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martiallawmuseum.ph Reading Martial Law

in Children’s Literature
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Lessons from Martial

Law

Much of the difficulty in teaching Martial Law to younger children comes

from a fear of its political baggage. After all, how does one explain difficult
topics such as the abuses of the Marcos dictatorship in a manner suitable
for children without undermining the importance of knowing that these
injustices happened? Without an awareness for either, what we hope to
convey may end up becoming muddled and altogether lost.

This concern for teaching children about the difficulties of life in an

appropriate manner has formed the crux of children’s literature that deal
with sensitive topics. Yet, despite the difficulty of striking this balance,
numerous authors have written books that explore Martial Law without
compromising its grimmer realities.

In this exhibit, we look at the ways in which three children’s books explore
how Martial Law affected the lives of children. In looking closely at how
fiction depicts Martial Law, we gain a better idea of how authors frame
Martial Law for children and what lessons we can hope to gain from framing
Martial Law in these ways. More importantly, we also hope to understand
 why works that discuss the grim realities of history remain important for a
readership too young to have experienced them.
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Isang Harding
Papel
Publisher: Adarna House | Language: Filipino (Tagalog) | Age
Recommendation: 8+ | available at adarna.com.ph

This book by Augie Rivera looks at the relationship of 7-year-old Jenny

with her mother Chit, an actor incarcerated for staging anti-Marcos street
performances. As a result of her mother’s imprisonment, Jenny grows up
separated from her mother whom she visits only once a week.

Throughout the book, we see how Jenny is affected by her mother’s

imprisonment. On the one hand, Jenny copes by keeping track of all her
stories to share for when she visits her mother on Sundays. She also
finds company in the children of other inmates and most importantly, in
her maternal grandmother Lola Priming. In turn, Chit does her best to
comfort Jenny: every time Jenny visits, Chit gives her a paper flower she
made herself.
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On the other hand, Chit’s absence cannot be ignored. Inasmuch as Jenny

tries to adapt, she cannot help but feel heartbroken by how her mother
misses the milestones of her life and how her situation earns her the
teasing of other children. Her mother’s absence is made even more
pronounced as she accumulates the paper flowers to the point that they
resemble a garden; though meant to comfort her, the artificial flowers
cannot substitute for her mother’s presence.

The story’s power lies in how it subtly critiques common assumptions

about Martial Law. Martial Law is first introduced through the
 knowledge of Lola Priming who says the cleanliness, order, and peace
of Martial Law are part of Marcos’ vision of a progressive New Society.
The book even quotes Marcos’ campaign slogan: “Para sa ikauunland
ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan.”

This picture of Martial Law as peace and order, however, is immediately

juxtaposed with Jenny’s family situation. As the book blurb puts it:
“Panahon ng Martial Law, panahon ng pinaiiral na disiplina para daw [sic]
sa kaunlaran. Pero para kay Jenny, panahon iyon ng pagkakalayo nilang
mag-ina.” This critique is made even more pointed when we consider the
reason for Chit’s imprisonment. Though it is told as a joke, Rivera gives a
glimpse into the authoritarian nature of the Marcos presidency when Chit
explains that her imprisonment may have solely been because her street
plays angered the President.

In effect, Rivera points our attention to another kind of artificiality in the

story: the idyll of Martial Law. As Chit’s situation reveals, the peace and
order of Martial Law rest on the suppression of democratic principles. Thus,
the supposed peace of Martial Law is merely a facade that masks its darker
truths. The picture book implores us to ask: At what cost is discipline being
enforced by the Marcos regime? Who benefits and who in turn suffers?

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Si Jhun-Jhun, Noong Bago Ideklara ang

Batas Militar
Publisher: Adarna House | Language: Filipino (Tagalog) with English
translation | Age Recommendation: 10+ | available at adarna.com.ph

As opposed to Isang Harding Papel, Rivera’s other book on Martial Law

Si Jhun- Jhun, Noong Bago Ideklara ang Batas Militar is more explicit in
its approach. The book introduces Jhun-Jhun, a young boy frustrated by
the sudden change in his older brother Jaime’s behavior. Determined to
find out why Jhun-Jhun follows his brother to work but in the process,
suddenly finds himself in the middle of a violent clash between anti-Marcos
protesters and Metrocom agents during the First Quarter Storm.

Rivera’s narration and Vallesteros’ illustrations do not shy away from

depicting the political and violent clash between protesters and Metrocom
agents. Protesters are drawn holding up signs that read “FM ‘BUSOG’
SA PERA NG
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BAYAN,” and make direct references to the US involvement in the

Marcos dictatorship; meanwhile, Rivera describes how the Metrocom
agents use guns and smoke bombs to disperse the rally.

