By Rosario Brenda Gonzalez
Why, in the first place, are we in this season of uncertainty
When plans are suddenly aborted to dive deep into a quicksand
Where one has no control
Realizing big brother must be hovering above
To gather labor leaders, mass activists
Church and development workers
And stop them in their track
To meaningful endeavors
By way of underlings filing make believe cases
Ironically to sow terror
Vilify, and harass people who opt to engage
In causes, not careers,
To commit to conviction
But must be derailed by all means
The kindness of those willing
To provide the support system
Is most surprising
Given the vilification and black propaganda
For the first one to vow to be witness
Is she who prepared our lunch and dinner on that day of the so-called crime
She was no longer shocked by all these lies
Her very own nephew was wrongly accused by the police of a crime of robbery
In their community and yes, she is also a proud member of a women’s organization
And will always come to the defense of a fellow woman’s rights, of everyone’s human rights, in fact.
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This human rights week, we start publishing the poetess’ poems as a victim of trumped up charges by the State using the weaponized Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020. The charges have since been junked by the Malolos RTC.
Rosario Brenda Gonzalez is a long-time development worker. A BA Journalism graduate of UP Diliman, Ms. Gonzalez has been a project evaluator and development management trainer for more than three decades. Prior to that, she was a human rights and church worker.
