WE'VE MOVED!

Hello!

We have moved our website to www.firenyc.org! Please update your browsers!

Best,
Webmaster

Thank you, FIND!

Hello, new friends of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment!

It was fantastic to have met you this past weekend at UMCP's FIND Conference! We had a great time talking with you at the table, or coming across you at our "A New Pinayism" workshop. There was so much intriguing discussion, that we were pretty salty our time together was cut short! However, we'd love for you to keep in touch, so please don't forget to bookmark/friend us on the following sites:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8704406587
http://www.myspace.com/firefilipinas
http://www.firenyc.org

If you are in the NYC area this April 19th, please check out our amazing ALL-FILIPINA showcase, DIWANG PINAY(www.firenyc.org) where we will celebrate one year of serving our community! And if you can't make that, we're throwing a fundraiser tomorrow night in the LES! (Details below!) More importantly, we are excited that some of you have expressed interest of working with FiRE in the future; here are some ways we can make that happen:

- For a small honorarium, FiRE has a list of workshops and various keynote themes available to present at your school, conference, festival, or event! Some topics include: Filipina HERstories (Pinay History); NOW: Current Issues Faced by Pinays in the Philippines and Overseas; Pinayism: A Legacy of Resistance; and many more! Please note that these can also be converted to accommodate high school aged youth, email Hanalei - fire.nyc@gmail.com

- We would be more than happy to co-cponsor an event around Filipina, and women-centered issues! Also, if you are throwing a benefit and are looking for an organization to which you can contribute, contact us, and we'd be more than happy incorporate your donation into our programming!

- The women of FiRE range from students, emcees, visual artists, spoken word artists, and a myriad of other artistic talent. Please inquire if you have an upcoming women-themed or Filipino-themed event, and we'd be more than happy to help you find what you need!

While we are an NYC/NJ based organization, we'd be more than happy to travel to accommodate your group! Thanks for taking the time to read this, as your support is valuable to us as a very young organization. We can't wait to hear from you, and hope we make it out to you event or school sometime soon! :)

Best,
Hanalei Ramos
Organizational Development Director,
Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment --- FiRE NYC

==============

The Unofficially Official SIKE! Pre-party! --- Hosted by the women of FIRE
Wednesday, March 19 7p - Midnight
@ WHITE RABBIT - 145 Houston Street (between Forsyth & Eldridge)
21+ $5 Suggested, with drink special 7p on!

Featuring DJ SABINE and live art by FLY LADY DI!
http://www.myspace.com/djsabine
http://www.myspace.com/flyladydi

As we countdown to DIWANG PINAY, we're throwing an Afrobeat.House.Soul party for good measure! Come spend the night with the fabulous DJ Sabine and Fly Lady Di at our bar of choice: WHITE RABBIT! If you're interested in learning more about our organization, or if you just want to check out the live art, great music, and after work drink specials, this would be your chance!!! Thank you to Sara Jimenez, DJ Sabine, and Fly Lady Di for all their support and planning! All proceeds will go toward Diwang Pinay and other FiRE programs.



DIWANG PINAY 2008: Rise, Woman, RISE!
Saturday, April 19, 2008 @ 7 pm
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
NYC, NY 10012
***Take the subway to West 4th then, walk east along West 4th Street, toward Washington Square Park.

FEATURING THE WORK OF:
Pinays you know and love!
Hosted by Isis
DJ VettieVet the whole night!

Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment will celebrate its first anniversary! Please join the women of FiRE for a showcase and silent auction of Pinay artists!

Diwang Pinay ("Spirit of the Filipina") is an annual performance and silent auction in New York City showcasing Filipina/ Filipina-American performers, writers, and visual artists. Diwang Pinay promotes the work of Pinay artists everywhere AND represent the expanding cultural backbone of the Filipina diaspora. This FiRE event is one of the few venues solely dedicated to providing Filipinas and Filipina-Americans a platform to display their triumphs and struggles through art, linking history to the narrative of today's Filipina.

