#supporting palestine as a filipino entails a lot of culturally nuanced stuff

[themagical1sa]

I remember hearing about the Filipino protests for ceasefire within Palestine.

I remember being glad to see the protests being done in solidarity with our fellow oppressed — having had a history of being colonized and all — and then, my father begrudgingly says, "Ang dami-dami na nga nating problema dito, nakikisawsaw pa kayo sa gulo!" [Tagalog: we already have so many problems here, but there you are joining in their chaos!]

I was immediately pissed — was it so bad to show our solidarity with Palestinians in our own land? — but, even in the moment, deep down, I knew my father's response was some form of valid. We can barely live in our own country still neck-deep in poverty as the corrupt manipulate their way into plundering the masses. I mean, if the 2022 national presidential elections was any indication, we were all fucking cheated systemically! We're living in a damned nightmare woven for decades upon decades by the rich and powerful, like the Marcoses.

A Facebook user once posted in a political discussion forum that we're living in a failed democracy. When I saw and stared at the post, I realized... yeah, we really fucking are. Putangina.

My father's comment about Filipino protests for Palestine implies a lot of valid points — we're in our own kind of hell, and we really should be striving to better ourselves first before we call help for other people... and yet, at the same time, I can't deny that, at least, in my head, heart, and soul, I'm fiercely chanting From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

I hope that one day we'll all see the day when we're all finally free — free from oppression. Free from corruption. Free to live and just be.

I hope that one day, we'll all be free.