Mary Aileen D. Bacalso is a Filipino through and through, but claims that her first name is actually Irish in origin. This perhaps manifests her highly cosmopolitan bent, having traveled to Europe, Africa, Latin America and other parts of Asia in her continuing advocacy for justice and redress for the disappeared and the attainment of truth. She is currently the Secretary-General of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and has been in the human rights movement since the early 1980s.
Turning Individual Crusades into a Collective Struggle…
The situations of the different countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa vis-à-vis enforced or involuntary disappearances speak of a common language of lingering pain and suffering, of a festering wound that refuses to heal. Amidst despair is a language of hope, without which nothing could pave the way to healing and eventual empowerment. While healing and empowerment start with the personal and individual efforts and transcended to collective effort, the process is found wanting if not done simultaneous with the transformation of society. After all, enforced or involuntary disappearances are a product of unjust structures of societies, which, in the name of national security, have caused their citizens to involuntarily disappear.
The disappearance of a person immediately prompts a loved one to ask the question, “ Where is S/he?” Then starts the most difficult, tedious process of search – a long search that oftentimes leads to nowhere. Military camps, possible “safehouses”1 hospitals, morgues, areas where dead bodies are usually dumped and all other possible places where angels fear to tread - these are places visited by the immediate family of a disappeared. This goes on for days, months and years and more often than not, the question of where the person is remains unanswered.
The search continues. But beyond the search of the physical person is the search for the truth behind the disappearance and the struggle for justice, reparation and redress for the victim and the suffering family and the recuperation of the historical memory of the desaparecido. This more profound level of search cannot anymore be confined to an individual crusade of one family, but a collective struggle of an organization of families who, in almost all cases, found each other in the course of their search for their disappeared loved ones.
Then, an organization of families of the disappeared in a country emerged, thus enabling individual family members to share each other’s feelings, which, they realize, are common in them – fear, anger, loneliness, despair, guilt, grief. Gradually, the grieving families find the natural comfort from each other’s presence – a reassurance that in this seemingly lonely fight, they are not alone. This is the common story of the national organizations of families of the disappeared not only in the Asian countries where AFAD member-organizations are based but also in other parts of the world.
The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in the Philippines, for example, at first, did not know of other organizations that existed in other Asian countries. It knew about the existence of the very well-known Madres de Plaza de Mayo of Argentina and other similar organizations of Latin America. But little did it know of the same cry of its neighboring Asian sisters and brothers of the disappeared. Not until it came to be invited as the representative of Asia by Linking Solidarity, in its inter-continental forum of 1996, did FIND know that in the not-so-distant countries of Sri Lanka and India, for instance, families of the disappeared speak of the same language of pain, suffering, hope and struggle.
The need to strengthen further the national struggle for justice and against impunity had encouraged FIND to concretely intensify its international work by listening to the experiences of peoples from other continents, thus prompting it to conduct an inter-continental sharing of experiences of representatives of organizations of families of the disappeared from Asia, Latin America, Africa. It was during the 1997 International Week of the Disappeared that representatives from Sri Lanka, Cambodia, South Africa, Argentina and El Salvador shared with the families of the disappeared in the Philippines the phenomenon of enforced or involuntary disappearances in their respective countries and their concrete organizational response to the situation.
Coming from the points around the globe to sow the seeds of international movement against involuntary disappearances, representatives of organizations concerned with the common issue of involuntary disappearances from Asia, Africa and Latin America expressed their friendship and solidarity by coming to the Philippines. Mr. Chandra Peiris of the Organization of Parents and Family Members of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka humbled all with his stories about his small country of 18 million people with 60 thousand cases of disappearances from the south alone. Mr. Yin Mengli from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association said that for certain, disappearances would once again be an issue in Cambodia during its then upcoming elections in 1998. Wife of a disappeared, Ms. Maybel Makupe of the Khulumani (Speak Up) Support Group, gave insights on how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in her country had re- traumatized the families of victims by just listening to the testimonies of perpetrators and then doing nothing to exercise justice. Miss Marcela Espeche of HIJOS (Children of the Disappeared) of Argentina exuded the hope and enthusiasm of the children of the disappeared in a country globally notorious for its record of involuntary disappearances. Survivor of the Jesuits massacre of 1989, Fr. Jon de Cortina, S.J. of the Asociacion Pro Busqueda de Ninas y Ninos Desaparecidos (Association for the Search of Missing Children) inspired us all by his amazing stories of the successful search for missing Salvadoran children who had been reunited with their parents.
