AFAD Statement
for the International Week of the Disappeared
From May 26 to
June 1, the International Week of the Disappeared, we remember all the
desaparecidos whose lives have been erased yet whose memories
even legacies continue to live on in our hearts. Our memory of them
has served as sparks of fire that kindled the fire in our spirits to
march to the streets calling their names and demanding that they be
surfaced alive and be returned to their families alive! We stand
together with all the pained families, our hopes undaunted by this
long-drawn struggle against impunity. With them, we patiently await the
day when missed fathers, brothers, sons, mother, sisters and daughters,
would finally come home.
Disappearances
cause adverse impacts in the lives of the families of the victims.
Trauma for one thing is the hardest to overcome. Since 2004, AFAD has
been conducting rehabilitation sessions for the families of the
disappeared. In one of the sessions, a symbolic re-planting of a couple
of plants was done. These plants were uprooted, thus, they must be
brought back to the earth soon, or they would wither and die. It
signified how involuntary disappearances have uprooted families from
their normal lives and the routines they used to have. If their broken
hopes and dreams are not "re-planted" soon, they too will lose the will
to live and be lost in an endless tide of despair.
Thus, in AFAD's
effort to bring truth and justice to these families, it hopes to
re-plant the families lives, bring them closure and stability. On this
International Week of the Disappeared, AFAD not only expresses but
emphasizes its aim to help revive the strength and the will to live
amongst all the families.
On June 1, the
Federation has arranged a tree-planting activity to put into tangible
symbols all these hopes for a renewed life, spirit, hopes and dreams.
All member-organizations will plant and hold their symbolic tree for all
the desaparecidos around the world. And soon, as these
seedlings find their roots once more on the solid earth, the families
too will find their roots again in society. And over time, as the
seedlings grow, let us hope that so will the hopes and dreams of the
families. And as the seedlings soon become steady and strong trees
that can weather any storm, so will the lives of the families.
But of course,
these seedlings cannot grow into strong trees without our care and
nurturing. Hopes, dreams and lives cannot survive without love and
support from relatives and friends. So on this special week; let us
renew our commitment to care for our missed loved ones, our families and
friends. Together, let us all grow strong and sturdy to weather any
storm.
The Asian
Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances considers the
International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances as a major source of strength. On the
occasion of the International Week of the Disappeared, we call on all
governments, especially Asian governments to sign and ratify this
important international treaty that ensures the protection of all
persons from enforced disappearances. Its implementation in the
national level would require the enactment of national laws
criminalizing enforced disappearances which do not yet exist in any part
of Asia.
Signed:
