October 21, 2015
“The Lord will not let me give the field to you. My ancestors gave it to me.”
I Kings 3:21
We the Christian Youth Fellowship, the youth arm of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines strongly abhor of the killings of our Lumad brothers and sisters.
We are in solidarity with our Lumad brothers and sisters who stood up to protect our land.
In their earnest desire to defend nature’s integrity and human dignity they have experienced inhumane treatments from numerous groups.
· August 19, 2015: Two (2) minors were brutally killed by the elements of the 3rd Company of the 1st Special Forces Battalion in Pangatukan, Bukidnon. They were part of 5 Manobo tribes strafed and killed on suspicion of being NPA combatants.
· Approximately 800 Lumads from San Fernando Bukidnon, Kapalong and Talaingod, Davao del Norte were displaced in Davao City after they experienced heavy militarization in the country sides. They have found UCCP Haran as their sanctuary.
· September 1, 2015: the executive director of the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Development, Inc. (ALCADEV), Emerito ‘Tatay Emok’ Samarca, the chairperson of MAPASU (Persevering Struggle for Future Manobo Generations) Dionel Campos, and his cousin Aurelio “Bello” Sinzo were killed.
· Teachers and students were threatened and harassed. Hundreds of individuals were displaced in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
· Five other Lumads in Barangay Mendis, Pangantucan, Bukidnon, were killed in what was dubbed as a “legitimate encounter” between state forces and the New People’s Army.
· The schooling of Lumad children under the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur was disrupted when residents of Brgy. Siagao, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur were displaced. Brothers Ely and Crisanto Tabugol, residents of the said community, were killed by an armed group.
These are only but a few among the many injustices that our Lumad brothers and sisters have been experiencing. Our nation has more than enough plunderers and oppressors that we still have to fight. And as the young people of our nation, we do not want more plunderers in any form to perpetuate. We therefore uphold those who protect the environment against anyone who plunders it. We uplift the lives of those who have been instruments to protect and promote environmental justice. Much lives have already been sacrificed in the name of this cause.
Being a helping hand and a sanctuary to the people who are in need and who have been oppressed, our church has been under unnecessary criticisms and political labelling. Yet we remain steadfast, humble and in solidarity for the people who need us the most. We open our doors and stretch out our hands just as what Jesus has taught us to do. We continue to let them feel the love that God has for each and every one of us.
Being the youth members , our presence in social media can now be a channel to increase awareness to the entire Filipino society and even to the entire world by posting factual data about these incidences. Let us continue to publicly post, share, tweet and pin such using #stoplumadkillings. These are very simple acts yet they will create a great impact on the very lives of the victims of these injustices when done collectively.
We have much to learn from the humble values of our fellow Lumads and indigenous people: “When one drinks, everyone drinks. When one eats, everyone eats.” They also believe that land, or any part of nature is not theirs to own but for them to take care and cultivate. Their sense of oneness, unity, collectivity, and accountability to creation deserve all our respect. They are deemed as pagans and uncivilized, but their values and lifestyle closely resembles that of Christ’s, and their humanity, honorable and pure.
As we celebrate the Indigenous People’s Month, we remember those who have gone before us, and those who have been one with us in protecting mother earth. Let us altogether offer our prayers during our Sunday services on October 25, 2015. Let us fervently pray that these inhumane treatments experienced by our Lumad brothers and sisters be stopped. Let us pray that the root cause of these militarization activities be completely eradicated. Let us offer our prayers for those people who stood with the Lumads, for those who have offered their lives to defend mother earth. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, just as you did it for the least of these brothers and sisters, you did to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Moreover, we enjoin everyone to conduct special offerings to give assistance to our Lumad brothers and sisters. We are encouraged to offer finances to support the victims including displaced individuals and their families in their basic necessities such as food, temporary shelter, medical, psychosocial, and spiritual care. Let us all gather these resources through our jurisdictional area presidents or you can directly deposit it to our BPI Bank Account: under the name UCCP CHRISTIAN YOUTH FELLOWSHIP and number 003053-4998-55. (Please send the scanned deposit slips to cyfnec@gmail.com.)
Lastly, let us be one to proclaim God’s unconditional love for each and every one of us. Let us join the ecumenical movement that has been arranged to respond to this call. Let us be in solidarity with the ecumenical movement as they call out to stop these injustices.
In the service of God’s people,
EUNICE B. JUMALON
CYF National President