Enriched by activities that ran the whole gamut from diplomatic briefings to press conferences, media hopping, motorcade and liturgical celebration, meeting with congress persons, mobilization and a noise barrage and the stage production of the Association of the Children of the Disappeared, entitled Lagablab ng Katapangan or Flame of Courage, the international guests encouraged FIND to form a network of organizations in Asia concerned with the issue of involuntary disappearances.
Thus, the 1997 commemoration of the International Week of the Disappeared culminated with the resolve to strengthen and intensify the international movement against involuntary disappearances concretely through the formation of an Asian group concerned with the issue of involuntary disappearances and its eventual linkage with the Federacion Latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos (FEDEFAM) or Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees.
The first seeds of international cooperation were sown – also a concrete response to the challenge of Linking Solidarity which challenged Asian organizations, to wit: “ Inviting Asia-based committees is important to be more effective in lobbying activities; to set up an immediate support and solidarity system, to gain funds that support transnational cooperation and to act more united towards the United Nations and other world-wide institutes. This could be a venue for possibly creating, in the future, a regional oneness like FEDEFAM.”
On the same year, the linkage with FEDEFAM was started through the effort of Fr. Jon de Cortina to relay the results of his visit to the Philippines to then FEDEFAM Chairperson, Mrs. Yanette Bautista and through the visit of then FEDEFAM Executive Secretary, Sister Maria del Carmen Pariente to the Philippines. Then FIND Co-Chairperson Mary Aileen D. Bacalso and FIND Chairperson for the National Capital Region, Erlinda Malicdem attended FEDEFAM’s 14th Congress held in November 1997 in Mexico, thus learning much from the persevering struggle of the mothers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters and other relatives of the disappeared from different countries of Latin America. It was also an opportunity to visit El Salvador to personally meet some families of the disappeared in the war-torn town of Chalatengo, who amazingly found their disappeared children alive.
Looking back: Some Significant Points of AFAD’s History – Its Conception, Birth and Continuing Development…
The federation was not just born without being conceived. Its foundation had to be built and strengthened. Thus, on March 18-20 of the following year, the then FIND Co-Chairperson and members of the Organization of Parents and Family Members of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka (OPFMD) conceptualized the then unnamed Asian group. Hundreds of family members of the disappeared present during the activity expressed the optimism that this then envisioned Asian group would rekindle hopes that one day, truth would be revealed, justice and redress be achieved and the memory of the disappeared will never be forgotten.
So great were the expectations posed to the then unnamed Asian group by the families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka who even gave their addresses and photos of their loved ones hoping that in the not-so-distant future, a new day will dawn. The partnership of the Philippine and Sri Lankan organizations was strengthened by the participation of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in Jammu and Kashmir which was introduced by Ms. Emma Blower of Amnesty International to Mr. Peiris, former Chairman of OPFMD. In a letter to OPFMD, Amnesty International said: “ We have tried to encourage and help the association of Jammu and Kashmir to link with other similar organizations, since they are extremely isolated in that region.”
Bearing initial fruits, the first seeds of global and regional linkage saw the birth of AFAD on June 4, 1998 in Manila, Philippines. It was composed of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons of Kashmir, India; FIND of the Philippines and OPFMD of Sri Lanka. Its establishment was graced by then FEDEFAM President, Mrs. Yanette Bautista, representative of the Nydia Erikka Bautista Foundation, Mr. Federico Kircher and representative of the Association of the Missing Defenders of Croatia, Mrs. Stefica Krstc. Manila-based Indonesian students, savoring the euphoria from the fall of Suharto, forged their solidarity with AFAD and suggested that KontraS, then a newly formed organization in Indonesia, be invited to join the Federation. AFAD was given birth with the blessing of the human rights community in the Philippines.