April 19, 2008 will mark the first of the annual Diwang Pinay series, and in 2008, calls attention to the human rights violations that run rampant in the Philippines. The toll of women community leaders who are murdered or disappear continue to rise, which has prompted FiRE to create this artistic venue featuring singer/songwriters, performers, and visual artists in order to draw attention to the hostile climate which women organizers face today, and the culture of resistance that triumphantly surfaces during these times.

Performance slots and artist auction submissions are still open until March 15! Please contact Hanalei at diwangpinay@gmail.com . For more information, please visit us at www.firenyc.org !

SAT 3/08 is INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

Greetings friends and allies!
March with us to celebrate a women's resistance and a growing global movement for justice, and of course...with your friendly FiRE sisters at the front!


International Women's Day
A Salute to Women's Resistance

:: Saturday :: March 8, 2008 ::

Rally at 12noon
Union Square, 14th St and Broadway

FiRE will be gathering our contingent at the corner of 14th St and University Place
LOOK FOR THE PHILIPPINE FLAG and you'll find us!

March at 1pm to 330p
Ending Ceremony at the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Memorial
Site of 1911 factory massacre where 146 young women workers perished
Corner of Washington Square Park & Greene St

FiRE is proud to be a part of the International Women's Day 2008 Coalition sponsoring this event!


On March 8th, women all over the world will honor International Women's Day. In the Philippines, the US puppet president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has done nothing to improve Filipino women's conditions in the Philippines and in the diaspora. The height of her political corruption has pushed thousands of Filipinos to call for her ouster. On March 8, FiRE joins the international demand to OUST GMA! We're getting FiREd up!

SAVE MARILOU RANARIO!

She could be your mother, sister, tita, neice, or friend.....

Mga Kababayan sa New York at New Jersey,

This week, the Kuwaiti High Court of Cassation will begin hearing oral arguments for the case of Marilou Ranario, a 33 year old Filipina domestic worker from Surigao del Sur in jail and on death row. Marilou was convicted in 2005 for the murder of her employer, a man who was viciously abusing and raping her. The victim's family have since withdrawn their lawsuits against Marilou, yet she remains on death row (please see attached fact sheet.) and languishing in jail awaiting her sentence. She is currently supporting 2 children back in the Philippines while her husband can't find stable work as a jeepney driver.

Abuse, rape, and maltreatment are common experiences for our hardworking overseas Filipino workers, who are forced to choose a life abroad in order to escape poverty and provide for their families. Marilou represents all of us; yet despite this reality, the Philippine government is doing nothing to save her from execution by hanging. As was the case of Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic worker who was executed by the Singapore judicial system in 1995, it is up to the worldwide community of Filipinos and migrant workers to stand up for justice when governments fail to protect their people, and show their might on the streets. Please visit and sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com / marilou/petition.html and join us for...

SAVE MARILOU RANARIO!
COMMUNITY PRAYER VIGIL TO SAVE THE LIFE OF MARILOU RANARIO, FILIPINA DOMESTIC WORKER ON DEATH ROW IN KUWAIT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, 7PM
MEET IN FRONT OF KRYSTAL'S
6902 ROOSEVELT AVE, CORNER 69TH

Sponsored by Kabalikat-Philippine Forum (Filipina Domestic Workers Support Network), the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP) and the Save Marilou Ranario Movement (SMRM)

---

SAVE MARILOU RANARIO!
NO TO ANOTHER FLOR CONTEMPLACION!
statement of concerned overseas Filipinos in New York City

We, NYC-based Filipina household workers, nannies, caregivers, along with other concerned overseas Filipinos and advocates of basic human rights, demand that our sister, Marilou Ranario, be released immediately from the Kuwaiti jail she continues to languish in since being convicted for the death of her employer in 2005.

Marilou, a 33-year old domestic worker who was viciously maltreated and abused by her employer, represents all of us overseas Filipinos who must leave our families back home in order to ensure they can eat. In order to escape poverty back in our homeland, we are left with little choice to but brave uncertain shores where we know abuse, exploitation, and maltreatment are common for Filipinos and other migrant workers. We also know a hard and lonely life overseas without the company of our families is better than a guaranteed life where our children will starve and have no opportunities. This was Marilou's story as well.

