Of Pearls and Golds

Of Pearls and Golds

The pearl is derived from the sea,

And gold is mined from the land,

But  does not show itself

And mined as it is,

It takes years of cultivation,

Of building like the character

Of a true men and woman;

It has to go to a process

Like iron to be cast,

And molded into a blade-

That cuts both ways;

One to cut the old,

And carve the new-

And yet gold taels

Heavy and precious

Are nothing for people

Who are hungry,

They served only as decorations

For the rich and the strong

But pearls accentuate beauty

Of the long necks

Of shapely ladies

Only to be cut

By the blade of the gallows

Of justice.

Yes gold is heavier than diamond

But the pearls are more precious

That belongs to the deepest sea,

Only to worn by rich ladies,

While gold can worn

And be adorned

Used as a standard of money

And ruled the world once,

And still is.

When They Never Came Back

Article

When They Never Came Back

J. Luna

“The hardest thing for a leader is to send your men to their death. But that, we must do.”

General Robert Lee, one of America’s best general echoed the sentiment of every revolutionary leader in the midst of battle.

Even in the thick of a fight, you must order your best soldiers to do something to turn the tide of battle in favor of your troops. And in that sense your are ordering him to his death.

Ka. Orlan was one of the four brothers from a barrio who joined the fighting unit. For the last three years, one by one, three of his brother died figuring in battles where they performed heroically. He was the last remaining son from his family.

Because he was with the regional security unit, his superior aware that he was the youngest and the last remaining men from his clan and barrio, made arrangements. that he was to be spared from military action. A decision when it was relayed to him he resent but  he faithfully obeyed.

And in one engagement in 1986, when the AFP launched their operations against the people’s army, they figured in one hot engagement. They engaged one company of enemy but because of their knowledge of the terrain they overcame the enemy.

But Ka. Orlan went to his superior and beg that he be engaged in the battle. The leader was unfazed,. But sensing the eagerness of the fighter, he let him go. So eager and full of enthusiasm he went off to battle as a reserve.

And he never came back. The leader regretted his decision but that was fate.

Another comrade, who just came in from a  long mission in a far away place rejoined his unit. He came from terrible battles but instead of resting, when he heard that the unit was to join the main unit for an offensive, he again volunteered.

“ Please me join them before I make this long rest.” Ka Luna begged the commander. And because he has a soft heart he said okay. Again, he never came back.

He was killed while leading the cleaning team in securing all the firearms seized from the enemy, He was killed by a straggler.

How many comrades that he trained for moths, formed their units and send off and how many came back? Never to be seen again. He always remember their faces.

And yet they called him ruthless. Heartless. The architect of SCO. Blamed him for so many casualties during the deviations and yet they never know his heart bleeds for his losses.




Yes, the hardest decision for a military leader is to send your most able men to perform a duty knowing he will never come back from it. But paramount is the success of the mission. Victory is sweet but no body bother asked how much it cost.

Does the end justified the means? I leave that to you to answer. How can you answer when you expect them to be here and yet they never came back.

Only the rifle, the bandoleer and some of the personal things to be given to the immediate family. A letter too sent or a personal words to speak to remains to be said.

It really hard when you know that when you sent them off with a smile, they will never come back.

Only the tears in his eyes and the wounds in his heart can attest to that.

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Patrice Lumumba:An African liberation leader for our times

Patrice Lumumba:An African liberation leader for our times

“We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.”

The Belgians expected mild-mannered obedience from their colonial subjects, but Patrice Lumumba confronted them directly. 

People from the 1960’s will remember that the Philippines sent a air force unit in Congo in the so-called mandate from the United Nations. The same way, the Philippine armed forces sent troops to intervene in Korea and other places like East Timor and Israel-Beirut borders.

Freedom fighter and nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by imperialist forces 50 years ago Jan. 17. Along with Lumumba, the post-independence aspirations of the Congolese people for a unified, economically independent Congo were also crushed, although his example continues to inspire revolutionaries around the world.

The region now known as the Congo was a Belgian colony called the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908, and the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960. Independence in 1960 was followed by civil war and an intervention by the United Nations to bring peace—a story all too familiar to us in 2011.

In the midst of this grave crisis, a great leader emerged from the struggle for liberation. His name was Patrice Lumumba. The Belgians expected mild mannered obedience from their colonial subjects. However, after being elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba gave a fiery speech confronting the Belgian colonialists directly, sending shockwaves throughout the imperialist camp.

Fearless Leader

The fearlessness of Lumumba in confronting the enemies of the people head-on and articulating an alternative vision captured the imaginations of scores of the newly independent Congolese. When other leaders buckled under intense pressure, Lumumba was bold and decisive. It was these leadership qualities in addition to his insistence on unconditional self-determination that made him the target of a Western-led assassination plot.

Although some of the details are still murky, we know that the United States played a role in the volatile atmosphere that led to the murder of Lumumba. We also know that the Central Intelligence Agency had planned to neutralize the Congolese leader.

His body was burned  by a special Belgian mercenary troops and can never not be found. Like other African leader like Captain Sankara and other national liberation struggle figures, the colonialist and their puppets wants to get rid of their bodies so people cannot make symbols of them.

After Lumumba's death, the Congo quickly disintegrated into competing regional and ethnic factions. A Western-backed dictator and former confidant of Lumumba's, Mobutu Sese Seko assumed the mantle of absolute ruler in a military coup and held onto it for decades until he himself was overthrown in an insurrection years later. 

In his life, Lumumba was a soldier in the cause of unity and social progress. He developed his leadership and organizational skills as a trade unionist, educator and writer. In the midst of a world revolution against colonialism, Lumumba became increasingly involved in the anti-colonial struggles of his own country.

Anti Imperialist

Lumumba was compelled by the global political environment to create a radical nationalist party which promoted national unity and economic sovereignty. He was also deeply influenced by pan-Africanist ideals and attended the All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, hosted by revolutionary leader, Kwame Nkrumah.

The assassination of Lumumba created a crisis that the Congo has not yet overcome. In the absence of his leadership, imperialists were able to take advantage of internal divisions and their close relations with Mobutu to steal resource wealth and build a staging base for counterrevolution in Central Africa. The Congo is now a neo-colonial state serving the exclusive interests of multinational corporations and financial institutions.

Meanwhile, millions of Congolese people have died in conflicts over land and resources. Instead of the vision Lumumba once represented, the Congolese have turned toward ethno-nationalist or millenarian religious movements to defend their families and survive. Civil wars and brutal upsurges for ethnic or religious “purity” have replaced the national and popular anti-colonial movements that once inspired progressives and revolutionaries worldwide.

On the 50th anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's assassination, we must remember the principles and exemplary leadership model he provided for contemporary struggles in the Congo and Africa in general. The parallels between the moment of crisis in the early 60's and now are inescapable.

To resolve the current leadership crisis, new visionaries and organizations must emerge from popular working-class movements rejecting neo-colonialism and offering a transcendent vision of economic sovereignty and national unity. There are already efforts throughout Africa to unite the working class and inspire a new generation of leaders to challenge comprador elites and unite people across regional and ethnic differences.

We honor our martyrs in the cause of liberation best when new cadres join the struggle against imperialism. Long live the legacy of Patrice Lumumba! The torch he and other freedom fighters lit will never be extinguished!

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