I wish I could post some art for today, but this is all I have.
My parents were at the EDSA People Power Revolution, the first one that happened in 1986. They were in their mid-twenties at the time. Over the years, they’ve told me stories of how they slept in the streets and woke up early in the morning to go to the rally. They even have a picture of them in the crowds, close to the tanks that stood still in the streets.
I think about today, and how the Marcoses have managed to take back the presidency in less than 40 years. It disgusts me beyond all belief, not only because of the recent drastic shifting of schedules (who the hell honestly asked for Feb 24 to be a holiday), but because February 25 is incredibly historically significant. No one has any right to change that date for any reason, because doing so takes away the importance of what happened.
No one has any right to make the Filipino people forget what this country has gone through.
Remember Martial Law. Remember the atrocities of the Marcos family. Remember the people who went missing, who died, who were tortured.
Remember today – the day the Marcoses were forced to leave the country after their long reign of dictatorship abused and took the lives of thousands. Remember the people who rose up against them. These people have stories to tell – stories worth listening to, sharing, and learning from. Never let anyone make you forget.