Marilou was a teacher from Surigao Del Sur that opted to leave to become a domestic worker abroad because she earned a more stable living doing so. She supported 2 small children back in the Philippines while her husband was unable to find stable work as a jeepney driver.

Back in 1995, the entire Filipino nation and overseas Filipino community struggled against the Philippine government's systemic neglect of the plight of overseas Filipino workers with the case Flor Contemplacion, a Filipino nanny who was hung after being wrongfully convicted for the death of her employer's child. As was the case with the high profile movement to set Flor free, the Philippine government made no political effort to save Flor's life. We fear the same will happen to Marilou.

Earlier this year, the mysterious and still-unresolved death of New York-based domestic worker Fely Garcia further proved the Philippine government's absence of concern and sympathy for OFW's abused and even killed.

Like Marilou, Flor and Fely, we are all victims of a Philippine government system known as the Labor Export Policy. This was originally established as a temporary measure to solve the country's crisis of joblessness and landlessness, forcing families to turn abroad for stable income, but the Philippine governments after Marcos turned it into a permanent fixture and means to keep the pathetic Philippine government afloat. Today, over 3000 Filipinos, mostly women, leave their children behind to work abroad. The total remittances that prop up the Philippine economy coming from overseas labor totals to more than $11 billion. These come from the suffering and toils of mainly Filipino women workers overseas.

The crime of the Labor Export Policy is that there is no program for protection for women like Flor and Marilou, who become victims of abuse, maltreatment, exploitation, rape, and indentured servitude. In many cases, Filipino workers are treated like animals, much less second-class citizens with no rights. Filipino women fall vulnerable to sexual abuse commonly.

But they are still Philippine citizens. Philippine embassies and consulate offices abroad are absolutely useless and fail to assert protections for our valued overseas workers, aggressively sending more workers overseas to face similar fates. The Arroyo administration has remained painfully silent while boasting of an economy sustained by migrant laborers like Marilou.

We say shame on the Philippine government for taking Marilou's remittances and doing nothing to legally protect her in a foreign land where she clearly has no rights as a human being. In this sense, the Arroyo government is no different than the foreign employers that treat Filipino workers like dogs in their host countries, and women workers as slaves.

We call on the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation, that will hear oral arguments this Tuesday, November 13th, on Marilou's case to strongly consider the united voice of Filipinos worldwide who today are taking the streets in defense of their Filipina sister, and decide not to execute her!

SAVE MARILOU RANARIO!
NO TO ANOTHER FLOR CONTEMPLACION!
JUSTICE FOR ALL OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS!
PROTECT THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF OUR OFW'S!

Signed,
KABALIKAT-PHILIPPINE FORUM (DOMESTIC WORKERS SUPPORT GROUP)
NY COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR FILIPINO CONCERNS (NAFCON)

---

News Release
November 13, 2007

Reference: Lorena Sanchez, Philippine Forum-KABALIKAT (Domestic Workers Support), email: pf_kabalikat@yahoo.com

NY Filipinos Come Together to Say: Save Marilou Ranario!

New York-- The Filipina domestic workers support group known as KABALIKAT, a program of the community service organization Philippine Forum, spearheaded a solemn prayer vigil on the busy intersection of Roosevelt and 69th Street in Woodside, Queens last night as part of an international day of action to save the life of 33 year old Filipina domestic worker Marilou Ranario.

The group recited one full decade of the rosary for the Ranario, convicted of murdering her employer back in 2005 and currently on death row in Kuwait, despite large noise coming above from the 7 train. Marilou was also a victim of consistent abuse, maltreatment, and forced into indentured servitude by her employer.

"She represents all of us," states KABALIKAT Co-coordinator Shirley Cayugan-O'Brien. "We believe she is the real victim, not the criminal. We are all victims of a criminally-negligent Labor Export Policy."

Cayugan-O'Brien further explained it was the lack of protection offered by the Philippine government, particularly the overseas Philippine consular officers, that continue to victimize women workers like Marilou, who many fear will suffer the same fate as Singapore-based domestic worker Flor Contemplacion who was hung for a wrongful conviction of murder back in 1995.

