Urduja is alive!

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

NATIONAL women leaders met to craft a framework for the writing of history of women at the Sulo Riviera last 27 June 2015 under the sponsorship of the International Visitor Leadership Program-Philippines Inc., the Women in Development (WID) Foundation and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

The conference also wrote its own history, when the body resolved to craft the “WIH Conference Basement Declaration” which seeks to launch a campaign to enjoin women and other sectors of society to defend Philippine territories being occupied by China particularly Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).

The “WIH Conference Basement Declaration” is an action by women reminiscent of “basement” actions by women in the past, when women issues were ignored, and they worked in the basements to act, resolve and address these issues. Thirty women leaders attended the conference, eight of whom came from Pangasinan: Sen. Leticia Shahani, Marietta Primicias Goco, Lorna Kapunan, Mecedes Fabros, Priscellina Legasto, Sr. Mary John Mananzan and myself.

While Masinloc is officially under the province of Zambales, the people of Pangasinan fished in that area for a very long time, it was a source of the livelihood of Pangasinan’s coastal communities. Needless to say that Pangasinan is most affected by the deprivation of livelihood of so many coastal villages as a result of China’s encroachment in Masinloc. In the fight to keep this precious island, it is evident, the Urduja consciousness is alive, it lives deep in the heart of every Pangasinan, and soon, other Pangasinan leaders will realize the value of preserving the ecological and natural integrity of Masinloc, and desire to keep the legacy of the island in their hearts.

 

URDUJA (English translation)

salt of Pangasinan!
you are growing in our hearts
you call out our names from the sea
we listen to your voice inside every seashell
from the soft sands of the gulf
your little children

eager to tame strong winds

and raging waters

you lived your life like a sword in the air
moving head on, never retreating
and your winged boat flew out to the sea
to meet the pirates with your smile
and your sword, if need be.

words could not express
our gratitude for the years
when as growing children we longed to be
engulfed in your spirit, riding the waves
with the wings of passion
and as grains of salt embodying
your gentle and brave soul.

even when some of your children
killed you with their learned minds, you lived.
the words they cut you with were not as sharp
as the sword that severed the heads of your lovers
wanting to snatch you from this land
or wanting to snatch this land from you.

you are in our guts and our hearts
and your sword is as sharp in our minds
we shall ride the waves again, with you,
to the sea!

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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