s undue influence, as is the case with the ARF approach.
Nevertheless, the collective voices and actions of the many all around the world have already been able to progressively change and radically alter the course of the early 21st century. The masses in many parts of the world, such as in Latin America and the Middle East, are now marching toward a more consciously self-determined history to further liberate humanity from imposed wars of aggression and systemic misery. It is this same fundamental spirit that should greatly guide all the peoples living within and around the Southeast Asian region, including its large neighbor China, to always and consistently strive for genuine peace and freedom for the larger regional community of states and societies. This we must do if we all are to principally advance and eventually establish our common vision of a regionalist community within a truly internationalist world order.
Therefore, it is for this principled reason that we are all gathered today to stand together as one united voice concerned for our region’s peace and progress. We are now collectively and loudly voicing out our immediate and urgent concerns about the presently tense and unstable regional security situation and for it to be directly resolved through a transparent mode of diplomacy. To reiterate, we do not want any open military confrontation to break out between China and the Philippines in relation to the Southeast Asian Sea problem. And we certainly do not want the US to intervene in any way because its priority strategic agenda will never be in favor of Manila or the Asian region as a whole, but always in line with Washington’s global hegemonic schemes for world capitalist domination. We also believe that the claims to the contested Southeast Asian Sea can be equitably resolved through open diplomacies of all governments concerned, under the framework of regional cooperation and sharing, than through gunboat diplomacy or open war, where only the powerful nations stand to gain.
Finally, as we all add our voices of concern to this regional problem, we must remain open-minded and critically discerning of the constantly changing conditions that led us to this situation in the first place. We must always pursue a collective regional approach that fosters peace and cooperation. We must not allow ourselves to be used as a ‘provocation agent-state’ for or against another neighboring state, lest we really aim to ignite a broad Asia-Pacific war with horrendous consequences.
Thus, we raise our voices today to say that this is what we shall never allow to happen. Standing united as a broad progressive front, we shall exert all possible efforts to oppose and stop any future conflict or war from breaking out as a result of misplaced national-chauvinist reactions from both sides to this impasse. We must not wait for tomorrow to pass. Let us all act today to block the road to a potential regional war fanned by heated passions over rocks and shoals. Let us now mobilize and support all moves for transparent diplomacy in combination with mass pressure from below and across the region. ###
Signed by:
Stop the War Coalition Philippines
Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers ASSERT
Alliance of Progressive Labor
Association of Women for Agrarian Reform Devt. And Empowerment AWARDEE
CONZARRD.
DAMMMBA
KASAMMAKA
Kilusan Para sa Pambansang Demokrasya
Liga Manggagawa
MAKABAYAN
Mindanao Tri-People Women Resource Center, Inc. MTWRC
Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan KAISAKA
Partido Manggagawa
Partido Lakas ng Masa
Peace Women Partners
Philippine Women Network for Peace and Security
SANLAKAS
SCRAP VFA Movement
Socialista Women
WomanHealth
Women’s Education, Devt., Productivity & Research Organization,Inc. WEDPRO
Young Moro Professionals Network
Youth for Nationalism and Democracy
Sanlakas Youth
WeDpro, Inc. has always championed child rights and youth empowerment. In the past two decades, it has successfully launched activities that benefit the children of the women it serves. Recently, these were formalized as a distinct program: the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP).
YEP aims to:
- Support to the organizational development of the United Philippine Amerasians (UPA) and the empowerment of Filipino Amerasian community. UPA is a network of formal and informal groups and communities of Filipino Amerasians in the Philippines. It recognizes the various Fil-Amerasian groups with diverse origins and purpose. WeDpro has been at the forefront in fighting for Fil-Amerasian rights in the Philippines since the ‘90s. In 2011, WeDpro with the help of Bayanihan Worldwide Foundation facilitated the organizing of UPA to be the voice of the Fil-Amerasians at the national level to lobby for policies and educate the public about them. WeDpro serves as the technical and financial adviser for UPA.
- Develop a new breed of Filipino women leaders. WeDpro as a feminist organization strives to continuously develop new women leaders who will influence communities and institutions. Through partnership in capacity-building and resource-generation, WeDpro intends to implement a leadership training program under YEP.
- Educate and organize community-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth leaders. WeDpro was a pioneer in the LGBT movement and organized the First Lesbian Conference in the Philippines during the ‘90s. Today, it continues to support the fight for recognition and intends to contribute to this cause by reaching out to LGBT youth neglected by other institutions. It hopes to provide gender and sexuality education, human rights workshops and technical support for the development of community based organizations.
WeDpro is open to partnerships and volunteers who are willing to support the Youth Empowerment Program.
After many years of struggle,WeDpro with the United Philippine Amerasians (UPA) has successfully obtained a resolution from the Local Government of Angeles City headed by Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan and the Local Council or Sangguniang Bayan declaring March 4th every year as National Amerasian Day. Read more »
By Sunshine Lichauco de Leon, for CNN
Manila, Philippines (CNN) — When Susie Lopez, 43, was a little girl she would run outside her home in Angeles City, near the U.S. Clark Airbase in the Philippines, every time she heard a plane fly by. Read more »
Twenty six women representing eight countries gathered in Puerto Rico last February 19-25, 2012 to evaluate the impact of militarism, military contamination, imperialism and systems of oppression and exploitation based on gender, race, class, nationality and sexual orientation. Read more »
WeDpro would like to gratefully acknowledge Rock Ed Philippines for their donation of a laptop to the organization. Woohoo! Maraming salamat, Rock Ed! Your donation will go a long way towards supporting our daily operations and will probably be used in our new media projects with urban poor women and youth in Angeles and Olongapo.
For those of you who don’t know about Rock Ed Philippines, they are a wonderful volunteer group working to provide venues and events for alternative education.
Learn more about them and what they do.
Amerasians in the Philippines Call for Equal Opportunities & Solidarity
Mon, 07/04/2011 – 00:35 — admin
Amerasians in Angeles and Olongapo, Pampanga and Castillejos, Zambales have joined hands to promote their rights and called for equal opportunities that will improve their welfare. Converging at a workshop conference with the theme Amerasians Bilang Kaagapay sa Kaunlaran ng Pamayanan (Amerasians as Partners in Community Development), on July 2-3, 2011 at Angeles City, they urged the government, civil society and fellow Amerasians to unite and take action.
“In 1992, the United States military left the Philippines. I thought they took everything with them. But they left behind at least 50,000 Amerasian children whose fathers were American sailors and their mothers were assumed to be prostitutes. These Amerasians are America’s forgotten children,” says Dale Asis, Founder and Executive Director of Bayanihan Foundation Worldwide, one of the organizers of the conference.
Amerasians have long been a marginalized sector in the Philippines, due to the lack of recognition and support from the government and the continuing discrimination that they get from their community.
Read more »
Buklod Center & Nagkakaisang Kababaihan (NAGKA), Philippines
November 28, 2011
These sister organizations have provided assistance to vic
tims and survivors of military sexual exploitation and trafficking in the “red light” districts of Olongapo City and Angeles City. There, they initiated health services, legal assistance, and economic opportunities for vulnerable women, youth, and urban poor. Established in 1987 and 1992 respectively, Buklod and NAGKA have become the “go to” organizations for women and youth experiencing sexual violence in bars operating around former U.S. naval and military installations in the two cities.
Buklod set up a health clinic that addressed reproductive and sexual health and has provided education to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. NAGKA trained members to become HIV/AIDS peer educators and opened a store with a business partner to promote access to contraceptives. In collaboration with other NGOs, both Buklod and NAGKA trained health workers to address basic health and safety needs.
Source: http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/content/features/detail/1872/