November 13th was called as an international day of action by Migrante International, an alliance of overseas Filipino organizations of which KABALIKAT is a member. November 13th also marks the hearing of oral arguments of Marilou's case by the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation. The employer's family have since withdrawn their previous lawsuits against Ranario, a mother of two children from Surigao Del Sur.

KABALIKAT, Migrante International and the broader Save Marilou Ranario Movement (SMRM) claims the Kuwaiti Court will take into high consideration the public aspect of Marilou's case, in which strong public outpouring of support can also make a difference.

Actions were also held in Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, and throughout the Philippines.

Philippine Forum-KABALIKAT was joined by fellow concerned Filipinos from the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines and Anakbayan. ###

Sharing on the Philippine Human Rights Situation from the Church's Perspective

Sharing on the Philippine Human Rights Situation from the Church's Perspective
(w/ special guest from the Philippines, Ms. Norma Dollaga of the PCPR)
Thursday, Nov 8, 7pm
CAAAV/Nodutdol office
53-22 Roosevelt Ave., Second Floor.
Woodside, New York 11377

FiRE Reportback @ Brecht Forum!

REPORT BACK ON THE PHILIPPINES
October 25, 2007- Thursday
8pm @ The Brecht Forum
451 West Street (that's the West Side Highway) between Bank & Bethune Streets


Valerie Francisco from Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) and Christina Hilo from Anakbayan NY/NJ will be presenting and discussing their past exposure trips to the Philippines and their work among different communities including indigenous, urban poor, and rural areas. They will also be talking about their work with different sectors: youth and students, women, workers, and indigenous peoples.


This is a great opportunity for those who are interested in doing exposure this upcoming summer to get a grasp of the full experience.


F.I.R.E. and Anakbayan NY/NJ are mass organizations under the national alliance of Bayan USA.

Directions:
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

A, C, E or L to 14th Street & 8th Ave, walk down 8th Ave. to Bethune, turn right, walk west to the River, turn left

1, 2, 3 or 9 to 14th Street & 7th Ave, get off at south end of station, walk west on 12th Street to 8th Ave. left to Bethune, turn right, walk west to the River, turn left.

PATH Train to Christopher Street north on Greenwich St to Bank Street, left to the river.

#11 or #20 Bus to Abingdon Square, west on Bethune

#14A or #14D Bus to 8th Ave & 14th Street, walk down 8th Ave. and west on Bethune to the river

#8 Bus to 10th & West Streets

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

From the West Side Highway

Coming from downtown, just take the West Side Highway to our door

Coming from uptown, there is no left turn near Bank and West so you should get off the highway at 14th Street, go one block and turn right on Washington Street, turn right again on 11th Street, go one block back to West Street and turn right. You will be one block below Bank Street.

From interior of Manhattan

Take any Avenue to 11th Street, turn west and drive to the Hudson River, turn right onto West Street, we are one block north.

Emergency HR mobilization tomorrow Wed. 8/24 6pm

What: EMERGENCY MOB FOR HUMAN RIGHTS & PROTEST ERMITA'S VISIT
When: TOMORROW, WED. 8/24 6PM
Where: PHILIPPINE CONSULATE, 5TH AVE BET. 45TH AND 46TH STREETS IN MANHATTAN, TRAINS F/V/D/B TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER

**** Jamie Mapa, Jonas's first cousin, and her mother will be with us tomorrow at the action in front of the consulate. They will also be inside asking Secretary Ermita questions.

As per last minute developments, Executive Secretary and Head of the Philippine Human Rights Commisssion Eduardo Ermita is in town and the Consulate General in NYC is hosting an open forum with him tomorrow at 6:30pm

Ermita is in town to assure the UN that the Philippine government is sincerely addressing the killings and abductions in the country, and put a new spin that the human rights crisis in the Philippines is decreasing, after much heat was put on the Arroyo government through international human rights watchdogs such as the UNHRC, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. We know this is not true.

NYCHRP and AB met last night to plan out an emergency action in front of the consulate tommorrow starting at 6pm. Some of us are doing production work today. Hope the rest of us can make it tomorrow.

Thank you for making PInay HERstories a SUCCESS!

