A Call for Social Justice

A Call for Social Justice

At CASJ General Membership Assembly

By Nora Angeles

(Delivered at the General Membership Assembly of the Community Alliance for Social Justice on Dec. 2, 2006 at Parkdale Library Auditorium.)

Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat!!! It is a pleasure to be here with you today.

I am here today to reiterate CASJ’s cry for social justice. CASJ’s quest is also the Pilipino communities’ quest and that of all other people of colour communities in Canada.

We have a unique situation here in Toronto – a city with the most “diversity”. The city of Toronto can actually be a leader and can show the world how it is that we can live together in peace. But as many community activists have said, there can be no peace, without social justice.

Pag-usapan natin itong peace and social justice na ito. Is there really peace in Toronto? Does social justice exist? Depending on whom you ask, the answers to these questions would be on extremely opposite and distinct sides.

Kung tatanungin natin ang mayayaman dito, whether white o may kulay na kagaya natin who are in positions of power and who are wealthy, regardless of race, they will probably say yes, of course there is peace!!!

And some will say look at other places at war, we should be thankful for what we have here.

The problem is that word WE. Of course WE are thankful – and of course WE are peace loving — but not all of us are included in the WE who have here. Not all of us can be thankful because some of us do not get the jobs we are qualified for and whose education is not recognized; some of us are discriminated and looked down upon by others, including our own kababayans, because they are doing domestic work, because they are gay or lesbian, because they are pipe or binge or disabled, or because they are older relatives who are being used as babysitters, or because they are women who are abused by their partners, or because they are young and neglected by hardworking parents.

Furthermore, what we have here, many times we worked hard for anyway, 10 times harder sometimes, to get what others have without doing the work, just because they are the right race, or they were here first. Many of us, had to give blood, sweat and tears, many are no longer with us.

I wanted to put the call we make in context — this peace and social justice that some of us claim we have here, do not exist for all of us.

Why else would CASJ exist, and Urban Alliance, and hundreds of organizations, national, provincial and local? Why else would there be the Centre for Integrative Anti-racism Studies (CIARS) at the University of Toronto …

We are calling for social justice – social justice in the form of racial equality, access to professions and trades, fair immigration policies and plain and simple – respect for each and every one of us as human beings, the right not to be shot in the back.

Ni hindi pa natin pinag-uusapan ang talagang kahulugan ng social justice and peace. All we are talking about is social justice so we can exercise our basic human rights, these rights which are sufficiently expressed and backed by government policies and commissions on report after report – kung baga, maganda sa papel – but until all of us can say that we are ensured of these basic human rights, we cannot say there is peace and social justice.

And until we achieve these basic human rights, the higher goals of social justice will not even make it to our agenda. I am talking about – action beyond those reports, beyond those policies. Action that will come in the form of implementation of policies by government like: employment standards to protect migrant workers and monitoring of employers who violate these laws; implementation of reports on systemic racism in government institutions so that there would be meaningful reforms in the justice system including policing, as well as the recommendations from the inquest on Jeffrey Reodica’s death; and the integration of immigration requirements (the points system) and seeing that those points actually count once we get here.

We are calling for heartfelt and sincere exercise of an equal and fair field, not mere tokenism – we are looking to people from the mainstream, wealthy, and in positions of power to focus on being good instead of focussing on looking good.

We as a society, with onus on government institutions, politicians and lawmakers – need to work together on creating a city, a province, a nation with a vision of peace and social justice that is inclusive, but more importantly – a Pilipino diaspora that supports and takes pride in one another.
How do we do it?

First, we need to be out there – participating getting involved in public affairs
Second,– practice – practice – practice; we cannot ask for what we are not willing to give ourselves. We cannot teach what we do not know.

We need to show those who violate our human rights, how to respect those rights, not just some times but at all times. Our home is a good place to start – having a home where parents listen to their children, and children listen to their parents. Where we practice what we preach.

Lastly, the lesson I have learned after 36 years here in canada — that the work begins with our selves. The appreciation of who we are physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. (I continue to learn that this belief can be found, not only in the teachings of aboriginal people but just recently I heard a priest say it can be found in Deuteronomy 6). What has forged my work and my vision to become a peaceful contributor to Canadian society comes from my appreciation of who I am as a Pilipina and my, correction, OUR, rich heritage.

For example:

I am very proud, and we should all be proud, that our language, Tagalog, is gender-less (siya – instead of he or she – which to me means we were meant to treat each other equally – at least before we were colonized)

Secondly the concept of kapwa – similar to namaste which means the divine in me salute the divine in you – kapwa is – I am as you are and you are as I am. Wanting the same peace of mind, fairness and justice for me is wanting the same peace of mind and justice for you.

So you see, the world has a lot to learn from us Pilipinos – maybe this is the role that was meant for us to play – maybe this is why we are all over the globe. Let us reclaim it, let us relearn it, so that we can teach it and pass it on.

Mabuhay sa inyong lahat!!!