Blood Banana


EDIA RELEASE
December 15, 2006
Compostela union leader, 3 others critically wounded by gunshots
Vicente “Boy” Barrios, president of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farm (NAMASUFA-NAFLU-KMU) and three other workers were shot at around 5:30 early this morning. The workers were on their way to work when unidentified men held them at gunpoint and open fired at them.
The workers were rushed to Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City for immediate medical attention. As of this writing, two of the victims are in critical condition while Barrios sustained bullet wounds but is able to talk.
The leader of a union of banana workers in Compostela Valley province and three other members were shot by unidentified men on their way to work early Friday, the latest…
Fernando Alia at the Davao Medical Center, the last of the Alia boys. (davaotoday.com photo by Cheryll D. Fiel)
Last week, Fernando Alia was near his home when somebody plunged an ice pick twice in his back. Although he survived, he doesn?t feel a bit lucky. Three other brothers had been stabbed to death in and around the Bankerohan public market, where butchers not only kill livestock. Their mother, Clarita Alia, is at her wit?s end dealing with these tragedies. Worse, they blame her for their misfortunes. Davao Today?s Cheryll D. Fiel reports.
By Carlos H. Conde
Clarita Alia lost three of her children to the Davao Death Squad. Her youngest is fighting for his life.The voice on the other end was trembling. ?Sir, I really need your help.? The voice ? soft, slightly stuttering, but harrowingly sad ? was one of the most heart-rending I?ve ever heard. ?My son has been stabbed,? the woman said, weeping now. ?We?re now at the DMC (Davao Medical Center) and we have no money for medicine, for food. Please have mercy on us.?