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About 100 people gathered in Othello Park on Saturday evening to mourn the loss of Kai Dana Sorem. The 26-year-old activist was killed on April 19 or 20 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Toboso, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines.
Sorem, who was raised in Steilacoom, had family in Tacoma and lived in the Seattle area. She was a founding member of Anakbayan South Seattle, a Filipino youth and student organization.
She had been integrating among the rural peasant communities in the Philippine countryside when the AFP “waged hours of low-flying indiscriminate strafing across several Toboso villages,” killing her and 18 others, according to vigil organizers. Another Filipino American activist, Lyle Prijoles, was also killed.
The Philippine government made a statement saying the killings were “neutralizing terrorists,” saying the deceased were affiliated with the New Peoples Army, also known as NPA rebels. The NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines released statements saying only a small number of those killed were related to NPA, while the majority were non-combatant civilians, according to Anakbayan South Seattle.
Local advocates called for an “immediate and independent investigation” into international human rights violations, labeling the attack a “massacre.”
The Seattle vigil was organized by Anakbayan South Seattle and Bayan Washington, an alliance of 18 progressive Filipino organizations in the U.S. representing students, scholars, women, workers, artists and youth.
“Hustisya para kay Kai! Toboso 19!” the devastated and enraged South Seattle community shouted. They called out, “Justice for Kai and Toboso 19,” in Filipino, and “Makibaka, huwag matakot,” which means “dare to struggle, do not be afraid,” in Filipino.
Cool spring wind whipped through the grass and dandelions as the sun set over the crowd. People approached the cement stage where the vigil was hosted and embraced each other in long hugs. Tears streamed down some of their faces.
A series of speakers throughout the night described Sorem as “beautiful,” “gentle,” “tireless,” and “driven by her great love for the masses.” Story after story described a life dedicated to helping the Filipino American communities in South Seattle. She often had a guitar at her side and performed music that depicted the Filipino people’s struggles and aspirations for a better future for the homeland.
In 2020, Sorem was studying to be a music instructor at Central Washington University. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, she saw parallels in former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and the poor and how an anti-terror law was also used to criminalize ordinary people wanting to make change, Anakbayan South Seattle organizers said at the start of the night.
She became a founding member of Anakbayan South Seattle and an adviser to a high school Filipino club for many years. She learned about migrant Filipino families in the neighborhood and brought them together to address their needs.
After traveling to the Philippines, where she saw the plight of peasants, she knew she wanted to return to deepen her knowledge of her country and culture.
“She is one of many Filipino youths who seek to understand their roots and the society that forces many Filipinos to migrate, and choose to contribute to change,” Anakbayan South Seattle wrote in a statement shared at the event.
Raven Butawah, vice chair of Anakbayan South Seattle, worked alongside Sorem organizing high school youth, including advocating for culturally relevant education taught in public schools. Butawah and Sorem also worked to help protect migrants and ensuring they know their rights and fighting anti-deportation and anti-detention fights.
“She really takes her time to listen, she is one of the most kindhearted people I’ve ever met,” Butawah said about Sorem.
“I’m still processing it,” Butawah added. “I already thought I had a grasp of how real and how high the stakes of this work were, but now this makes everything feel so real.”
The organization and many in the crowd at the vigil called for the U.S. government to stop investing in the Philippine military.
“(Our government) prioritizes giving more resources to the very things that force our families to move overseas in the first place,” Butawah said.
“We demand an immediate and independent investigation into the April 19 and 20 attacks, which can only be called a massacre,” Anakbayan South Seattle wrote in its statement. “We demand the families, lawyers, and human rights advocates be given full access to their loved ones’ remains without harassment, interrogation, harm or intimidation.”
