Posted in Melissa's Words on Aug 21st, 2009
Humus
by Melissa Roxas
I.
The composition of earth changes every time something is mixed into it. The rains come and it becomes mud when mixed with water. Seeds, when planted, flower into something that feeds you. The same is true of smell and sounds. Isn’t it often said that when you talk to [...]
Posted in Articles on Aug 21st, 2009
From Bulatlat.com
Published on August 21, 2009, 8:24 PM
The Philippine military, through its attack dogs Pastor Alcover and Jovito Palparan, are trying to discredit the Commission on Human Rights and its chairperson, Leila de Lima. Human-rights groups are understandably concerned. “Now that the CHR chairperson insists on the mandate of the commission, they consider her as [...]
Posted in Melissa's Words on Aug 7th, 2009
Disinter
by Melissa Roxas
Her red shorts were left
in an abandoned shack
a rag on the rotting wood floor
the heavy screen door, shut
the echo of her voice
a scrap between the cracks…
found
a fingernail.
It was said
two women and a man were spotted
somewhere along that road
in a solitary town two years ago
spotted? like cattle?
or deer in the wild?
ready for slaughter?
There is [...]
Posted in Melissa's Words on Aug 2nd, 2009
[This poem was conceived and memorized by Melissa during her abduction.]
Come before the Night Hour
Come and Sing
before Night
Comes. I am Flame
to the Body.
The Incipient Wing
that can’t Fly.
The Open
Skin on a Foot
that Bleeds
Black. Tonight
I will learn to Die
a Thousand Times
and Be Resurrected.
Posted in Articles on Jul 29th, 2009
From Bulatlat.com
Published on July 29, 2009, 1:18 PM
Below is the opening statement made by Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas during a hearing by the House committee on human rights on her allegations of abduction and torture in the hands of the Philippine military.
Good morning, honorable members of the House of Representatives, friends and human rights advocates.
I [...]
Posted in Action Alerts on Jul 26th, 2009
Posted in Action Alerts on Jul 24th, 2009
Dear Friends,
On July 30 President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines will be visiting with the President of the United States.
This is an opportunity to make the White House more aware of the human rights abuses in the Philippines by asking sympathetic members of both the Philippine-American Press and the Philippine media to ask the Presidential [...]
Posted in Articles on Jul 19th, 2009
From Bulatlat.com
Published on July 19, 2009, 12:24 PM
Having to leave the Philippines for the United States when she was nine years old was a particularly painful experience for Filipino-American Melissa Roxas. Her desire to trace her roots brought her back to the country of her birth where, in May, soldiers kidnapped and tortured her for [...]
Posted in Press Statements on Jun 27th, 2009
PRESS TRANSCRIPT
I would like to thank everyone for being here this afternoon.
It has been a very difficult time for me and my family and I would like to thank everyone who has give us their love, help, and support during this time.
I was in the Philippines for an exposure program doing volunteer work in the [...]
Posted in Melissa's Words on Jun 21st, 2009
Dearest Friends,
The recent birth of my niece reminds me that life is something more than just presence, it is the earth rising inside of you, the earth that has been there since the beginning, but taking a different form.
I started to think about all the other babies I had seen as a community health worker [...]