“This is a very important day for the victims and their families. This day, we have transcended our national boundaries and have joined together to really involve in the common cause to ensure respect for human rights and give due premium to the sacrifices and struggles of the victims of involuntary disappearances, not only in the Philippines, but in all of Asia.” Thus, Rep. Edcel Lagman, who was later to be elected as AFAD Chairperson, said in his speech.
Mr. Pierre Sane, then Secretary-General of Amnesty International, expressed his solidarity through a letter: “ Amnesty International welcomes the meeting in Manila and the formation of an Asian grouping of organizations working on the issue of disappearances, linked to the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees and envisioning eventually the establishment of an international movement for the disappeared.”
In the latter part of 1998, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence or KontraS of Indonesia joined AFAD. The following year, the Relatives Committee of the May 1992 Heroes also joined. Starting with five organizations, the foundation of AFAD was being strengthened ushering in to the convening of its Founding Congress on May 23-30, 2000 in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was attended by five AFAD member-organizations; FEDEFAM through its Executive Secretary, Ms. Judith Galarza; Linking Solidarity, Ms.Henriette Emaar; Human Rights in China through Ms. Judy Chen; Truth and Justice Commission, Atty. Farooq Niazi and the local human rights community.
Then newly-elected AFAD Chairperson, Rep. Edcel Lagman commented: “ The Founding of AFAD affirms the full realization that the odious practice of involuntary disappearance is of global magnitude. It is a firm resolve that we are not going to rest until the last desaparecido is given justice. It is a continuing struggle for the disappeared. It is my prayer and hope that AFAD will remain a continuing organization for the desaparecidos and their families. And that it shall never be itself a disappeared organization.”
Two years later, AFAD, in its Second Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand in August 2004, reaffirmed its commitment to intensify the struggle on the national, regional and international level. AFAD elected Munir, the most courageous human rights defender of Indonesia, as its Chairperson. Munir, in an editorial he wrote for the April 2003 issue of AFAD’s magazine, “ The Voice” had this to say: “ AFAD’s commitment to intensify the struggle on the national, regional and international level, carried collectively in creative ways by AFAD members, whose arms are linked with other defenders and victims in the rest of the world, shall surely take roots and gain grounds towards breaking the walls of impunity.
One year after Munir’s election as AFAD Chairperson, he was brutally poisoned with a lethal dosage of arsenic and died in a Garuda flight from Singapore to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004, two hours before his arrival in Amsterdam. AFAD, which lost its Chairperson, calls for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation leaving no stone unturned in ferreting out the truth so that justice be meted out for his family, the Indonesian human rights community and the international human rights community.
As of this writing, AFAD is left without a Chairperson but always mindful of Munir’s great examples that shall always and forever serve as an inspiration to continue the fight against unjust structures that consequently cause violations of human rights.
Its Humble Contribution to the Struggle Against Impunity
In AFAD’s avowed mission, vision and goals, its concrete ways of living up to its reason for being are its three major components of work, e.g. Solidarity, Lobby and Campaign and Public Information. In the context of AFAD’s mandate and given the federation’s capabilities as well as limitations, the realization of these components of work is an attempt to respond, in a regional level, to the problems and needs of the families of the disappeared in Asia. These are AFAD’s humble contribution to the struggle against impunity.
In Solidarity, We Shall Overcome…..
The very essence of the federation is solidarity. The very basis of unity of its member-organizations is the commonality of the experience of enforced or involuntary disappearances that necessitates a unified and common response. Thus, through the years, AFAD consolidates and expands itself. Started with a core group of three member-organizations, AFAD has expanded to eight organizations from seven countries, namely: Tiananmen Mothers of China; the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in Kashmir, India; and IKOHI of Indonesia, the Truth and Justice Commission of Pakistan, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in the Philippines, the Organization of Parents and Family Members of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka and the Relatives Committee of the May 1992 Heroes in Thailand.
AFAD has lived up its principle of international solidarity. Learning from the commonality and particularity of each member-organization’s experience in the most open and humble way has opened its eyes to the different ways of fighting against impunity. Helping each other amidst varying levels of capacities as well as apparent limitations of member-organizations concretizes the very reason for the establishment of the Federation. Responding to the situations of the different countries in a collective manner manifests that the Federation is a force with which to reckon. Its very existence counters the myth that enforced or involuntary disappearances is an issue of the past and is purely a Latin American phenomenon.
