GABRIELA New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2014
Reference: Valerie Francisco, Chairperson, GABRIELA USA, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

“The struggle of the LGBTQGNC community is not separate from the struggle of the majority of people in the Philippines.  LGBTQGNC people can only be freed when the majority are liberated.”

GABRIELA USA commemorated the 45th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and rallied against violence drawing attention to the continuing conditions faced by LGBTQGNC Filipinos.

According to a recent report by the Anti-Violence Project, in 2013 there was a 21% increase in reports of physical hate violence against LGBT people, 89% of LGBT homicide victims were people of color and 72% were trans women. GABRIELA USA endorsed and marched on the 10th anniversary of Trans Day of Action organized by TransJustice of the Audre Lorde Project in New York City that called for the end of such

hate violence and highlights other issues the trans and gender non-conforming community, including: criminalization and incarceration, health care access, economic justice, and affordable housing.

In Seattle, members also participated in the Trans Day of Action event on June 27 attended by 3,000 people to continue the fight against the continued repression and violence against trans people. GABRIELA Seattle alongside members of API Chaya, came together to honor the recent death of Korean American trans youth,

In 2013 there was a 21% increase in reports of physical hate violence against LGBT people, 89% of LGBT homicide victims were people of color and 72% were trans women.

Sun Kim, a dedicated community leader whose commitment to social justice left an imprint on the lives of many and will never be forgotten.

GABRIELA New York together with the BAYAN Queer Caucus, BARANGAY-NY, and Pinay Trans USA also participated in the Manhattan Pride march as the Filipino contingent. Their banners “Justice for the Typhoon Yolanda Victims and After the Storm there is a Rainbow” were calls to hold President BS Aquino and the Philippine government accountable for their lack of response to the Filipino People. Members held signs that said, “Get the Philippines to the Rainbow. Support Temporary Protected Status for Philippine nationals.”

DJ Arucan, National Officer for Education and Training of Gabriela Women’s Partylist marched with GABRIELA New York at this year’s NYC Pride march and stated:

“The struggle of the LGBTQGNC community is not separate from the struggle of the majority of people in the Philippines. It is an integral part of everyone’s fight for social justice. Basic rights such as the right to till land as a peasant, obtain regular employment with a decent livable wage as a worker or professional, and access to free education for all are the major problems every society has encountered for decades. All LGBTQGNC must join the struggle of the oppressed majority of people to end discrimination and social injustice. LGBTQGNC people can only be freed when the majority are liberated.”

We see the liberation of all LGBTQGNC as integral to the liberation of all oppressed people.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest Bayan Queer Caucus representative, Rosie Dino, was joined by members of GABRIELA Seattle at the annual Dyke March on June 28 to march alongside all queer and trans folks who continue to struggle against various forms of violence including the continued deportation of thousands of immi/migrants by President Obama. There are 2 million too many immigrants being separated from their families and having their human rights violated.

From coast to coast, Filipinas in the U.S., along with others im/migrant and LGBTQGNC communities must continue to fight and defend their right to live in dignity, free from all forms of violence and repression, because the the Stonewall Rebellion is not over until all marginalized sectors of the Trans, Queer and GNC community, working class im/migrants, women, youth and people of color have justice and are liberated. We see the liberation of all LGBTQGNC as integral to the liberation of all oppressed people.