FILIPINO YOUTH GROUP CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY IN JERSEY CITY

> Jersey City – Filipino youth group Anakbayan NY/NJ held a
> picnic at Liberty State Park last Thursday, August 13, 2008,
> in celebration of International Youth Day (IYD). It was a
> day of social awareness and learning as members of the
> organization, together with Filipino immigrant and US–born
> youth, played games and held educational discussions
> regarding the most pressing issues affecting the Filipino
> people, especially its youth sector.
>
> First proposed by the United Nations as an awareness day on
> youth issues in 2000, International Youth Day has since
> become a day of global discourse and activity on youth
> concerns.
>
> "The purpose of this event is to unite the Filipino
> youth and to remind them of the youth's role in society
> as one of the most potent agents of social change. Our
> involvement is critically necessary especially now when our
> brothers and sisters back home are being deprived of basic
> rights. Education, a basic right is now only reserved to
> the privileged as Arroyo continues to cut spending on social
> services while beefing up the military and debt-servicing,
> " said Kathleen Dy, member of Anakbayan NY/NJ.
>
> Filipino immigrant and US-born youth enthusiastically
> played "Patintero", a classic game among the youth
> in the Philippines, in the spirit of commemorating their
> roots. It was followed by a discussion on the worsening
> political and economic crises burdening the Filipino people
> back home under Gloria Arroyo's reign of terror and
> deceit. Cultural performances by participants ended the
> discussion.
>
> The whole-day event was concluded by the playing of darts
> wherein the youth simultaneously darted Arroyo's
> enlarged mole, signifying the youth sector's
> participation in the arduous struggle of the Filipino people
> against Arroyo's tyranny.
>
> "In a time of great cynicism among the youth when it
> comes to politics, it is very refreshing and empowering to
> have political discussions and fun activities in an engaging
> event," commented one of the participants.
>
> Anakbayan NY/NJ is an overseas chapter of Anakbayan
> Philippines, a national youth organization actively engaged
> in political participation for social change. ###