On April 20, Anakbayan Chicago and the Chicago Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines hosted a rally in downtown Chicago to express outrage over the detainment, torture and deportation of 25-year-old Filipino human rights activist Jerome Aba. ANSWER Chicago joined the protest in solidarity.
Aba travelled to the States with the intention of participating in the Stop the Killing Tour featuring Filipino speakers exposing the injustices and murders carried out by the Trump-backed Duterte regime. Upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport, Aba was detained for over 20 hours by Customs and Borders Protection. (Learn more about Aba’s ordeal here.)
Though the action was initiated in the name of #Justice4Jerome, it was made clear that Jerome Aba’s torture by CBP agents was a consequence of imperialism and U.S.-backed regime change. During the rally, speakers tied the struggle in the Philippines to the battles against regime change in Syria, Venezuela, Honduras and Brazil, to the fight against occupation in Puerto Rico and Palestine and to the struggle against police violence carried out against Black and Brown peoples in the United States. It’s no coincidence that these foreign lands are both plagued with violence and rich in natural resources—for example, Mindanao is rich in gold—showing that the driving force behind these atrocities is rooted in capitalism
The unjust detainment of Aba, the bombing of sovereign Syria, and violent sanctions against Venezuela are atrocities carried out—not in the name of security, protection and humanitarian sentiments but in attempts to gain and hold power. CBP agents have since denied that Aba had been tortured; however, it cannot be denied that the U.S. commits human rights violations and acts of terrorism around the world through supplying arms to countries committing genocide, backing coups and provoking regime change, establishing close to 800 military bases overseas and slaughtering innocent people with drone attacks and bombing campaigns.
The action ended with the crowd—primarily comprised of women of color—chanting “International solidarity forever,” “Number one terrorists? U.S. imperialists!” and “Imperyalismo, ibagsak! Pyudalismo, ibagsak! Kapitalismo, ibagsak!” Just as it was the people uncompromisingly demanding his release and protesting at SFO that forced CBP agents to release Jerome Aba, the battle against our imperialist, capitalist rulers will be lead by the most oppressed among us and will be won by the people rising up in the streets.