Greetings to all!

FiRE sincerely thanks Bluestockings Bookstore, the all-Pinay line up of performers, and of course, all of you for coming out to make our first Open House such a breathtaking and phenomenal event! If you didn't notice, Bluestockings was jampacked with standing and sitting-on-the-floor room only! And more importantly, that room was brimming with love from the artists and organizers to the audience and then back one mo' gain.

The event's success only pushes us to continue our work and we're looking forward to creating more spaces for the struggles and inevitable triumphs of Filipinos in New York, so stay tuned! Again, thanks for making our night something that will definitely be locked in our HERstory forever.

Maraming salamat,
Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment

what's next...
October Pinay Power Brunch
Sunday, October 21 at 1 pm
FiRE would like to invite you to its monthly Pinay Power Brunch! Please join us for some food, sunshine, and conversation! We'll be in Brooklyn this month at Isis' house so please join the invite list by emailing fire.nyc@gmail.com!

Pinay HERstories: FiRE's 1st Open House!

PLEASE FORWARD AND REPOST!
FiRE NYC's Open House: Pinay HERstories
Fri, Sept. 28,2007 @ 7p
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen At. F or V to 2nd Avenue
(between Stanton and Rivington Streets)
www.bluestockings.com
Suggested donation of $5-$10 Sliding Scale

FEATURING
Calamity
Hanalei Ramos
Kimmie David
Lisa Ascalon
Marie Avetria
Rachelle A. Cruz
Rowena Cruz
Tamara Llosa-Sandor
and many more!

There are a number of instances when our stories, as women, as Filipinas, are lost and relegated to the outskirts of history. Pinay HERstories hopes to reclaim the Filipina/Filipina-American narrative by collecting fragments of the shared Pinay experience. Join us for a night with local Pinay artists who will be reading and performing works meant to inspire, empower, and most importantly, relate to Pinays like us! You can also meet the women of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) who have been organizing several local and global campaigns for the past six months. Learn more about our current programs, our allied organizations, and how Pinays are building a community, here, in the New York City area.

This event is open to everyone, and of course, light refreshments will be served.

Please add us to your Google calendars using this button:

9/28: NEVER AGAIN! BAYAN-USA in D.C.

NEVER AGAIN!
An Outdoor Concert for Human Rights in the Philippines

Join Filipino-American artists' call for withdrawal of US military aid for Philippine death squads and an end to the undeclared martial law under the Arroyo government. This concert is dedicated to all victims of Philippine martial law past and present.

Friday Sept. 28, 2007
concert starts at 8pm-11pm
Washington D.C.
West side of Capitol Building
3rd St. between Constitution and Independence
right in front of reflecting pool


Performers:
Kiwi (formerly of Native Guns)
Blue Scholars
Koba
Kinding Sindaw
Anakbayan Youth
Kadena
and more...

organized by the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, BAYAN USA and Troops Out Now Coalition

Stop the Killings in the Philippines!
Never Again to Martial Law!
Free Jose Maria Sison!

For more information, email: secgen@bayanusa.org

March on Washington DC! STOP THE WAR NOW! 9/29/2007

The Troops Out Now Coalition is planning a march in which FiRE and most of BAYAN-USA will be participating. If you can help spread the world, and can rally as many of your folks to D.C. that weekend, it would be an incredible show of solidarity.



FYI: the women in FiRE plan to hop on the Chinatown bus from NYC to DC RIGHT AFTER our Open House (which is the night BEFORE the march) to be a part of this event. We hope to see you there! :)

FiRE Open House Announcement!

FiRE NYC's Open House: Pinay HERstories
Fri, Sept. 28,2007 @ 7p
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen At. F or V to 2nd Avenue
(between Stanton and Rivington Streets)
www.bluestockings.com
Suggested donation of $5-$10 Sliding Scale

Readings and performances by:
Calamity
Hanalei Ramos
Kimmie David
Lisa Ascalon
Marie Avetria
Rachelle A. Cruz
Rowena Cruz
and many more!

