SOLIDARITY MESSAGE for the Asian Religious Youth Leaders Summit

By Kerlan "Lala" Fanagel

PASAKA Secretary General

In behalf of PASAKA, Confederation of Indigenous Peoples (Lumad) Organizations in Southern Mindanao, I wish to convey warmest greeting of solidarity to the Asian Conference on Religions for Peace (ACRP), to the youth leader delegates all over Asia and the world, secretariat and all the guests of the Asian Religious Youth Leaders Summit.

Indeed, with the society's unrest and the continuous war happening not only in our country today but also in other parts of the world, apparently this convergence of the youth is timely and very significant as history have proven that it is the youth that plays a major role in bringing about genuine peace that we have been longing for.

With the theme "Youth As Peacemakers: Gathering in Hope, Pledging Common Action," it is clear that expectations are high among the people that the youth will take its leading role in arousing, organizing, mobilizing and forging alliances in order to advance the peoples' struggle for freedom and democracy.

In the brink of leaving the stage of youth myself, I have seen and realize the importance of our role in building a just and peaceful society. Even as this youth summit is yet about to start, allow me to congratulate you in advance for this historical gathering of hope. Congratulations to the youth present here today! We salute you! Your presence alone already showed that you are ready to face the challenges of being a youth—not only as a peacemaker but also as a change-maker.

Let this youth summit be an occasion not only in forging unity for peace but also a right time for reflection and action to actively participate in our pursuit to achieve a just and peaceful Asian society.

As I stand proudly before you here today representing one of the most marginalized sector in the country, the Indigenous People, I am here not only to inspire you but I am here because I am inspired of you. This gathering of youth, also with our sector's representation, is an inspiration to me, to us lumads, to relentlessly carry on with our struggle for our rights to ancestral lands and right to self-determination.

As we, Indigenous Peoples, continue to defend our rights, I urge you, the youth of today, to strengthen your ranks as we intensify our common efforts to uphold, defend and advance our rights to democracy, social justice, self-reliant development, a healthy environment and the conservation of natural resources for future development independent of the colonizers and imperialists. These are things imperative of just and peaceful society.

With peace initiatives like this, we are one with you in your quest. As you embark with this activity to reflect and act, remember to join us also in our struggle against exploitation and oppression in the most comprehensive and profound way. Recently, we have been facing difficult times especially with the on-going mining plunder and state terrorism. Your support on acting against these evil works will be far reaching significance and consequence.

Even as we suffer, as we are told, let us overcome evil with good (Rom.12:21). Let also this gathering be a gathering for harmony among religious communities and let us work together to build trust and mutual respect among youth, among people.

The hope that you have shown to us is inspirational and tangibly relevant to the struggle of the entire Filipino people and the people of the world for national and social liberation. I am positive that you will actively participate this event in order to share your experiences and concerns and propose resolutions and definite courses of action for carrying forward your struggle in concert with the struggles of the people of the world to achieve justice and genuine peace.

I hope that this message can shed some light on what the youth can do to strike deep roots and strengthen itself in order to advance our rights and interests and to maximize the role of the youth in the people's quest for genuine peace and to carry forward the long-term struggle for freedom and democracy.

May the God of peace/ Magbabaya fill our hearts and minds with love so that we may all strive to establish the reign of peace, justice and life for all. Thank you very much and have a pleasant evening! ###