{"id":614,"date":"2020-04-06T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=614"},"modified":"2020-05-02T18:56:37","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T23:56:37","slug":"new-youth-student-activist-organization-launches-at-uh-manoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2020\/04\/06\/new-youth-student-activist-organization-launches-at-uh-manoa\/","title":{"rendered":"New Youth, Student Activist Organization Launches at UH M\u0101noa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mark Lester Rachez<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Launched on March 12, Anakbayan Hawai\u2019i is a newly registered independent organization at the University of Hawaii at M\u0101noa (UHM) heralding a new era of Filipino youth and student activism in the islands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A part of a wider, international movement called Anakbayan, it aims to bridge Filipino democratic struggles in the Philippines with the local struggles in Hawai\u2019i. It seeks to unite youths from different sectors, particularly within marginalized and indigenous communities, to advance the cause of national democracy in the mother-country as well as in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult not to do something when there\u2019s so much going on in the Philippines right now,\u201d said Victor Limon, its current elected chairperson, who was also one of its organizers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A UHM graduate student in Urban and Regional Planning, Limon graduated with a BA in Geography from the University of the Philippines\u2013Diliman, where he was heavily exposed to student activism and Anakbayan. He said this experience and Philippines\u2019 rapid deterioration into chaos had inspired him to organize a Hawaii chapter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting worse,\u201d he said. \u201cTens of thousands murdered in the drug war, chronic poverty and joblessness, landlessness in the rural provinces, corruption in government, environmental disasters caused by big mining, logging, and agro-industrial companies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in 1998, Anakbayan has played major roles in youth and student activism in the Philippines\u2014in the second EDSA revolution, for instance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnakbayan is the most comprehensive youth organization [in the Philippines], with thousands of members, including workers, farmers and indigenous youth,\u201d Limon said. \u201cI think the reason for Anakbayan\u2019s success is its core progressive agenda for national democracy, which resonates with a lot of Filipinos around the world and especially with us here in Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the same potency and alacrity, Limon envisions extending the organization\u2019s mission into the islands, especially to tackle challenges and issues that concern Hawaii\u2019s indigenous, Pacific populations. \u201cHawai\u2019i is such a uniquely amazing place due to its history and position in global progressive politics,\u201d Limon said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked what \u201cnational democracy\u201d entails, Limon explained it \u201cmeans an economy that works for all, and not just for oligarchs, landlords, and career politicians that comprise the political elite.\u201d This, Limon believes, represents the state\u2019s contemporary socio-political climate very well, whose Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) crisis\u2014a multibillion-dollar project that will desecrate Native Hawaiians\u2019 sacred spaces\u2014is still a strong contention among the islands. And for the Philippines, it means \u201cfree from the greed of giant global corporations and the war agenda of foreign powers like China, Russia, and the United States.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although still in its incipient stage, Anakbayan Hawai\u2019i has already taken productive steps in realizing its vision. Just last year, members participated in several solidarity events in and out of the state: they joined UHM\u2019s campaign on International Human Rights Day in Fall 2019; rallied with Kanaka Maoli on Mauna Kea in their fight against the TMT in October; and met with other Anakbayan chapters in the US for a congressional summit, held in Los Angeles, California, in late November to early December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To broaden its scope and strengthen the movement, Anakbayan Hawai\u2018i welcomes \u201ceveryone who shares our commitment to advocating for social justice and democracy in the Philippines,\u201d Limon said, \u201cincluding those who are not Filipino but who share a deep solidarity with our cause.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anakbayan Hawai\u2019i is open to all Filipino youth, ages 13 to 35. To learn more about Anakbayan Hawai\u2019i, follow them on Instagram (@anakbayanhawaii), Facebook (@anakbayanhawaii), and Twitter (@anakbayanhawaii). To join or for any inquiry, email abhawaii@hawaii.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Launched on March 12, Anakbayan Hawai\u2019i is a newly registered independent organization at the University of Hawaii at M\u0101noa (UHM) heralding a new era of Filipino youth and student activism in the islands. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=1400%2C1133",1400,1133,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=300%2C243",300,243,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=640%2C518",640,518,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=640%2C518",640,518,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=1400%2C1133",1400,1133,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=1400%2C1133",1400,1133,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=1200%2C800",1200,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=870%2C570",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=600%2C900",600,900,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=600%2C600",600,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=1115%2C715",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=800%2C500",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=1024%2C829",1024,829,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=540%2C340",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?resize=400%2C250",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Features<\/a> Hawaii - Filipino<\/a>","tag_info":"Hawaii - Filipino","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Anakbayan.jpg?fit=1400%2C1133","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":616,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions\/616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}