Aklat Alamid

23/10/2025

23/10/2025

At the Mindanao Book Workers for Palestine forum yesterday at UP Mindanao, in Davao City.

Here's an excerpt from my opening statement:

As a Bangsamoro writer, I know too well the pain of erasure. Our own struggle for self-determination was met with military force, distortion, and silence. The narrative of Palestine, in many ways, mirrors our own: the denial of nationhood, the vilification of resistance, the displacement of generations.

My withdrawal from the Frankfurt Book Fair is a small gesture, but one that aligns with a larger movement among artists, writers, and thinkers who refuse to separate art from ethics. Literature is not neutral. Art, when stripped of its moral weight, becomes decoration for power. As writers, our duty is to question, to unsettle, to speak when others are silenced.

Standing for Palestine transcends geography and faith. It is about standing on the side of humanity when it is under siege. It is about rejecting systems that profit from oppression, even when participation could mean personal gain or prestige.

Today, despite a so-called ceasefire, Gaza burns. Its poets, children, and mothers cry out for justice. And as a writer, I cannot remain indifferent. To withdraw is not to retreat—it is to resist. It is to declare that no book, no platform, no accolade is worth more than human life.

Moreover, to stand for Palestine is not a political convenience. It is a moral imperative. It is to affirm that the struggle of a people against occupation, apartheid, and erasure is the struggle of all peoples who have ever been subjugated, silenced, and dispossessed.

As a Bangsamoro, I know what it means to live under suspicion, to have my people’s history distorted, and our land fragmented. I grew up hearing stories of how we were made strangers in our own homeland. And so when I see the images of Gaza — bombed homes, orphaned children, desecrated churches — I see a mirror of our own collective wounds. The distance between Mindanao and Palestine collapses in the shared language of loss and resistance.

What transcends barrier and distance is empathy. That profound human ability to feel the pain of another as if it were our own. Empathy turns geography into kinship, history into solidarity. When we say Free Palestine, we are not merely echoing a slogan. We are reclaiming our common humanity from the machinery of oppression.

Writers and artists, more than anyone, understand the power of narrative. Colonialism thrives on silence, on the erasure of stories. And so we must write, film, sing, paint, and perform against the current of forgetting. Our art must bear witness. Our words must disturb comfort, challenge propaganda, and humanize the dehumanized.

In the end, to be an artist is to be human, and to be human is to resist all forms of repression.

23/10/2025

22/10/2025

Katuwang ang UP Literary Society ng University of the Philippines Mindanao, isinagawa ng Aklat Alamid ang forum na "Mindanao Books for Workers for Palestine" sa College of Humanities and Social Sciences noong 20 Oktubre 2025. Tinalakay dito ang konteksto ng pagboykot sa katatapos lamang na Frankfurt Book Fair at ang mga posibleng paraan ng pakikiisa ng mga alagad ng sining, manggagawang pangkultura, at iba pang indibidwal at organisasyon mula sa Mindanao.

Ang mga nagsilbing tagapagsalita ay sina Gutierrez Mangansakan II (General Santos City/Maguindanao) ng Bidadali Press at Bangsamoro Literary Review, NH Legaspi (Cagayan de Oro City) ng Papel-Papel Publishing OPC at Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro, at Loba Abu-Hamiadan (Davao City) ng Handala Project. Naging tagapagdaloy naman si Sigrid Marianne Gayangos (Zamboanga City) ng Department of Humanities ng UP Mindanao. Nagbigay din ng mensahe ng pakikiisa si Fathma Allyzah U. Pompong ng UP Mindanao Association of Muslim Students.

21/10/2025

Nakiisa ang Aklat Alamid sa NRCP Science for Kids: Learning Without Limits, I Am AGHAMazing noong 2 Oktubre 2025 sa Pedro Acharon Sr Elementary School at General Santos City SPED Integrated School.

Ang gawaing ito ay nilayong magbahagi sa mga batang may ASD, ADHD, at hearing impairment ng mga konsepto sa agham sa pamamagitan ng kuwentuhan.

Pinangunahan ito ng National Research Council of the Philippines, katuwang ang Department of Education Region XII, Department of Social Work and Development Region XII, at National Council on Disability Affairs.

Bahagi din ng gawain ang pamimigay ng Alpabetong Bisaya at iba pang libro.

16/10/2025

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 "𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞"

These writers and speakers will talk about the significance of the Palestinian-led boycott of the Frankfurt Book Fair and how writers and cultural workers can use their platforms in taking a stand against normalized genocide and showing solidarity with Palestine. Additionally, they shall discuss how these are connected with Mindanao’s own struggle for justice.

The UP Literary Society, in partnership with Aklat Alamid, will be hosting "Mindanao Book Workers for Palestine" on October 20, 2025. This forum, aimed at those involved or interested in cultural work, will focus on the implications of cultural and literary activism on human rights.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚, 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞! 🇵🇸

𝐂𝐨-𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲:
Aklat Alamid
Bidadali Press
Papel-Papel PH
Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro
Handala Project

🖼️: Semper Bonocan

15/10/2025

On 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, the UP Literary Society, in partnership with Aklat Alamid, is hosting 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞, a forum for writers, publishers, and cultural workers to take a stand against the normalization of genocide. With speakers unpacking the significance of the Palestinian-led boycott of the Frankfurt Book Fair, we’ll dive into how this struggle connects with Mindanao’s own fight for justice. Amidst growing propaganda, now is the time to use our platforms as cultural workers for more than just art—we’re here to resist and stand in solidarity with Palestine.

This forum will explore how artists and book workers can mobilize their craft for Palestinian human rights and what real solidarity looks like. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜, this event is particularly aimed at those involved in cultural work and solidarity efforts, encouraging a deeper conversation about the ethical implications of cultural and literary activism. Let’s build solidarity, one word at a time.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚, 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞! 🇵🇸

𝐂𝐨-𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲:
Aklat Alamid
Bidadali Press
Papel-papel PH
Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC)
Handala Project

12/10/2025

Maraming salamat kay Ate Wyn sa pagdadala ng mga kopya ng Alpabetong Bisaya sa mga bata ng Sitio Campingganon, Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte!

10/10/2025

Sumama ang Aklat Alamid sa Call Over Ridges, isa sa aming katuwang na organisasyon sa Siargao, upang magsagawa ng art activity sa mga magulang at mamigay ng mga kopya ng Alpabetong Bisaya sa mga mag-aaral ng Bayan ng Santa Monica, Surigao del Norte noong 8 Oktubre 2025.

Maraming salamat sa COR, kay Principal Irish Marie E. Gocela, at kaguruan ng Abad Santos Elementary School.

09/10/2025

08/10/2025