Our Temp Logo!

Yay! (For now)

Diwang Pinay NYC!

Please come back when we officially announce (with great details, of course) NYC's first Diwang Pinay Benefit showcase.

MAY 2007! Watch out for it!!!!

---

UPDATE: (4/25/2007) We have collectively decided to postpone Diwang Pinay until next spring! Please look forward to our Fall programming schedule!

Marie Stefanie Martinez Petition

Please sign the petition at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?mtahate1


Subject: Fwd: Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!

Please sign and disseminate to your networks. Act against anti-Asian hate crime!

http://www.petitiononline.com/mtahate1/petition.html

Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!

On March 16, 2007 the New York Post reported that 17 year old Asian high school student, Marie Stefanie Martinez was assaulted in New York by a group of teenagers on a MTA B82 bus due to their perception that she looked "Chinese" even though she is of Filipino descent. Ms. Martinez was punched, kicked, and subjected to slurs in what can be categorized as a hate crime based on her attackers animus towards her perceived ethnicity.

Reportedly, the MTA bus operator who witnessed the assault did nothing to intervene during the course of the assault on Ms. Martinez and neglected his moral and ethical duty to ensure the safety of MTA riders and punctuated his negligent conduct by allegedly advising Ms. Martinez, who was still wearing her Catholic school uniform, to "go talk to a priest" after the assault.

This petition seeks the following:

1) The MTA and NYPD conduct a vigorous full and complete investigation into the incident ensuring that any violations found of any applicable hate crimes statutes are fully applied.

2) The bus operator be subjected to discipline commensurate to the action of permitting riders to commit a hate crime on a MTA rider. If the bus operator is found to have permitted the assault to have taken place and informed Ms. Martinez to "go talk to a priest", MTA should subject the bus operator to termination from his position.

By signing this petition, you state that you agree with the aforementioned two points.

Let this serve as notice that the Asian American community remembers the hate crimes perpetrated on Fermin Tobera, Vincent Chin, Thong H. Huynh, An Pech, Ly Yung Cheung, Navroze Mody, Raphanor Or, Ram Chun, Sokhim An, Thuy Tran, Oeun Lim, Ming Hai "Jim" Loo, Heng Lim, Hung Truong, the Nakashima Family, Luyen Phan Nguyen, Sam Nhang Nhem, Thanh Mai, Eddy Wu, Thien Minh Ly, Kanu Patel, Mukesh Patek, Naoki Kamijima, Won-Joon Yoon, Joseph Ileto, Sandip Patel, Theo Pham, Ji-ye Sun, Anil Thakur, Thung Phetakoune, Kenny Chiu, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Waqar Hasan, Mijanaur Rahman, Mohammed Sakawat, Vasudev Patel, Lili Wang, Bang Mai, Charlotte Colton, Ze Fairchild, Maleka Higgins, Nicola Grant, Guadalupe Swartz, Dexter Shannon, Beverly Graham, Song Sun Lee, Stephen Kam Yan Li, and the countless other Asians and Asian Americans who have suffered the ultimate price due to racial hatred aimed at the Asian/Asian American community. We will not tolerate hate crimes and will vigorously act to ensure
justice in our communities.



http://www.nypost.com/seven/03182007/news/regionalnews/girls_bloody_beating_regionalnews_dan_mangan________and_leela_de_kretser.htm

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212007/news/regionalnews/girl__14__nabbed_in_student_bus_beating_regionalnews_erika_martinez_and_leela_de_kretser.htm

Contact Us!

About FiRE!

Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) is a mass based women’s organization serving New York City and its surrounding areas. We are dedicated to global and local Filipina and Filipina American issues. We believe that class oppression is inextricable to the struggle of women; therefore we support and create women’s initiatives by fostering leadership, building alliances and mobilizing our immigrant and native-born community through critical education and learning. We are an anti-imperialist formation working in solidarity with the National Democratic movement of the Philippines. We connect the Filipino diaspora to the women’s struggle in the Philippines by organizing across class, gender, sexual identity, and age lines. Bringing woman-born and woman-identified people together, we challenge pervading stereotypes by creating self-defined Filipina identities.

