24 Years Later, the Wounds of Mendiola Still Bleed
Survivors of the Mendiola Massacre are left with bitter memories of that day 24 years ago, when soldiers and police fired their weapons at a group of protesting farmers. Their thirst for justice has kept them going in their continuing struggle for land.
Photo by Jo A. Santos / bulatlat.comPedro Gonzalez: ‘Life for Farmers Is Meaningless If They Are Deprived of Land’
“Suddenly I heard shots. I didn’t know at first that they were gunshots; it sounded more like clapping. First it was intermittent, then soon the sound was loud and deafening. There was chaos, everyone began running away from the sound of gunfire. Men, women, children were running. Yes, there were children with us that day. I also ran, and I am a little ashamed even now to admit that I failed to help those whom I saw fall on the pavement. It was all I could do to keep from falling myself.”Click here to read the story
Photo by Jo A. Santos / bulatlat.comTeresita Arjona: ‘It’s Not to Much to Demand Justice, to Demand Land for the Landless’
Click here to read the story“Everyone was running, running every which way. All I could think of was getting to Lawton where the caravan vehicles were; that and returning to my children. I didn’t know what happened to Danilo, I didn’t see if he was able to run or get away. I was crying as I ran and I didn’t immediately notice that my mother and I were both barefoot. The streets were littered with slippers and bags and streamers and placards. People were yelling, but I didn’t know if it was in pain or in outrage,” she says.
Nanay Tess herself felt rage when she saw, even as she ran for safety, that there were “owner-type” jeeps driving alongside the protestors who were scurrying for safety. “They were shooting at us, at everyone who was running!” she says, anger in her eyes, in her voice.
Source: Bulatlat
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/01/22/%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-not-too-much-to-demand-justice-to-demand-land-for-the-landless%E2%80%99/
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