2012.04.26 BAYAN PNW Press Release
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Transcript of 2012.04.26 BAYAN PNW Press Release
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8/2/2019 2012.04.26 BAYAN PNW Press Release
1/2
For Immediate Release
April 26, 2012
Contact: Contact: Chel Cendana
Seattle Filipino American Community Organizations Gather for Student Summit
Last weekend, Filipino American community groups led workshops on migrant stories, social
justice art, and labor history. Each facilitator also connected each teaching to what they believe
is the continuing U.S. military occupation of the Philippines.
On Saturday, April 21, over 300 students from 14 different Filipino youth and student
organizations throughout Washington and Oregon gathered for the 17th Annual Northwest
Filipino American Student Alliance (NWFASA) Conference.
The Filipino American arts organization Alay ng Kultura facilitated a workshop focused on
culture, identity, and politically responsible art. A teach-in on the roots of Filipino migration was
conducted by the members of womens group Pinay sa Seattle. Members from Philippine U.S.
Solidarity Organization and BAYAN-USA Pacific Northwest did an introduction to the historical
legacy of author, poet and organizer Carlos Bulosan. They also discussed the identity of Filipinos
rooted in an unfinished struggle for freedom in the Pacific archipelago. Finally, Anakbayan
Seattle facilitated a workshop on the contributions of youth and students to the ongoing
struggle for political and economic liberation, worldwide and in the Philippines.
All organizations integrated BAYAN-USAs rally call, US Troops Out of the Philippines into their
workshops, exposing U.S. military exercises as a violation of Philippinesovereignty. Furthermore, facilitators talked about what they see as the US and Philippines
colluding to manipulate public opinion against China in the territory dispute in the South China
Sea. The activists state that the presence of the U.S. military in the Philippines is economically
motivated, to secure the markets of the Asia-Pacific, and ensuring Philippine natural resources
were available for extraction.
More than 200 of conference attendees were exposed to the US Troops Out Now campaign,
many unaware of the vast wealth of the Philippine islands. BAYAN facilitators discussed the
recently released report citing the value of Philippine gold, enough to lift the country out of
poverty, This helps me understand why the U.S. was there in 1899 and in2012and there is abill to double the interest of Stafford loans" students commented, "Americans owe more in
student loans than they do credit cards, nowour tax dollars should be used to invest in
education, not towards the protection of corporate wealth.
BAYAN-USA Pacific Northwest organizations along with the Philippine U.S. Solidarity
Organization are leading further teach-ins and mobilizing over thirty community members to
attend events and protests against the May NATO meetings in Chicago.###
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8/2/2019 2012.04.26 BAYAN PNW Press Release
2/2
For Immediate Release
April 26, 2012
Contact: Contact: Chel Cendana
