This kid is all right
Published in the print and online version of the Philippine Panorama of the Manila Bulletin.
https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/08/27/this-kid-is-all-right/
"STAY WOKE" is a new statement among Millennials and the younger Generation Z—it connotes a feeling of awareness of the injustices that society is facing. And it doesn’t only connote awareness, but also a sense of involvement. Its Filipino equivalent is “mulat.” And we have seen this resurgence of activism in various advocacies, like supporting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,and transgender) rights, human rights, corruption, and fighting against historical revisionism.
What’s surprising, however, is seeing more young people in this struggle for a more accepting society. As older Millennials become parents, their children become more engaged in what they’re passionate about—to pass the torch of activism to them at a very young age. And it’s not just in the home, more young people are replacing the workforce as well—teachers, civil servants, and new professionals. To be “not woke” or blind to the inequalities and struggles of society today is almost impossible.
Take for example Kelsey Hadjirul. At the tender age of 13, she has already been at the forefront in the fight for LGBT rights, an issue still sensitive to majority of Filipinos. Kelsey, now in her junior year in high school, is raised by her two mothers—cultural activist and filmmaker Cha Roque and Ymi Castel, a freelance web developer and guitarist for Filipino punk-rock band Flying Ipis and Squid 9.
Understanding LGBT rights
Filipinos, especially those who are highly conservative and religious, have often shown a myopic view on the issues concerning LGBT rights, but not in Kelsey’s home, which has held a positive attitude toward activism.
Though the LGBT movement as a whole has come very far from just being a dream, it has yet to gain nationwide acceptance in the Philippines, where you’ll come across mixed attitudes toward the LGBT community, from bigotry and disdain to plain tolerance, to fully supporting them. And you’ll recognize these attitudes from common people to politicians and celebrities. The irony is, the country consistently ranks within the top 10 of being one of the most “gay-friendly” places in the world.
For Kelsey, it begins in the home with her two mothers Cha and Ymi, who have had a great positive influence on her. Kelsey is aware of the dreams and struggles not only of the LGBT movement, but those at the forefront of women’s rights, human rights, and children’s rights as well. She’s years ahead compared to many in her age group or even to older Millennials. No wonder since Cha had already instilled a sense of activism and advocacy in Kelsey even when she was just four years old.
“The current challenge of the [LGTB] movement is the legislation of the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB)—it’s been 17 years of delays and bogged-down talks. Also children’s rights, the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR). Then, there are the women’s rights, Safe Cities, a program of the United Nations to combat urban violence and crime and creating safe public spaces for women. Quezon City was the first to implement this, and we are urging all the other cities to follow the same,” said Kelsey.
“There have been a lot of changes, but the fight for LGBTQ (Q stands for queer) rights continue. The Philippines has been tolerant but not totally accepting of LGBTQs. What we need is concrete laws, which will guarantee our rights against all forms of discrimination,” said Cha. “There is still a lot of violence committed against the rights of LGBTQs like what happened to me and my partner. It can be very frustrating and sad sometimes, but I am hopeful because of children like Kelsey who, at a young age, respect and uphold everyone’s human rights.”
Apart from being a very vocal speaker for her advocacies in the local level, Kelsey has been involved in international movements for women’s rights and LGBT rights, like UNICEF France’s 2016 Cities for Life World Summit and the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia movement by the IDAHO Committee.
From home and to school
Cha Roque grew up in a very accepting family, which made “coming out” relatively easy. Cha is the communications director for DAKILA, an online human rights and LGBTQ+ rights-centered blog that promotes social transformation through the arts. DAKILA was founded by the late Arvin “Tado” Jimenez with musician, writer, and broadcast journalist Lourd Ernest De Veyra and former Parokya ni Edgar bassist Buhawi“Buwi” Meneses in 2007.
DAKILA aims to unite all Filipino artists and musicians and to be a platform for social-based events like film fests, in which Cha is actively involved.
Apart from her involvement in DAKILA, Cha has also won various awards for her LGBT-themed and inspired films. They include Negosyanteng Malolenyo in 2011, which won the grand prize at the Documentarios y Fotographicos Malolos, and Intercourse of Words. The latter was viewed at Queerception 2016 Metro Manila Pride’s LGBT Arts Fair. Her newest films have also been showcased at the Hanoi International Queer Film Festival last March. She herself has been involved in various international LGBT rights movements around the world.
Ymi Castel, on the other hand, is a guitarist for the all-female Pinoy punk-rock band Flying Ipis and Squid 9. Ymi is also a human rights advocate and moonlights as a freelance web developer. Recently, she developed AlamBaU.ph, an online hub that educates, supports, and connects stakeholders in the protection of children from online sexual abuse and exploitation.
Having two great positive influencers by her side while she was growing up, Kelsey learned at a very young age to respect the rights of others, something that would normally take other people many years to realize. But it wasn’t all easy for Kelsey. What whipped her in this path were years of being bullied in her former school—the young girl faced discrimination by both her peers and the school itself.
“I was bullied in the second grade by my peers, they taunted me for not having a father. In the sixth grade, there was an issue when some of my peers, and even the teachers, called me out on one of my social media posts, which included my two moms. They told me that my family wasn’t a ‘proper family.’ That’s where I started writing extensively about LGBT rights. I started talking to people about LGBT rights and why everyone should be involved,” said Kelsey.
“After the home, the school is the biggest source of influence, like what happened with me and my teachers before about that social media post with my parents. So if you’ll encounter that kind of close-mindedness at the stage of schools, you’ll get a glimpse of how discrimination starts at a very young age. I think that should also be part of the principal legislations concerning LGBT rights—to also change how teachers teach with regards to respecting all individuals regardless of race, color, and orientation,” Kelsey added.
Involving other youth
Apart from being an advocate for LGBT rights and human rights, Kelsey is also an active writer in her school paper, which she also edits as its editor in chief. Kelsey also loves playing the guitar and watching movies, which she clearly got from her two moms. Apart from this, she is currently working on her book outlining the country’s various social problems and how the youth can involve themselves.
Kelsey aspires to be a writer and an author. Another concern for her is fighting for the improvement of the Filipino language, which she sees as slowly being displaced and discarded for other foreign languages.
“I want to be a writer, an author of a book, and maybe even for movies. I often write about my advocacies, (such as) our language, especially now we can feel it being bombarded by various influences like foreign shows, media, and programs. Instead of focusing on improving our language, we tend to look to these foreign languages,” said Kelsey.
Kelsey proves to all of us that hatred and bigotry aren’t inherent in people, and that only through our influences and our choices do we stray from being good. She represents the new youth in her generation, the Z generation. New parents should follow in the footsteps of Kelsey’s two mothers, who have raised her progressively and openly in the home, and engaged and involved her in matters of society.
This kid has faced discrimination at school, and from her peers, but her mothers are a more powerful force in her life. Kelsey shows that regardless of our background and our circumstances, we can always choose to be good, to respect others, and to fight for others. She also shows that juvenility is no hindrance to social awareness or an excuse for social apathy. The new society is one that is full of Kelseys who are always “woke.”
“What can we do? We volunteer in these movements, and we expose ourselves to the realities of our society—to willingly immerse in their struggles. Our generation is very powerful. With the aid of technologies and social media, we can achieve anything. It’s just that we should be aware at first. In these times, we must also consider that problems in our society aren’t only the concern of several advocacy groups, they should be treated as a concern for everyone. We must not also put down and dismiss advocacy movements so easily without even trying to understand them. For as long as there is one person suffering a form of discrimination out there, he is worth fighting for,” said Kelsey.