There are a number of instances when our stories, as women, as Filipinas, are lost and relegated to the outskirts of history. Pinay HERstories hopes to reclaim the Filipina/Filipina-American narrative by collecting fragments of the shared Pinay experience. Join us for a night with local Pinay artists who will be reading and performing works meant to inspire, empower, and most importantly, relate to Pinays like us! You can also meet the women of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) who have been organizing several local and global campaigns for the past six months. Learn more about our current programs, our allied organizations, and how Pinays are building a community, here, in the New York City area.

This event is open to everyone, and of course, light refreshments will be served.

August Pinay Brunch!

Hello, Pinays!

Please join us for the August installment of our Pinay Brunch! We would love to round out our summer with you and talk story about life and your respective summmmertime adventures! Our pick this month is care of Joseline, it's a kitschy little restaurant with some nice, hearty food. Please RSVP fire.nyc@gmail.com if you plan to attend! :)


Saturday, August 25, 10 am
@ Old Devil Moon
http://www.olddevilmoon.com/
511 E. 12th St. NY, NY 10000
(by 12th St. and Ave. A)

and for more info: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7098614/new_york_ny/old_devil_moon.html

Excited to see you all, and welcome you back to this side of the coast! We hope you can find the time to share a meal with us...

Love,
Hanalei

Film Screening of Malaya Lolas

Film Screening of Malaya Lolas (Grandmothers of Freedom) and Discussion
Tuesday, August 21st 7-9 pm
International Action Center (IAC)
55 West 17th Street between 5th and 6th Ave, 5th Floor
Take 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W to 14th Street/Union Square
THIS EVENT IS FREE (contributions welcomed!)

On the morning of November 23, 1944, the Japanese Imperial Army bombed the barrio of Mapanique in Pampanga from their garrison. By noon, most of the men and women were rounded up and brought to the local school house. There, the men were tortured and massacred in front of their wives, mothers, sisters and children. With their barrio and homes burned, the women were forced into a life of sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army; under these conditions they were raped repeatedly and subjected to a panoply of violence. Of the thousands of women forced into sexual slavery in the Philippines, only 173 of the surviving Filipina comfort women have come forward to date. Earlier this month, HR 121, a demand for Japan to apologize to the women victimized by military sexual slavery during World War II, was passed by Congress. Malaya Lolas is the raw and truthful backstory portraying the struggle of these surviving lolas (now in their 70s and 80s) which questions whether an apology is enough to absolve Japan’s military for imposing a legacy of violence onto the bodies of our grandmothers.

Please join FiRE (NYC), Pinay sa Seattle (Seattle), and babaeSF (San Francisco) this week as we launch our respective anti-militarization campaigns in this coordinated action spanning three cities.

The film will begin promptly at 7 pm, a discussion will follow, and light fare will be served.

We look forward to seeing you!

This event is sponsored by Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE). Please learn more about us by visiting http://www.firenyc.org // Email us: fire.nyc@gmail.com // Or contact Hanalei at 201.790.0995

Party Like ARAK Star! RECAP!

A great heartfelt thank you to Cristina Hilo and the rest of AB for making last night's event a success! An entire handful of people came out to support Berna, and listened to a night of spoken word and hip hop. Hosted by FiRE's own Kimmie!

An extra thank you to those from the APIA Spoken Word and Poetry Summit who came all the out to Queens to see some folks perform on a suspended bridge/stage!

It was phenomenal to feel the love in that room, and it was a simple bonus that all the performers of the night were extremely skilled and got the crowd hyped.

PICTURES TO FOLLOW!

Party like ARAK Star!

Friends! Please support!
Anak Bayan NY/NJ and FIRE (filipinas for rights and empowerment) Present:

Big Things Poppin'
Party Like ARAK star!
AUGUST 5, 2007 SUNDAY
8PM-1AM
$10 ALL AGES

Who's Performing:
Kiwi from Native Guns
Geo from Blue Scholars
Kadena
Koba
Hanalei Ramos
Deep Foundation
Mike Swift
Bleud
... and many others!

Where:
Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane St.
Jackson Heights, NY 11373

Directions: Take the 7 train to 82nd Ave and walk to 83rd and Roosevelt

Funds will be going towards local organizing within the filipino
community and the medical bills of one our organizers.

