“Start by doing what's
necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
(photo credit: Steven Raga)
In these words of the patron saint of peacemakers, The Church and Friary
of St. Francis of Assisi
It
was a resounding success. It was a perfect melding of the Consul’s mission of
assisting and protecting its citizens in another country and FALDEF’s pro-bono mission
of educating and defending the rights of those marginalized by society,
particularly with regards to immigration. The attendance overflowed as benches
were brought into the hall and yet some, who came later, had to stand while the
young ones sat comfortably on the floor. Handouts disseminated by FALDEF gave
basic information on the Obama Directive on Dreamers as well as dates for legal
clinics at their FALDEF office (see below for details).
(photo credit: Dino Villa-Real)
A
powerful and informative presentation by FALDEF President Atty. JT Mallonga
allowed people to get a summarized idea of the Obama Executive Order on Dream
Act. Being the lead attorney of the Dreamer, Jose Antonio Vargas who was on the
cover of Time Magazine recently (www.dreamact.info
), it gave those in the room the sense of empowerment for them to ask questions
anonymously during the Open Forum segment of the seminar. It was Consul Felipe
Carino III who read the collected questions from the audience some of which
were fielded by Atty. Mallonga, the Deputy Consul General Theresa Dizon de Vega
and by Atty. Rio Guerrero of Guerrero Yee LLP who gave a presentation on Labor
Rights. A delicious dinner was also served to those present thereby feeding not
only their spirit but bodies as well.
In
support of FALDEF, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations
(NaFFAA) had its Executive Director Steve Raga, Director of Advocacy, and State of NJ Chair
The ministering act of four organizations come together to serve the voiceless in the community is the kind of work that will one day achieve the impossible: the humane treatment of our brothers and sisters who are out of status. After all, though this was but one event, St. Francis life exemplifies that he lived what he believed, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
For those who are interested, the following are the
pertinent information for the FALDEF & NaFFAA legal clinic sessions:
WHERE: FALDEF office, Lovin Life Center 4 West 43rd St, Suite 505 , NY ,
NY 10038
WHEN:
JUL 27, AUG 24, SEPT 28, 3-8PM
CONTACT:
(212) 221-1888, Atty. JT Mallonga @ jtmallonga@faldef.org,
Atty. Merit Salud efsalud@aol.com
*submitted by Marie Aunio, FALDEF's Special Assistant to the President