3 Reasons why Filipinos should not celebrate “America at 250"
1 The United States granted the Philippines fake “independence" on July 4, 1946
This independence was mainly granted because xenophobic unions and politicians wanted to exclude Filipinos from migrating to the US
US presence remained entrenched in the Philippines when the Military Bases Agreement passed in 1947 and solidified Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base as some of the largest US military bases in the world
2 | The US government continues to use ICE to tear apart migrant families
As part of Tanggol Migrante Movement and Defend Migrants Alliance, Malaya Movement has advocated for the release of Filipino migrants like Alma Bowman and Kuya Jonah and non-Filipino migrants like Luis out of ICE detention
Recent hunger strikes at Desert View Annex in Adelanto and Delaney Hall in New Jersey have shown that detained migrants are facing medical abuse, malnutrition, and labor exploitation for slave wages. Why would we celebrate America if it treats migrants like this?
3 | Like other oppressed peoples, “America at 250" really means 250 years of occupation and colonialism
The US invaded the Philippines in 1898 after its genocide of Native Americans in the US West and after the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893
The violation of Philippine sovereignty continues today. For example, the Marcos Jr. government forfeited 4,000 acres of land to the US for Pax Silica, an AI industrial zone, where US and Israel will have more rights than Filipinos themselves
Join us in our fight for genuine freedom and sovereignty. Join us for People’s State of the Nation Actions across the country on July 27
