My Part in the EDSA Revolution 1986

Two nuns were kneeling down in front of a soldier. One nun was holding her rosary tightly, urging the soldier not to shoot them or just reciting her prayers loudly. The other nun was in a contemplative mood, one hand touching her chin, the other arm crossed under her chest. In front of them was a soldier brandishing a belt of bullets, his M-16 rifle held at slope arms. The contrasting image of the nuns and the cold, harsh rifle of the soldier was the focus of this photograph. A huge crowd was behind the nuns. They were ordinary street Filipinos, men and women, parents and children, students, employed or unemployed, rich, middle-class or poor. I was part of this crowd – more people coming and going, military tanks and cannons with their soldiers greeted with flowers and food, burning tyres, activist flags and streamers, vendors, vehicles, portable radios, foreign correspondents and religious altars everywhere.

For: Writespiration #85 Snippets of You by Sacha Black

Weekly Writing Challenge – Worldly Writers

I was 23 when I first left my country. The first time to be away from my family, the first time to travel to Europe, my adventure. I could still remember that day when they all took me to the airport, my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends – quite disheartening, actually. I was sad to leave them, but at the same time, looking forward to my journey.

A week after I’ve arrived in France, it started snowing. I couldn’t believe my eyes; the whole world was blanketed in white! It was so incredibly gorgeous and perfect, no footsteps in it, just lumps and bumps where plants sat in the gardens and cars entirely covered in snow. I was mesmerised. As soon as I’ve felt its powdery texture, I thought to myself, “This was the White Christmas people were dreaming about.” I couldn’t imagine that just a week ago, from sweltering morning – traffic starting to build up in Manila. The noise of cars, taxis, motorcycles, vans and jeepneys beeping and honking, children going to school and adults to work, street vendors selling taho (soya) or peanuts. Such a difference! A normal hectic day in Manila compared to a peaceful, snowy one in France.

Four years later, I was returning to the Philippines. I have lived in Switzerland, Germany and the United States. I worked as a Secretary to the Ambassador of Ethiopia at the United Nations Office in Geneva. I did the English correspondence and dealt with his appointments. It was a great diplomatic experience. Then I went to Germany to do some laboratory training. I’ve got my Chemistry degree from the Philippines, so I was able to get a 6-month training at BASF, Ludwigshafen. There, I met Him Indoors, who was also doing some training. Action and reaction, love happened and we were sad to part ways after the training. I went to Los Angeles, California, USA and he went back to the UK to finish his Chemistry degree. In the summer, he visited me in Los Angeles and we decided to get married. That was the reason I was returning to the Philippines – to tell my parents that we were getting married.

EDSA REVOLUTION / FEBRUARY 1986 Catholic nuns and supporters of the EDSA people’s revolt greets a soldier on board his V-150 armored tank at EDSA. PDI PHOTO/BOY CABRIDO

The EDSA Revolution of 1986 in the Philippines. I was part of the crowd – a bizarre mixture of people coming and going in every direction, military tanks and cannons with their soldiers greeted with flowers and food, burning tires, activist flags and streamers, vendors selling their wares, vehicles parked everywhere and some beeping their horns, portable radios, foreign correspondents and religious altars. Strangers flashed wide grins at each other. People were marching, praying, crying and singing all at the same time. It was one of nonviolent protests that led to the departure of the then President Marcos and the re-establishment of the country’s democracy. I was there. I wanted to make a difference. I was part of that history.

We got married on the nicest day of June (it was the only weekend it didn’t rain, thank God) in the UK. We prepared a big fish (baked) with mayonnaise, red and green peppers, chopped carrots on top. I also cooked spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce and other Filipino dishes. Him Indoor’s mother baked the cake, and did the other dishes. We prepared before hand, so we used the fridges of their neighbours to store them. My cousin from Germany and her husband came and she was my Maid of Honour. She wore a Royal Blue Dress. I wore a creamish dress from the Philippines, made of pineapple fibre, like silk. It was exquisite! Him Indoors wore a dark blue suit, with his great grandfather’s pocket watch. We got married in the Register Office, which was a magnificent timber building and the oldest building in the country. It was so romantic!

Four years later, Him Indoors was accepted to work in Bavaria so we moved here. It was a new place for both of us, not knowing that we would be still here after 25 years. HRH the son was born here and he considers Bavaria as his home. We’re happy here – we have the mountains to hike or ski in the winter, and the lakes, beer gardens and parks to walk or cycle in the summer. It was just the right size for us, not too big a city and not too little a village. We have a terrace house and a garden. When HRH the son was born, I decided to stay at home and looked after him. We did lots of things together, from toddler groups, music school, kindergarden, school, etc. I volunteered to work as one of the librarians in their library. When he was 10, I started thinking about going back to work. I did some training, a Master’s in English Language Teaching. Now, I’m a freelance English trainer/teacher. And so, my journey continues.

 

For: Weekly Writing Challenge – Worldly Writers

 

Determination

The EDSA Revolution of 1986 – it was a story about every Filipino’s dream of being free and taking part in the process. It involved over 2 million Filipino civilians, as well as several political, military and religious groups. It was one of nonviolent protests that began in 1983 and culminated in 1986. The methods used amounted to a sustained campaign of civil resistance against the 20-year running authoritarian, undemocratic regime of the then President Ferdinand Marcos. It led to his departure from the Malacanang Palace to Hawaii and the re-establishment of the country’s democracy.

Corazon Aquino was proclaimed as the legitimate President of the Philippines after the revolution. The wife of slain political leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, she fought the aging dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the controversial snap elections for Presidency in 1986. She won but was cheated. Not a gun was fired, yet Marcos was forced to step down because millions went into the streets and demanded his resignation.

Revolutions do not take place overnight. The Marcos years, characterized by the unscrupulous exercise of power preservation and fomented political unrest. Allegations of graft and corruption against the administration would forge a disproportion of wealth. The declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972 started a feeling of discontent which would make this act of resistance essential, even inevitable to the reinstatement of democracy.

The EDSA Revolution of 1986 was about the people power that was of the spontaneous, disoriented, unorganized fluid and ambiguous kind. Filipinos from all walks of life discovered a collective will that they had never exerted before and a common bond they had never nurtured. Spontaneity, astonishment and interestingness were the very spirit of the vent. To conclude, people, when treated badly, can summon enough courage, solidarity and determination to stand up and resist.

“I can and I will” – it’s all in the mind. Never give up, whatever we want to do or achieve and if it doesn’t work, there’s always a plan b or c or d and so on. We’ve got to be positive and remain positive, amidst the challenges or hindrances. Persistent motivation or determination is part of being robust, to be able to withstand adverse conditions and continue. It also means that we’ve got to accept the situation, that there’s always a reason for something and sometimes, we’ve got to say no. And when we do, it’s not a sign of weakness – it’s also robust to know when to give up.

 

For: Tenacity ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #20 by Patrick Jennings

The EDSA Revolution of 1986

To celebrate its 29th anniversary today, I’m re-blogging this post. Hope you like it. I was there!

ladyleemanila

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother” (Shakespeare, King Henry the Fifth, Scene III, Act 4). This quote is the closest I have for describing this photograph. It is about being there and making a difference. This image is about the EDSA Revolution of 1986 in the Philippines.

The black-and white image was one of the many documentary photographs taken during the EDSA Revolution. Two nuns were kneeling down in front of a soldier. One nun was holding her rosary tightly, mouth wide open, probably urging the soldier not to shoot them or just reciting her prayers loudly. The other nun was in a contemplative mood, one hand touching her chin, the other arm crossed below her chest. In front of them was a soldier, his back half seen in the photograph. He was standing…

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The EDSA Revolution of 1986

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother” (Shakespeare, King Henry the Fifth, Scene III, Act 4). This quote is the closest I have for describing this photograph. It is about being there and making a difference. This image is about the EDSA Revolution of 1986 in the Philippines.

