LOS ANGELES – Activist groups in the United States are condemning the killing of two Filipino-American activists who were among the 19 fatalities in the “encounter” between soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental , on April 19.
The two were identified by US-based activist groups as Lyle Prijoles, 40, of San Francisco and country council member of the International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), and Kai Sorem, 26, of Steilacoom, Washington State and one of the founding officers of Anakbayan South Seattle.
Prijoles’ family is preparing for the repatriation of his remains to the US.
Activist groups in the US are grieving the loss of the two and in what they called as “righteous fury” condemned the incident, demanding for an immediate and independent investigation in connection with their death and the rest of the Toboso 19.
Prijoles, who was born in San Diego and studied journalism and Asian American Studies, was an organizer in the Bay Area and integral to the fight for the passage of the Philippines Human Rights Act (PHRA), which aims to restrict US military funding to the Philippine military given its track record of human rights abuses, a statement issued by ICHRP-US said.
ICHRP-US said Prijoles “modeled what it means to serve selflessly the poor and the oppressed, who challenged the oppressive system of violence and injustice that plagues the Filipino people”.
The Malaya Movement USA called Prijoles a beloved friend who gave back to the Filipino American community through his love for his family, his activism as a student, his involvement in the arts and cultural work, and his human rights advocacy, especially on PHRA “because he knew that US taxpayer dollars were funding bullets and bombs used by the Philippine National Police and AFP.”
The other fatality, Sorem was musician and used her formal education with her love for her community and the Philippines by starting a band and performed inspiring music that depict the people’s struggles and aspirations for a better future for the homeland, about the struggles of migrant families in the neighborhood which she brought together to address the needs in the community, Anakbayan USA said.
“Kai immersed herself deeply in the lives of migrant Filipino families, beloved by many in the community,” Anakbayan USA said.
She was an advisor to a high school Filipino club for many years and got her students excited to learn about their peoples history through art and culturally relevant education, it said.
Anakbayan-USA said that it was not Sorem’s first trip to the Philippines, having travelled to rural Cebu where she saw the plight of peasants and fisherfolk in rural Cebu, living among them and knew she wanted to do more to serve the people.
For the Seattle-based Roger Rigor of the Philippines’ famous 70’s band VST and Company, his Facebook page tribute called Sorem “an inspiration of Love, Strength and Courage”.*
[sibwp_form id=1]