One concrete example of solidarity is the synchronized pickets by AFAD members in front of the Indian embassies/consulate in Jakarta, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka thus urging the government of India to come up with a pronouncement that there are more than three thousand cases in Kashmir contrary to his earlier claim that there were only sixty cases.
Integrating its leadership with the families of the victims of the disappeared during regional activities held in countries where member- organizations are based gives the families the much-needed strength to continue hoping and struggling so that one day, truth shall prevail and justice shall emerge triumphant. The unified voice of the families of the victims echoed during regionally synchronized activities proclaimed on important commemorative events speaks loud and clear that in solidarity, there is strength.
As an effort to strengthen its very constituency, AFAD extended direct support to families of the disappeared in Kashmir, India; Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. These included therapy sessions and livelihood as well as scholarship programs.
AFAD conducted several solidarity events for the last six years. Yet, worth mentioning is the biggest ever solidarity event, the First Sharing of Experiences of Asian Families of the Disappeared held in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 6-10 2004, entitled, “ Healing Wounds, Mending Scars.” This had brought together 40 family members of the disappeared from six Asian countries with the participation of AFAD’s counterpart in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Diverse in many respects – in language, religion, culture, color, the participants came to concretely realize that they speak the same pain, the same hope, the same struggle for a world without desaparecidos and in so doing, they started to experience a process of an individual and collective healing together.
Asia is a vast continent, with many more countries affected by enforced disappearances. This signifies that much more remains to be done for AFAD to live up to its name as a truly regional organization. While AFAD must celebrate its blessings, having with it at present eight organizations from seven countries, it must admit that while it has to consolidate its present membership, it also has to reach out to its other neighbors in Asia. In so doing, it can guarantee a voice louder enough to be heard internationally.
An integral part of its solidarity work is AFAD’s cooperation with the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees. In no small measure, AFAD has learned from the undying commitment of the families of the disappeared in Latin America and from their rich experience, especially in the field of lobbying work. FEDEFAM’s two decades of experience is a very important source of inspiration for AFAD in the course of its work. In its own humble ways, AFAD have also shared to FEDEFAM its own experience of pain and struggle. Amazing it is to see how the two federations could jointly lobby at the United Nations with a voice so unified and loud that prompts government to listen and act.
More recently in 2003, AFAD’s experience for establishing itself was shared to its African counterparts who formed its own African Network Against Involuntary Disappearances (RADIF). This was done during AFAD’s participation in the series of meetings and consultations in West Africa, East Africa and South Africa which eventually formed the African Network.
Thus, with three regional formations around the globe, the dream of strengthening the international movement against involuntary disappearances is gradually being realized. It also affirms that the reality of enforced disappearances is global, the response of which should also be global.
Echoing the Voice of the Families in the Halls of the United Nations and other Pertinent Governmental Bodies…
The heart of AFAD’s international lobbying work is the project of a United Nations Draft Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. On the year of its birth, AFAD already joined FEDEFAM in its lobbying at the United Nations. When the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in a resolution of 1999, decided to form an inter-sessional working group to elaborate a draft legally binding normative instrument for the protection of all persons from enforced or involuntary disappearances, AFAD had been regularly attending the annual sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Together with FEDEFAM, AFAD spoke to governments on specific concerns vis-à-vis disappearances and appealing for support to the convention. Furthermore, when the resolution establishing an inter-sessional working group materialized, AFAD has never failed to actively participate in all the sessions.
A major and most recent effort of AFAD for the success of the convention, in collaboration with FEDEFAM and RADIF and with the help of Linking Solidarity is the tour to eight European capitals, knocking at doors of government foreign offices and seeking support for the establishment of an independent treaty with a strong monitoring body to ensure efficient and effective implementation. To a large measure, the tour had, indeed helped a lot in enlightening governments about the value of a new treaty protecting persons from disappearances, thus, combating impunity.
In the regional level, AFAD convened the First Asian-Latin American Lawyers’ Conference entitled: “ Between Memory and Impunity, “ which resolved to work for the establishment of regional and national human rights mechanisms that ensure redress to victims of enforced disappearances. It also resolved to initiate and support efforts for enactment of national laws criminalizing enforced or involuntary disappearances. These efforts in the regional and national levels complement the work for the establishment of an international treaty.