FiRE can be reached at the following email: fire.nyc@gmail.com

Meet FiRE's Executive Committee! (2007-2008)
Secretary General – Valerie Francisco
Organizational Development Director – Hanalei Ramos
Educational Discussion Director – Kimmie David
Mass Campaign Coordinator –

Other Founding Members:
Robin Castel
Charlene Morales
Sandra Panopio


• General Assembly meetings are on every second Wednesday of the month.
• Executive Council Meetings are on every fourth Wednesday of the month.
• Educational Discussions (EDs) occur monthly and vary by topic. Please check our blog frequently to receive updates.
• Pinay Brunch happens one weekend a month. Please visit the official site at pinaybrunch.blogspot.com
• The Young Women's Resource Academy meets every other Friday at Philippine Forum.

Philippine Forum:
54-05 Seabury Street, Elmhurst, New York 11373.
To get to the Philippine Forum office, take the V, G and R trains to Grand Avenue/Newtown Station in Elmhurst, Queens. Exit on Southside of Queens Boulevard . Walk towards 54th Avenue and turn left on Seabury St . Take the side entrance to the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown.

Summer Screening Series
@ the International Action Center
39 W 14th St (Between 5th and 6th Aves.)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 633-6646

FIND Recap!

The 2007 Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue Conference was held at Rampao College in New Jersey.

FiRE member, Valerie, led a "Land is Life" workshop on feudalism! WE had a great turnout of about 100 delegates!

MOre info to come

More STK!

 

 

 

 

STK!

 

 

 

 

STK: NYC Edition Recap

GMA was found guilty by the People's Tribunal at the Hague!!!

Thank you to the amazing efforts spearheaded by AnakBayan Seattle, resulting in a successful STOP THE KILLINGS! Tour. The six-city tour was able to financially sponsor a contingent to attend the hearings at the Hague, which tried GMA's administration and found them guilty of human rights violations in the Philippines. Congratulations to all organizers and performers who helped patch together this grassroots tour!

Specifically for the New York show, thank you to M1-5 Bar for hosting us. Despite outrageous weather, we were able to make a profit to contribute towards the STK Campaign! Thank you to Sandy for her tireless organizing efforts, and to the fabulous performers who contributed their time to this event: Geologic of Blue Scholars, Kwela and Calamity, Koba with DJ Boo, Hanalei Ramos, DJ Vettie Vette, DJ Joey Too Fresh, DJ Otis. And a deep felt thank you for all those who trekked through the sleet and snow to make STK a success!

Stop the Killings: NYC Edition

STOP THE KILLINGS TOUR - NYC EDITION
Friday: March 16, 2007
930pm -- party til 4am
@ M1-5 in Chinatown
$7 - 10 sliding scale
100% of all proceeds from the how will support the Philippine delegation to the Permanent People's Tribunal.



Performances by:
Geologic of Blue Scholars
Kwela and Calamity
Koba with DJ Boo
and Hanalei Ramos
[DJ Vettie Vett // DJ Joey Too Fresh // DJ Otis]



Did you know that 825+ people have been killed in the Philippines since 2001? Regular people...students, teachers, lawyers, workers, journalists, clergy, human rights workers, etc. Witnesses have pointed to elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in carrying out these killings. Yet not one person has been tried or convicted for any of these deaths.

President Arroyo's government has done nothing to stop to these atrocities. For us living in the U.S.A. it's a little sticky. The U.S. government has been providing excessive amounts of military aid to the Philippine government.That 's our tax dollars potentially subsidizing death squads of the Philippine military at the cost of the Filipino people. Come out to the show to learn a bit more about the issue and find out how you can get involved.

Directions:
M1-5 Bar (between Church and Broadway) // 21+
52 Walker Street
New York, NY 10013
Subway: A, C, E, N, R, 6 to Canal
(walk south on Broadway, make first right)

and then, another event: