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Press Release
24 May 2008
Overseas Filipinos and Canadians honour the memory of Congressman
Crispin Beltran, commit to carry on Beltran's legacy of struggle for a
just and lasting peace
May 24, 2008 – In a moving and heart-felt tribute, members of the Filipino
community and Canadians in Vancouver gathered to commemorate the late
Philippine congressman and life-long organizer and political activist
Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran.
The tribute, "Parangal para kay Ka Bel: Tuloy ang Laban! Tribute to Ka Bel:
Continue the Struggle!", was held at the Kalayaan Centre. The tribute was
attended by members and supporters of local progressive Filipino women,
migrant, youth and human rights organizations—to share stories, songs and
poetry to the memory of Ka Bel.
The evening was opened by emcees Monica Urrutia of the Philippine Women
Centre of BC and Carlo Sayo of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, BC.
They set the tone by introducing Ka Bel, sharing that he was an honest man
who truly lived by the expression ‘simple living, hard struggle.’
There were a number of cultural performances throughout the service,
including the opening song ‘Awit ng Bayani,’ or, ‘song of a hero’
performed by Arlene Oropel of SIKLAB BC and Jon Nieto of the BC Committee
for Human Rights in the Philippines. The young Women’s Committee of the
Philippine Women Centre of BC also sang a cappella to the song version of
Jose Maria Sison’s poem, ‘What Makes a Hero.’
A slide show of images from Ka Bel’s life, his various times of struggle
and triumph, including some of his various trips to Canada was played,
accompanied by a touching eulogy, from Charlene Sayo of the PWC of BC,
that traced Ka Bel’s roots back from a taxi driver, to a militant labour
leader as the chairperson of the Kilusan Mayo Uno (May First Movement—the
largest labour alliance in the Philippines), as a leading figure in the
anti-imperialist movement as the former chairperson of the International
League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), and as one of only a small handful of
progressive Philippine parliamentarians as a representative of the Bayan
Muna, and later on, Anakpawis Partylists.
The crowd was also able to hear a one of the last recordings Ka Bel sent
to organizers in Canada—a video from Ka Bel thanking member organizations
of the Committee for the Immediate Release of Congressman Beltran. Ka Bel
was detained in February of 2006 under false charges of rebellion, and the
video was recorded shortly after he was released from illegal detention in
June of 2007, after mounting domestic and international pressure calling
for his release.
Progressive organizations from the Kalayaan Centre then had the
opportunity to share what Ka Bel meant to their organizing work. Marlyn
Dadural, one of the founding members of SIKLAB-BC shared how Ka Bel came
to Canada in and was instrumental in the launching of SIKLAB in 1995, and
how he inspired the SIKLAB members as an advocate for migrant workers’
rights. Monica Urrutia read a poem on behalf of the PWC-BC, and May
Farrales, Chairperson of the BC Committee for Human Rights in the
Philippines recounted a story in which Ka Bel, while at an ILPS conference
in Europe, and wearing his only suit, was the only person able to direct
others in the correct way to remove a car stuck in the mud. Although he
got his only suit covered in mud, Ka Bel laughed it off, claiming that “it
was nothing” and simply did what was necessary. Carlo Sayo of the
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance shared that when it came to youth and Ka
Bel, there was no “generation gap,” that he was an inspiration to all
ages, and encouraged other youth to learn from Ka Bel’s example of
life-long activism. Speaking for the Filipino-Nurses Support Group was
Sheila Farrales, who is currently in the Philippines on a one-year
exposure program. Sheila’s pre-recorded greeting included her own
rendition of ‘What Makes a Hero.”
Suzanne Baustad of the Committee for the Immediate Release of Congressman
Beltran spoke about her personal experiences meeting Ka Bel, from his
speaking tours and political engagements in Canada, and her visits with
him in the Philippines. Baustad described Ka Bel as a "true
internationalist" who could immediately connect the Filipino workers'
struggles with the struggles of workers and people all over the world. She
recalled how Ka Bel visited Vancouver in the mid-1990s and again for the
anti-APEC activities in 1997, explaining that Ka Bel's contributions at
these times were important during these formative years for the anti-globalizaiton
and anti-imperialist struggle in the city.
Finally, the floor was opened to the community to share their thoughts and
feelings on who and what Ka Bel meant to them. They included community
members, and even emailed greetings and pre-recorded videos of people
unable to attend the service.
There were stories that celebrated Ka Bel as a leader, as an inspiration,
but also as a simple man, who had no inhibitions, and no arrogance. They
shared examples of him as a gentle, happy person, but also as a fierce and
militant activist who never backed down from his principles, and was
always ready to defend the masses. Beth Grayer of the Organizing Centre
for Social and Economic Justice shared a personal story of when she
visited Ka Bel in his hospital room while he was being detained. “It
wasn’t like a hospital room,” explains Grayer “but with Ka Bel wearing his
KMU hat and buttons, and with campaign posters on the wall, it was more of
an organizer’s office.”
A special greeting was given from Maita Santiago, Secretary General of
Migrante International. She shared how members of Migrante International
fondly call Ka Bel “Captain Ka Bel,” drawn from the comicbook superhero
“Captain Barbell” who was a fearless defender of the poor.
Gloria Remirata of SIKLAB-BC was inspired by everyone’s words that she
wrote an impromptu poem dedicated not only to Ka Bel, but as a message of
the masses saying we will continue the fight upheld by Ka Bel.
In remembering Ka Bel’s Legacy, the Kalayaan Centre organizations proposed
to hold an annual public speaking competition—a testament to Ka Bel’s
great inspirational public speaking abilities. This will help the Filipino
community, especially the youth and coming generations remember Ka Bel for
who he was, how he lived and what he contributed to the Philippine
movement and anti-imperialist struggle.
Before closing the evening with a collective singing of “Awit ng Pag-Asa”
(Song of Hope), community members passed around a basket to collect funds
to help Ka Bel’s Family with funeral expenses.# |
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