From Palestine to the Philippines

Isang Bagsak: We are not free until all of us are free
Filipinos United 4 Palestine is a coalition of Filipino individuals, organizations, and businesses in Canada working together for a free Palestine. 

Our vision is a free and liberated Palestine as led and determined by the Palestinian liberation movement.

We are united in our mission of calling for and demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

We invite our fellow kapatids (siblings) across all walks of life and sectors - from Filipino creatives, practitioners, educators, collectives, organizations, businesses and beyond - to join us in fighting for a free Palestine. 

 OUR DEMANDS 

Through direct action, political organizing, and community education, we are uniting Filipinos across the country in solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement to demand:
  • An immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine

  • Two-way arms embargo between Canada and Israel

  • Israel and other countries including Canada to uphold International human rights laws and the International Court of Justice ruling to prevent complicity in acts of genocide and provide humanitarian aid to Gaza

  • Increase the cap on incoming Gazan refugees, and ensure they are provided with well-rounded financial, social, and health supports, replacing the current arbitrary and racist policy in place

  • Canada’s recognition of the state of Palestine

OUR VALUES
In Tagalog, isang bagsak translates to “one down.” This phrase embodies our collective and interconnected well-being: if one person falls, we all fall. If one rises, we all rise. This is what we mean too when we speak of collective liberation. None of us are free until we are all free. 

Solidarity is the revolutionary love that forms the bedrock of our collective. We fight injustice because our lineage has always been shaped by the resistance of our ancestors, of our people. The following values inform our approach to this movement work:
  • We are grounded in the spirit of our ancestral values of kapwa and bayanihan.  We support and care for one another. We meet each other where we’re at. We honour and celebrate each other’s individual contributions and work in the collective.  

  • We follow the lead of the Palestinian liberation movement through intentional, strategic, and mindful work. We are mindful of how we show up in the movement, understanding our linked struggles and resistance. We are conscious of parallel work by individuals, collectives, and organizations, and strive to work in collaboration, not competition or repetition.

  • We show up with reflexivity, humility, and accountability.  We understand our positionality as diasporic Filipinos and settlers on stolen land and we are critical of our positionality and linked struggles with Palestinian struggles. Our individual members hold each other accountable and we work together to determine when to step back and reassess our collective work. 
 
  • We honour our individual strengths, capacity, and abilities. As individual members, we are accountable to ourselves and each other. We aim to communicate our respective capacities and be transparent about what we can/cannot take on.  
 
  • We embrace imaginative and creative ways of working towards liberation and welcome our individual gifts in the struggle. We know that each and every one of us has a role to play in fighting against injustice. We welcome everyone to bring their skills, knowledge, and gifts into this work. We encourage everyone to show up in their unique ways of working, learning, and being.

  • We are non-hierarchical. Just as in an ecosystem where every living thing and the environment work together to grow, nourish, and support each other, so too is it with this network. We build this collective work together.

    • Does this align with your own values and vision? We invite you to join us in fighting for a free Palestine.