Refusing to live in fear: portrait of a human rights defender

Refusing to live in fear: portrait of a human rights defender

“It’s never right to live in fear. Those who attack the civil, political and human rights of the Filipino people thrive on fear and persist in their attacks because of a culture of impunity. To remain silent is to play along with your own victimization,” says human rights advocate Ma. Isabel Aquino Refusing to live in fear: portrait of a human rights defender.
by INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
It has been almost three decades since the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship, but Maria Isabel Aurelia Aquino’s psychological wounds caused by her experiences during those dark days remain as fresh as if they were inflicted yesterday. In her day to day dealings, however, she is able to be sincere to her facade of cheerfulness and calm.

A human rights activist, she knows that fighting for human rights takes courage and persistence.

“But it also takes much personal strength. It’s not always easy to put up a brave face when your work is about defending other people’s rights to live in dignity and to stop physical abuse and exploitation. It can take a toll on you, the knowledge of how so many Filipinos are forced to live not knowing their rights or having their rights violated in a myriad of ways. And then when you consider your own experiences, it’s sometimes gets even harder,” she said ruefully.

Born in Manila to an upper middle class family, Ma. Isabel grew up in an old Spanish house along Severino Street near Claro M. Recto Avenue in Manila. It was an area that saw many street protests and battles between anti-Marcos activists and the Metrocom (now the Philippine National Police), and a stone’s throw away from Don Chino Roces bridge, or more popularly known as Mendiola bridge. She attended a private school nearby, and in the countdown to martial law and in the beginnings of the First Quarter Storm Movement, she became an activist leading students in the struggle against the dictatorship.

“There are those who would say that the days of dictatorship are long gone; but from the state of human rights in the Philippines these days, it is impossible to dismiss the truth that much remains to be desired by way of bringing genuine justice in the country,” she said.

Data gathered by Karapatan human rights organization for the second quarter of the year show the same growing list of human rights violations under President Benigno Aquino III’s Oplan Bayanihan (OPB), his administration’s counterinsurgency program which is deemed no different from the previous Macapagal-Arroyo regime’s Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).

From July 2010 to June 2011, a shocking 48 activists have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings while three others have become victims of enforced disappearance.

Maria Isabel herself almost became a statistic back in March 2010.

On March 10, 2010, armed men arrived at her parents’ house in Severino street looking for her. She was able to elude them because her sister and a caretaker were able to immediately warn her and she was able to leave the house undetected through a separate, back exit. Her elderly parents were shaken and feared for her life but begged her to not raise the issue to the media..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/07/15/refusing-to-live-in-fear-portrait-of-a-human-rights-defender/