GENUINE SONA on Sunday, July 22!

Genuine State of the Nation (SONA) Mass Action
Sunday, July 22 at 2pm
Philippine Consulate of New York
556 Fifth Avenue, NYC, NY 10036
Neglected Overseas Filipino and Filipino-American Workers with Allies and Friends
Peaceful Demonstration

A Message from NAFCON's Rico Foz:
President (?) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will again deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA). As usual, we expect nothing but self-directed praises and outright lies; the complete opposite of the sad state of reality where more than 80% live in poverty.

On our part as Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, we will present our basic rights and welfare concerns to the Philippine Consulate office in New York. This will illustrate the true state of our Philippine nation. Sectoral and organizational leaders are expected to deliver their respective concerns.

Participating are: Anakbayan NY & NJ, Philippine Forum, Kabalikat-PF, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), New York Committee on Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Movement for Free Philippines, SENTOSA 27++, BAYAN-USA, Lakas Diwa of New Jersey, Bagong Alyansa ng Kabaklaan at Lesbyana sa Amerika (BAKLA), Sandiwa, Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines, and NAFCON.

Invited friends to deliver their solidarity messages are: New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), International Action Center, May One Coalition, CAAAV, DRUM, DWU, PAKISTAN, NYCLAW, KAWAN, RCP, FREE Hawaii, and Malcolm X Group.


Come bring your friends and relatives with you as we unite on this historic day of action.

Thanks to AB NY-NJ for this great flyer!



The Anti-Terrorism Act: Recipe for Undeclared Martial Law
>> [ English version ] [ Filipino version ]
by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)

• EILER Primer on Human Security Act

• Anti Terrorism Bill Bicameral commitee Version

Young Women's Safety Summit

YOU ARE INVITED!!!
Young Women's Safety Summit
SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd
10AM – 4PM

Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women
420 East 12th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave. A
(Take L train to 1st Ave.)

A day for young women to gain the confidence and skills to stay safe in unsafe situations. Lunch will be provided! Raffle prizes!

Workshops: self-defense, pregnancy and STD prevention, internet safety and relationship violence!!! Free henna tattoos and photo/poetry books!!!

RSVP to Lorraine Marasigan at (212) 925-3320 x24
or marasigan@citykids.com by May 26th

FiRE Summer Screening Series 2007!

TUE 7/17: MODERN HEROES, MODERN SLAVES Screening!

Film Screening of Modern Heroes, Modern Slaves and Discussion
Tuesday, July 17th 7-9 pm
International Action Center (IAC)
55 West 17th Street between 5th and 6th Ave, 5th Floor
Take N, Q, R, W to 14th Street/Union Square

In light of the recent NYT article, "A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves" By JASON DePARLE, it has come to the attention of the mainstream U.S. that there is a dire need for reform in the way the Philippines views its terms of accountability to its Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs.) Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) invites you to join this dialogue by attending our screening of Modern Heroes, Modern Slaves which touches on the poor economic conditions in the Philippines, where thousands leave and seek work as domestic workers in "developed nations." This crucial source of revenue to the country's economy has prompted the Philippine government to call these contract workers "modern day heroes." Despite the obvious exploitation experienced by these workers, the Philippine government is reluctant to pressure foreign governments for fair treatment in fear of losing revenue. With New York City accounting for one of largest populations of domestic workers on the east coast, this screening of Modern Heroes, Modern Slaves is the beginning of a much needed dialogue in our community.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Film Screening of Malay Lolas and Discussion
Tuesday, August 21st 7-9 pm
International Action Center (IAC)
55 West 17th Street between 5th and 6th Ave, 5th Floor
Take N, Q, R, W to 14th Street/Union Square

Kaisa Ka introduces us to the surviving Filipina comfort women of World War II.



Both films will begin promptly at 7 pm, the discussion and Q and A will follow, and light fare will be served.

We look forward to seeing you!

These events are sponsored by Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE). Please learn more about us by visiting http://www.firenyc.org // Email us: fire.nyc@gmail.com

6/3: Philippine Independence Day Parade!

Please join us!