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Akbayan Youth applauds and supports Americans who have decided to occupy various centers of corporate greed in America, most notably Wall Street in New York. They represent the voices of poor and middle class Americans – 99% of American society – who demand that corporations shoulder the burden of salvaging the economy. We view the spontaneous and peaceful actions in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and other major cities as an inspirations for our own struggles in the Philippines.
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Like many Americans, we Filipinos have also been victimized by corporate abuses like union-busting, contractualization, and freezes on wages. Whereas in the past year the number of Filipino billionaires has increased, the basic wage of Filipino workers has been eroded by inflation and is insufficient to meet the basic needs of an average-sized family. This fact, coupled with the continued increase in the prices of basic commodities such as food, fuel, and electricity has put many working Filipinos in a bind.
Despite the thousands of miles of ocean that separate our people, we have all felt the crisis created by the unequal distribution of wealth in the global economy. For the past decades, we have seen the erosion of our economic and social rights amidst the increasing power of corporations.
As a progressive and socialist youth group, Akbayan Youth supports the initiative of American citizens to engage their government in a peaceful yet assertive manner. We also condemn the violent dispersals committed by the local police against these peaceful demonstrations. We believe that the state must serve its people and ensure that their rights are safeguarded. To our American brothers and sisters, we urge you to continue with your struggle!
http://www.akbayanyouth.org/
Original: Akbayan Youth Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement