i celebrate with my fellow filipinos for the freedom of angelo dela cruz!

angelo dela cruz is alive and is now with his wife and children in the philippines! i celebrate and rejoice with his family. he was released a day after the philippine government met the demands of his kidnappers and recalled our country's small peacekeeping contingent from iraq a month earlier than planned.

the bush administration is ticked off about this. secretary of state colin powell's statement in the voice of america is the strongest so far:

secretary of state colin powell says the philippines' withdrawal from iraq in the face of the kidnapping of a filipino national was a "serious disappointment." mr. powell held talks with bulgaria's foreign minister thursday and hailed that country for standing fast against the kidnappers of two bulgarians... the bush administration's displeasure over the philippines' withdrawal from iraq was already well-known. but mr. powell's comments at a press appearance with bulgarian foreign minister solomon passy were his strongest to date, and he would not rule out the episode having lasting impact on u.s.-philippine relations.

the heads of state of the so-called "coalition of the willing" are expected by their big boss in the white house to support their unjust war, no matter what. the bush administration points finger at the philippine government for giving-in to the demand of the kidnappers. they see what's wrong with the decision of the philippines but they don't see what's wrong with their unjust
war in the first place!

» they still have to find the justification for attacking iraq—that is, the weapons of mass destruction.

» they still have to face the fact that they have decided to go to this war unilaterally,
ignoring the voices of their allies and the united nations.

» they still have to bring to justice those among them who are responsible to the abu ghraib
jail abuses.

the united states must be aware of what's wrong with their ethically- and morally-questionable actions before criticizing the philippine government's life-saving action in behalf of angelo dela cruz.

angelo dela cruz's life is far more valuable than america's unjust war against iraq.
the action of the philippine government is far more ethical and moral than the actions of the hawks in the white house.

angelo dela cruz: a common wage earner trapped in an unjust war

because of hunger and poverty in the philippines, many of us are forced to work in a strange land, in unjust working conditions, and without much protection from our government’s diplomats abroad. (i know of a filipino diplomat who was beaten up, a few years ago, by a member of an elite family in the middle east.)

unknown to many of us, three filipino workers have been killed and three soldiers have been wounded in iraq since last year's u.s.-led invasion.currently, there are filipino military personnel, health professionals, and contract workers in iraq. the philippines has deployed 51 soldiers, police officers and health workers to the so-called “coalition force” in this american-occupied nation. cbs news has reported that it is the 4,100 filipino contractors working on u.s. military bases who have become so crucial to day-to-day functions, providing food services, janitorial work and building maintenance.

one of them is hafidh amer, a 46-year old filipino, who is most probably a muslim. (he uses the name angelo dela cruz to avoid the prejudice of christian filipinos like me.) the pan-arab tv channel al-jazeera aired a videotape last wednesday, july 7, that showed armed men holding a filipino hostage in iraq whom they are threatening to kill. along with many people around the world who are concerned for justice and peace, i have been praying for hafidh amer for the past three days.

about three hours ago, the xinhua news agency reported that hafidh amer has been released by his captors. however, al-jazeera reported just a few minutes ago that hafidh amer is not yet free…a common wage earner is still trapped in the midst of this unjust war.

let's continue to pray for hafidh amer...