CPP/Ang Bayan: Vitality, the youth’s contribution to the revolution

Ang Bayan article posted to the CPP Website (Jan 21): Vitality, the youth’s contribution to the revolution

Twenty-five members of a Kabataang Makabayan cultural group staged a performance during the CPP’s 45th anniversary celebration in a subregion of Southern Mindanao. Demonstrating their enthusiasm, agility and cleverness, they clearly delivered the message of revolution through acting, song and dance. Their movements provided a glimpse of the revolution’s vibrant future.

The group, composed of youth ranging in age from 15 to 22, was formed in mid-2013. They are currently busy performing in various places. Their membership is voluntary and has the blessings of their parents who are usually members of revolutionary mass organizations themselves.

Aside from performing in schools, plazas and evacuation centers, they also teach topics under the Pambansang Demokratikong Paaralan or PADEPA.

They not only teach by lecturing. They stage plays, recite poetry and present songs to help the students grasp the topics being discussed. This is a highly effective method, especially for peasants who do not know how to read and write or find it difficult to do so.

Courses also run more quickly. Topics that become long-drawn when taught through lectures are shortened when lectures are augmented by plays, songs and poems. This method is also a big help especially to the Lumad masses because the language gap is bridged through a simple play or presentation. Some examples are plays depicting the history of the Philippine revolution, and human rights abuses perpetrated by the military and big foreign plantations and mining companies.

From the time they become politically conscious to the time they provide education and engage in cultural work, the young cultural workers’ capabilities and talents will have been honed for the revolution. Leaders and potential cadres, instructors and Red fighters will have emerged. Because of such early training, they are able to perform revolutionary tasks even before they reach the minimum age of 18 years to become Red fighters. By that age, they will have already learned a lot and added to their capabilities. They will have become ready to enrich their abilities further, this time in the theater of war.

Their usual problems are those that come naturally with youth. “Of course, we sometimes miss our parents and siblings. This is a normal part of the struggle. Sometimes, decadent culture beckons, but we are able to overcome this for the masses,” explains Ron, a 15-year old leader. “When I turn 18, I will join my elder sister in the Red army,” adds Khan, a 17-year old.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20140121/vitality-the-youth-s-contribution-to-the-revolution