Activists forge national Filipino youth alliance in US

Filipino American youth and students convene at Balboa High School in San Francisco. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO — Some 300 Filipino youth and students from all over the U.S. gathered for a conference last September 30-October 1 to establish a national alliance.

Chanting “Kabataan, unite! Fight for people’s rights,” members of 24 organizations launched a national youth coalition called Kabataan Alliance, to tackle the “burning issues of the Filipino community in the U.S., Philippines and across the world.”

The alliance’s founding conference was held at Balboa High School in the Excelsior district, one of San Francisco’s last working class neighborhoods and is part of District 11, home to the largest population of Filipinos in the city.

DACA, EJKs

Throughout the weekend, attendees discussed the history, culture and struggles of the Filipino community, and the importance of collective action in the face of injustice. Almost 20 workshops tackled topics ranging from forced migration, LGBTQ issues, human rights violations in the Philippines and women’s empowerment as well as theater, traditional martial arts and music and mental health.

A panel of youth speakers further explored these topics. One panelist, a 24-year old DACA recipient, rallied attendees to fight for undocumented immigrants, declaring, “I deserve to be here, and the youth are the future. I’m not going anywhere without a fight. No human being deserves to be illegal. Defend DACA and fight back!” Of the 800,000 total DACA recipients, 10,000 are Filipino.

Philippine Congresswoman Sarah Elago, an activist-legislator and the sole youth representative in the Philippine Congress, delivered a keynote speech, reminding Filipino youth in the U.S. that their struggles in this country are directly tied to those in the Philippines.

Citing the pervasive poverty and increasing killings in the country, it is “no wonder that thousands every day are forced to migrate [from the Philippines], an average of 6,000 daily,” Elago said. Of the 15 million Filipinos overseas, almost half are in the U.S.

“I have high hopes that our generation will be the generation that will finally end systemic ills that have long caused suffering, exploitation, oppression, and plunder in many parts of the world.  It is upon the young people of today, to tread the path of struggle, to decisively put an end to structural ills, and to prevent history from repeating itself,” Elago declared.

Capping the conference, “Community is Home: Culture and Music Against Displacement” showcased various musical, dance and theater acts by community performers. Hip-hop acts by the Kasamas, Shining Sons and the Carson Maharlika Club were some of the highlights of the show.

Youth Make History, Launch Kabataan Alliance

The alliance approved its constitution and a three-year plan, which focuses on educating, uniting and acting on issues in the U.S. affecting Filipinos, such as education, immigrant and workers’ rights and solidarity with non-Filipinos. The alliance also resolved to campaign for human rights, including indigenous people’s rights, in the Philippines.

The Executive Board that will guide the alliance for the next three years is composed of Edmund Nabua (Chicago) as Education Director; Jewelle Dela Cruz (Los Angeles) as Finance Director; Patrick Racela (San Francisco) as Internal Vice President; Chrissi Fabro (New York City) as External Vice President; and Kenneth Crebillo (Portland) as President.

Fabro emphasized the need to stand for human rights in the Philippines. “We must continue to raise awareness about the systemic violence in our home country, including the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs. As Filipino youth in the U.S., we can campaign to put international pressure on the Duterte administration to stop the killings.” To date, there are more than 13,000 killed under Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines.

Crebillo called on all Filipino youth to continue building more unity to fight for the rights and welfare of all marginalized Filipinos, especially migrant, working class and indigenous communities. “We are not just here to fight for our own future, but the future of all generations that come after us. Like the vibrant youth who joined the Katipunan to fight against Spanish colonization, to the youth who were instrumental in  toppling  the Marcos dictatorship,  we will continue the fight for a brighter future.”