In the course of international, regional and local lobbying, AFAD has been visiting different embassies both in Manila which is its base city and in other countries where AFAD member-organizations are based for the purpose of giving information as well as complementing lobbying work in the international level. In so doing, to a certain extent, AFAD gained moral, material and political support. Moreover, whenever AFAD’s joint activities were held in different Asian countries, the Federation made sure to knock at doors of foreign offices, houses of parliament and government agencies seeking support on issues of national, regional and international concerns. In separate occasions, AFAD was able to meet with former president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Playing the secondary role of the campaign for ratification of governments of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, AFAD co-sponsored with the Committee for the International Criminal Court and the Forum Asia the First Asian Victims’ Forum on the International Criminal Court. Whenever there are opportunities, AFAD lobbies governments to ratify this most important achievement of the international human rights community.
A voice with which to reckon, AFAD has, in no small measure, brought the voice of the families of the victims nationally, regionally and globally. As of this writing, member-states of the United Nations are about to conclude its process of drafting a treaty protecting people from disappearances. Majority of the delegations favor a convention with an independent monitoring body to ensure implementation – a breakthrough since the establishment of the drafting body. If approved, the convention, which is legally binding in nature will certainly combat impunity and will be considered a victory of all those who consistently worked very hard for it. More importantly, it will be a victory for the disappeared and their families in all parts of the world.
Acknowledging Disappearances as an Issue of Society – AFAD’s Campaign and Public Information Work
History speaks that it is the people’s voice who alone can create opinion and make a difference. Acknowledging the fact that enforced disappearance is an issue of society, AFAD conducts campaign and public information activities to elicit public support. Actions of family members of the disappeared, with the support of civil society, especially if done in a simultaneous and synchronized manner, speak loud enough to be heard. The families of the disappeared, who are in the best position to tell their stories in many different forms, can elicit public support.
Thus, AFAD member-organizations conduct traditionally commemorated events during occasions such as the International Week of the Disappeared, International Day of the Disappeared, International Human Rights Day, etc. These activities make more people aware of the situation, thus making them embrace their issue as their own and making them act together hand in hand with the families.
“The Voice,” the bi-annual magazine of AFAD, speaks loud and clear of the pains and sufferings, the hopes and anxieties and the struggles and small victories of the families of the disappeared in Asia. The magazine attempts to echo the voice of the voiceless families of the disappeared in Asia who are one with the rest of the families of the disappeared in other parts of the world.
The electronic media is a very powerful medium of campaign and information dissemination. Through an email network and its website, AFAD has told the world of this alarming problem in Asia – a problem not just of the past, but still continuing at present and thus, relentlessly victimizing a huge number of people in the Asian continent.
Urgent actions on new cases are part of AFAD’s work. It occasionally responds to requests for urgent actions through letters to concerned authorities. Its statements on cases as well as on themes relevant to the issue were attempts to save lives, condemn perpetrators of disappearances and call on governments to act.
All these efforts have also made the general public and the governments feel the presence of the federation, projecting the issue of enforced disappearances in the Asian region, without which, they would be considered as isolated problems of each country. This is AFAD’s modest contribution to the human rights work in the Asian region in particular and to the international movement against involuntary disappearances in general.
The task at hand is challenging…
AFAD has to continue its struggle no matter what the cost. In the words of the late AFAD’s Chairperson, Munir during AFAD’s Second Congress in August 2003, he said:
“ It is important to struggle against impunity and against the practice of involuntary disappearances not just for our own countries. We have to be in solidarity with other peoples of the world who struggle for the same cause.
In Asia, in the name of war against terrorism, some countries are back to the rule of authoritarianism. The struggle against authoritarianism is our struggle for the future because without democracy, it is impossible to protect people from involuntary disappearances.”
The task at hand is challenging. Amidst diversity in many respects, AFAD member-organizations should strengthen their unity and eventually expand their ranks and reach out to many other families of the disappeared in the vast continent of Asia. Linking arms with FEDEFAM, RADIF and other similar formations with the common objective, AFAD will certainly overcome.
Footnote
1 Safehouse – an unofficial secret detention center where disappeared people are kept, tortured and more often than not, killed.
