Description of Essay as provided by photographer:
According to the United Nations, enforced or involuntary disappearance is:
“..an act committed when the person is arrested, detained or abducted against his/her will or otherwise deprived of his/her liberty by officials or employees of any branch… or instrumentality of Government, or by organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, and who subsequently disappeared for at least 48 hours. These forces then conceal the whereabouts of the disappeared or refuse to disclose his/her fate or to acknowledge that he/she was detained, thus placing such person outside the protection of the laws.”
Desaparecidos, or “The Disappeared” first came to be known in late 1966 in Latin America and on to the different military coups of that continent from the 70s to 80s as the tyrannical regimes suppressed their own people clamouring for social change. It is a lingering issue in 60 other countries. In the Philippines, it has gained significant prominence during the Marcos Presidency from 1972 - 1986. Fast forward to the current term of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her government has been hounded with human rights violations and enforced or involuntary disappearances tied with military operations against communist rebels. Majority of the victims have ties to the Left. According to the human rights group KARAPATAN, from 2001 - 2008, there were over 200 victims.
Abner Hizarsa, 55, was a student activist during Martial Law in the 70s. Like his wife, Cris, 54, they were members of progressive organizations. In the 80s, he held a position in the New People’s Army and has been arrested and detained several times. He was released in 1992 and joined SELDA where he was a member up to the time of his disappearance. The organization is an association of former political detainees committed to look after the rights and families of political detainees and their families and advocates amnesty and freedom for political prisoners. Due to a heart ailment in 2000, he left the underground movement to spend more time with his family and rest. He is also a known campaigner for a local progressive group running for a party-list seat election.
During the first few weeks of March 2007, soldiers from the 24th Infantry Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army has been deployed in the area for supposed anti-communist rebel operations. They have been going house to house telling people of the presence of New People’s Army members, and for them not to vote for progressive groups who are running for election.
At noon of 22 March 07, along the highway on his way to bring lunch to his daughter at the local elementary school in his hometown, Barangay Ilwas, Subic, Zambales, Abner was forced into a waiting white van that then sped away. According to witnesses, the same van was spotted several days parked near the family home prior to the abduction and one of the men in the vehicle was seen taking photos of the victim.
From that time to the present, there has been no news about his whereabouts. For the Hizarsa family, it’s a desperate time of waiting and hoping for his return. But life must go on as they cope with a desaparecido.
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March 11, 2009 at 5:41 pm
[...] Vote for me for People’s Choice [...]
March 19, 2009 at 3:50 am
[...] start, Panos Skoulidas started the discussion and commented on my work ( link to the thread here ): STANLEY.. ...
April 12, 2010 at 3:43 am
здорово... Менеджер по недвижимости ......
May 3, 2010 at 4:11 am
Вы ошибаетесь. Могу это доказать. Пишите мне в PM, пообщаемся.... Курьер ......
May 18, 2010 at 3:12 pm
В этом что-то есть. Огромное спасибо за объяснение, теперь я не допущу такой ошибки.... Офис-менеджер According to the United ...
July 26, 2010 at 3:50 am
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