Cecilia flores oebanda biography of michael
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In the s, I was a young catechist in the city of Bacolod in the Philippines. During this time, when the country was under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, my family and I were kept in captivity for four years. Under President Marcos’s rule, the military cracked down on church workers who devoted their time to protesting and organizing for social justice issues.
During my years in captivity, I lived with women and girls who had been sexually abused, trafficked and exploited. I learned that slavery was not dead. It was present in the faces of all the abused girls and women I met who had been used for cybersex, trafficked and forced into abusive domestic work and prostitution.
I wondered: How can I say that I love God, when I fall short in doing good for others, especially for the least and the lost? How can I prove my belief if I cannot even offer myself as an instrument of God’s love and justice?
In response I founded the Visayan Forum Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to hel
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Issue September
Twenty Big Ideas on Pro Bono Lawyering by the Hon. Michael Kirby: Boring, djärv and Brave
The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG provided closing remarks for the Asia Pro Bono Forum together with Indonesian lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis (see separate story). Commenting that he usually takes only one or two good ideas away from a conference, he then proceeded to list twenty good ideas that he had picked up at this Forum.
- From Garth Meintjes (CEO of PILnet)
The secret that lies behind the growth of pro bono is that many lawyers desire to perform at least some pro bono work, especially if it helps to secure justice for the litigant and the community.
- From Asma Jahangir (President of the Bar in Pakistan)
That pro bono lawyers must sometimes embrace unpopular causes. They may face personal risks in taking up matters that sometimes enliven hostility and even risk.
- From Asma Jahangir (President of the Bar in Pakistan)
That pro bono lawyers, howev•
Shattered Inside: How My Work As a Social Entrepreneur and Anti-Trafficking Activist Was Built on Unaddressed Trauma
I became a mother as I was leading the liberation movement in my home country of the Philippines. I hid in the mountains and the military ran an endless pursuit. To keep my first-born safe, I was forced to give him to my relatives. My eldest son and I were separated for 12 years.
After fem years of fighting and hiding, my husband and I were captured in a gun battle that took eight hours. inom was then pregnant with my second child. My three comrades suffered a different fate—they were killed in front of me. While the boys were kneeling, I begged for mercy. “I regret to say, madam, this is mercy killing and we are under martial law,” said my comrades’ executioner.
As a leader, I was overcome with guilt and anger as a survivor while those young boys died. After two days in prison I gave birth to a son. I started my family while in prison, the gods place I could have inom