Beyond its depiction of violence and protest, however, the book is also
radical because it touches on another reality children had to face during
Martial Law: the forced disappearances of family members. Jaime is one of
the many protesters seized after the rally, and his forced disappearance
deeply scars Jhun-Jhun. The family’s failed attempts to locate Jaime only
dishearten Jhun-Jhun to the point that he blames himself for his brother’s
 disappearance.

What is significant about Rivera’s approach here is its exploration of how

the Marcos dictatorship affected Filipinos on both a macro and micro
level. There are the protesting workers who undoubtedly feel the effects
of Marcos’ corruption in the economic sphere, but there is also Jhun-
Jhun who must deal with his strained relationship with Jaime and later
with Jaime’s forced disappearance—all in part because of the Marcos
dictatorship. This kind of approach leads us to an understanding that
Martial Law was more than just a series of events that happened in the
past, but rather a tumultuous experience that continues to affect the
everyday lives of many families even today.

Jhun-Jhun’s experience, however, does not stop at trauma. Over time, he

learns to deal with his brother’s loss, and it soon becomes a kind of political
awakening. At the end of the book, Jhun-Jhun follows in his brother’s
footsteps and joins in protesting the Marcos dictatorship. Though Rivera
pushes the idea to the extreme in having Jhun-Jhun protest, this highlights
yet another aspect of children’s literature on Martial Law: its emphasis on
the relationship between children and politics. Rivera demonstrates that
children are very much a part of those affected by political events, and that,
though they do not necessarily need to take to the streets to do so, children
have something to contribute to the ongoing fight for what is right.

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Salingkit: a 1986
Diary
Publisher: Anvil Publishing | Language: English | available as an ebook in
multiple platforms

Cyan Abad-Jugo’s Salingkit: a 1986 Diary stands out as one of the few
young adult novels that deals with Martial Law. However, unlike the previous
books, Abad- Jugo’s novel takes place in the year 1986, the year of the
EDSA Revolution and the Philippines’ transition from a dictatorship to a
democracy.

The novel is centered on 14-year-old Kitty Eugenio, who is left in the care
of her extended family as her mother seeks a job in America. As a result,
Kitty must negotiate with the sudden changes in her life vis-à-vis the
changing times. Inasmuch as Kitty wishes to remain in her bubble of New
Wave music appreciation, her encounters with her extended family and
peers lead to her to come face-to-face with the country’s changing political
landscape.
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For most of the novel, Kitty is a passive observer of the country’s changes.
Though Kitty is anti-Marcos in political stance, this sentiment stems mostly
from the influence of her family—especially of her older cousin Alan; beyond
that, however, Kitty shows little concern for the country’s political situation. It
isn’t until she becomes involved with Bensy Salcedo, the son of a Marcos
crony, that she begins to interrogate her assumptions about politics, such as
the popularized Marcos-Cory dichotomy and more importantly her political
beliefs independent of others.
In many ways, Kitty’s journey into adolescence is meant to mirror the turmoil
the country experienced in the months following the fall of the Marcos
dictatorship. Like the many who experienced the transition to democracy,
Kitty is forced to make sense of a fractured political landscape: from the
resistance of the Marcos loyalists to the shortcomings of the Aquino
administration brought about by infighting and its failure to resolve issues
from Martial Law. In the process, Kitty comes to understand that one cannot
comprehend the political situation as merely black-or-white. At the same
time, Kitty also learns that in times like this one cannot remain apolitical in a
post-EDSA democracy rife with conflict:

Kuya Alan always seems to have a cause

to believe in. I wonder if maybe I should

have joined [the Animal Welfare League]

even if Dominique and Wanda joined too.
I hate to say this, but maybe even the

[Marcos] Loyalists have some cause they

believe in. . . .

So what do I believe
 in?
Kitty’s adjustment to the post-EDSA life is further complicated by the
glaring absence of her father who disappeared two years before EDSA. In
various diary
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entries, Kitty writes about her fear that, in the wake of Martial Law’s end,
many of those who fought the dictatorship—her family included—have
already begun to move on and forget those who disappeared. And her
reluctance to share these points to her belief that such concerns remain
marginal to the larger picture of the country’s return to democracy.

This emotional struggle plays into the novel’s much larger theme of
examining the post-EDSA democracy. While there was cause to celebrate
the EDSA Revolution, many of its promises remained unfulfilled in the
years that followed; those who abused their power have yet to pay for their
crimes, while those who suffered have yet to receive reparation. Kitty’s own
situation captures how there is still much to tread in healing the wounds left
behind by Martial Law—even until today.

Cover illustration by Charmaine Regina

Yu

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