Born of the people. PDF
Preview Born of the people.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation f https://archive.org/details/bornofpeopleOOOOunse O, a t (EL 'UJ.. BORN "b * O OF THE PEOPLE by Luis Taruc With a Foreword by Paul Robeson INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK To the Common Tao Who Will Come Into His Own 1953, COPYRIGHT, BY INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS CO., INC. g^H|I^d209 PRINTED IN U.S.A. Contents Foreword by Paul Robeson 7 PART 1: THE SOCIAL CANCER 1. The Barrio 13 2. Town and School 17 3. City and Barrio Again 22 4. Awakening 26 5. The Class Struggle 33 6. The Enemy from Outside 48 PART n: HUKBALAHAP 7. The Birth of Resistance 56 8. The Hukbalahap 65 9. Early American Contacts 70 10. Attack 73 11. The People Produce Leaders 83 12. Self-Evaluation 104 13. Counter-Attack 108 14. Mass Base: The BUDC 116 15. The People’s Army 127 16. Growth and Development 142 17. Huk and Anti-Huk 147 18. Southern Front 162 19. Manila Front 169 20. The All-Out Offensive 176 21. “Liberation” 186 PART in: STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION 22. The Enemy Within 212 23. The Betrayal of the People 226 24. The Fight for Survival 240 25. U.S. Imperialism 258 26. Epilogue and Prologue 277 Glossary 283 Abbreviations 284 Biographical Notes 285 MAPS Central Luzon 57 Southern Luzon 163 Foreword When I was in Hawaii a few years ago it was my privilege to sing for and with the sugar and pineapple workers, to clasp their hands in firm friendship, to share for a short time their way of life. Truly, here was unity, amazingly broad—Hawaiians, Japanese-Americans, Portugese, black and white workers from the United States, Chinese and Chinese-Americans, and many workers from the Philippines. Not long before a noted singer from the Philippines had visited Hawaii, to appear in the usual concert series sponsored by the “Big Five” Companies. I had come as the guest of the unions. We had long discussions with my brothers and sisters from the Philippines about artists and others serving the people in their struggles toward a better life. They talked of their land, of the Hukbalahap, of the fight to survive against Japanese fascism, and later against the vicious forces of American imperialism and against their own colla¬ borators like Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. My mind often went back to 1898, the year of my birth, the same year that President McKinley felt the divine call to export “freedom and liberty” to the people of the Philippines. The real story of that time has been recorded, one of the most shameful periods of United States history, comparable to the British in India and South Africa, the Belgians in the Congo, or for that matter, the United States in almost any section of Latin America, beginning with Mexico and Panama. Then the talk would break off and feasting and singing would begin. They would tell me in song and story of the beautiful land set in the Eastern Sea, of the lovely mountains, of the warm, simple people, and of their hopes, longings, and firm resolve to 7 8 Foreword work out and control their own destinies. Before leaving the island I was proud to be able in one concert to sing a few of their beautiful songs for them. So with great anticipation I began to read the story of Luis Taruc, the great leader of the Hukbalahap, and of the Philip¬ pine people. For truly, as Taruc says, this is the saga of the peo¬ ple, for from them is he sprung and to them is he so closely bound. Often we talk of the struggles of colonial peoples, of the early struggles here in the days of our nation’s birth. We are daily in touch with the sufferings and strivings of 15 million Negro Amer¬ icans for nationhood in the South and full freedom in all the land. We follow the surging forward of the emergent African nations, all over that vast continent. What part does this great land of ours play in those world changes? We see the administration at their deadly work in Korea. We hear talk of “no imperialist ambitions,” but we see the close ties with the remnants of Japanese and West-German fascism. We watch with dread the policies of a General Mac- Arthur and a John Foster Dulles coming into ascendancy. We know that we must widen and deepen the struggle for peace, that we must fight for these United States to help civilization forward, not to attempt to check its march and even threaten to destroy it. We ask ourselves: What can we do, what methods can we employ, what role can culture play? Can we really build a strong united front? How can we best defend our leaders? How do we stimulate the activity of the masses? In short, how can we head off a threatening but as yet unrealized domestic fascism? And, amid all the political realities, what of the human beings involved? For we fight with and for people. How is such courage possible, such unswerving, deep belief, such devotion and sacrifice as are needed today? We live it too, through brave working class leaders in the United States—Eugene Dennis, Ben Davis, Steve Nelson, Claudia Jones, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Henry Winston—through courageous workers and intellectuals. Here in Taruc’s searching and moving story, the whole strug¬ gle is laid bare—the terrible suffering and oppression, the slow Foreword 9 torturous seeking for the “basic reasons” and for the “right methods of action, the tremendous wisdom and perseverance in carrying through, the endless courage, understanding, determi¬ nation of the people, of all sections of the people, for national liberation and dignity. For in the end, says Taruc, the answer is the people, in them lies the eternal wisdom. They are like the sea, seemingly calm at times on the surface, but raging beneath. They may seem to be patient and slow to move, but once they understand, no forces can hold them back until final victory. No one reading this book can doubt the ultimate victory of these brave, warm-hearted, joyful, sensitive people of the Philip¬ pines. They’ll make it, as have tens of millions in the Soviet Union, China, and the People’s Democracies, and the other mil¬ lions of the earth will follow them. For freedom is a precious tiling, and the inalienable birthright of all who travel this earth. And in the end every people will claim its rightful heritage. One often speaks of the emergence of a “new kind of human being.” In this magnificent and moving autobiography we see Luis Taruc grow with the people, reach into the most basic roots of the people, embrace and become a part of a whole people mov¬ ing swiftly and unbendingly toward full national liberation. In the process, Taruc and many, many others become new kinds of human beings, harbingers of the future. This is an intensely moving story, full of the warmth, courage, and love which is Taruc. Here certainly is proof that the richest humanist tradition is inherited and will be continuously enriched by the working class, acting in closest bonds with the peasantry and honest vanguard intelligentsia—intellectuals who know that they must “serve the people, not enemies of the people.” How necessary that we learn the simple yet profound lessons of united action, based upon the deepest respect for the people’s wisdom, understanding, and creative capacity. Here is a rich experience in life itself, of practice and theory, theory and practice. Know, Taruc, that like your American friend there are other 10 Foreword brave Americans who understand, there is the other America. And to “Bio,” to G.Y., to the memory of Eva Cura Taruc, to you, Taruc, and to all of your beloved comrades, we of the other America make this solemn vow. The fight will go on. The fight will still go on until we win freedom, friendship among peoples, the co-existence of many ways of life, the right to live full and many-sided human lives in dignity and lasting peace. / Paul Robeson
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