Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk
New Zealand and Filipino teachers, community advocates and students this week launched an open letter appealing to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to end military abuses against indigenous Lumad people in the southern island of Mindanao.
They also called on the Manila government to scrap a terrorist listing of Lumad leaders and community activists.
The appeal was made in response to a group of Lumad advocates and teachers from the Save Our Schools (SOS) network who have been visiting New Zealand for a speaking tour.
The activists spoke at Auckland’s Peace Place in their last meeting before returning to the Philippines.
Pacific Media Centre’s Del Abcede was there to capture the event in images.
1. Fritzi Junance Magbanua …. indigenous Lumad campaigning to save their schools. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
2. Pacific Media Centre journalist Jean Bell interviews Fritzi. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
3. Te Waha Nui reporter Rahul Bhattarai interviews Lorena Sigua. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
4. Fritzi, Rahul and Lorena at Auckland’s Peace Place. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
5. Janet Roth speaking with Amie Dural of Auckland Philippine Solidarity. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
6. “Land is life” to the indigenous Lumads. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
7. “Land of promise”. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
8. Lumad activists tagged as “terrorists” by Duterte government. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
9. Mining on ancestral land in Mindanao. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
10. “Yutang Kabilin” … ancestral land. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
11. Singing an indigenous Lumad song about their struggle. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
12. Posters on the Save Lumad schools campaign. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
13. A call to stop the killings of indigenous people in the Philippines. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
14. “Don’t bomb Lumad schools” plea. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
15. A group photo of Lumad activists and supporters at Auckland’s Peace Place. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
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