The black-and white image was one of the many documentary photographs taken during the EDSA Revolution. Two nuns were kneeling down in front of a soldier. One nun was holding her rosary tightly, mouth wide open, probably urging the soldier not to shoot them or just reciting her prayers loudly. The other nun was in a contemplative mood, one hand touching her chin, the other arm crossed below her chest. In front of them was a soldier, his back half seen in the photograph. He was standing straight, brandishing a belt of bullets, his M-16 rifle held at slope arms. The contrasting image of the nuns and the cold harsh rifle of the soldier was the focus of this photograph. A huge crowd was behind the nuns. They were ordinary street Filipinos, men and women, parents and children, students, employed or unemployed, rich, middle-class or poor. Some of them were kneeling down, some standing, some with fists in the air, some looking nervously, unsure of what happens next.

I was part of this crowd. I was in the background. I also know what was outside the frame of the photograph because I experienced the same tension and activities. It was a bizarre mixture of more people coming and going in every direction, military tanks and cannons with their soldiers greeted by flowers and food, burning tires, activist flags and streamers, vendors, vehicles, portable radios, foreign correspondents and religious altars everywhere. Strangers flashed wide grins at each other. Motorists honked their horns. People were marching, praying, crying and singing all at the same time.

This documentary photograph was taken anytime during February 22 to 25, 1986, at a stretch of 54 kilometers Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, more commonly known by its acronym EDSA, in Metro Manila. It involved over 2 million Filipino civilians, as well as several political, military and religious groups. It was one of nonviolent protests that began in 1983 and culminated in 1986. The methods used amounted to a sustained campaign of civil resistance against the 20-year running authoritarian, undemocratic regime of the then President Ferdinand Marcos. It led to his departure from the Malacanang Palace to Hawaii and the re-establishment of the country’s democracy. Corazon Aquino was proclaimed as the legitimate President of the Philippines after the revolution (edsarevolution.com; philippine-history.org).

Nobody in the photograph was an expert. Nobody knew what they were doing. They were not organized in any form or manner. They did not really know what was going on beyond their field of vision, beyond the square feet their feet could walk. The image captured the emotion and the disoriented feeling of the subjects. There was a feeling of uncertainty and tension as the people seem to be waiting for the reaction of the soldier. They did not know what manner of harm he intends to inflict on them. Will he shoot them? Will there be bloodshed? There was also a feeling of defiance as their fists hit the air, or of faith as they recite their prayers. However, there was no plot, no Promised Land, no Utopia. At that time, Filipinos did not go there to make a revolution or establish a Brave New World. It can be argued that the chronology of the event forces us to admit that there was no miracle here, no reducing the whole experience to class, no organization that could take responsibility for the outcome.

Revolutions do not take place overnight. The Marcos years, characterized by the unscrupulous exercise of power preservation, fomented political unrest. Allegations of graft and corruption against the administration would forge a disproportion of wealth. The declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972 started a feeling of discontent which would make this act of resistance essential, even inevitable to the reinstatement of democracy (philippine-history.org). The EDSA Revolution of 1986 was about the people power that was of the spontaneous, disoriented, unorganized fluid and ambiguous kind. Filipinos from all walks of life discovered a collective will that they had never exerted before and a common bond they had never nurtured. Spontaneity, astonishment and interestingness were the very spirit of the vent. To conclude, people, when treated badly, can summon enough courage, solidarity and determination to stand up and resist.

“Old men forget, yet all shall be forgotten; But he’ll remember, with advantages, so what feats he did that day” (Shakespeare, King Henry the Fifth, Scene III, Act 4). Twenty eight years later, I know that these Filipinos will always be my brothers and sisters. I was there. I wanted to make a difference. I was part of that history.

References:
http://www.edsarevolution.com
http://www.philippine-history.org/edsa-people-power-revolution.htm
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~guing22f/classweb/The1986PeoplePowerRevolution/page11/the%20revolution/therevolution.html