Families affected by drug-related killings have thrown their support for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’s call to “Stop the Killings! Start the Healing” on November 5.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights, an alliance of human rights advocates together with families affected by drug-related extra-judicial killings, has taken action to mobilize poor families who have been affected by the government’s national crackdown against illegal drugs.
“We wholeheartedly support broad and dynamic efforts to Stop the Killings and Start the Healing,” the group said.
“These killings must be stopped. Families affected by drug-related killings under the Duterte administration can feel in the depths of their beings the pain of having a loved-one ripped from this earth. They know more anyone how crucial it is to stop the Killings,” it added.
The group also said that the families of supposed extrajudicial killings “have endured months of isolation and have even faced a stigma of being labeled as criminals, hustlers, and generally unredeemable burdens on society,” saying the president’s “attacks against the poor have continued to fuel unfair and nasty public disdain.”
“Our experience bears out that the families affected by drug-related killings are as diverse and as human as any. Their desire to be embraced with compassion is real,” the group said.
The group and the kin of drug war victims will join assemblies with other families and communities to stand with CBCP in their call to stop the killings. They will also attend a mass on October 31.
The group added that these gatherings are essential in helping the families affected by drug-related killings to “feel that they are not alone; venues for families to grieve and remember, especially during the All Saints or All Souls holiday send a palpable message that the Church cares for them.”
“Through such actions, these families will be helped to see that in standing together—both with other families and advocates—they will find courage and gain strength in speaking the truth to power: they will claim their voice to denounce Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs” and to insist that justice be given to the slain, the salvaged and the orphaned,” the group said.
“We seek to live out a noble goal to “Stop the Killings! Start the Healing!” Giving pause to recognize that, under current circumstances, we should be loud, united, and firm in our call, we must start the healing,” it added.