In Face of the New Peoples Army Frans Welman looks at the people behind the struggle for their rights. Often depicted as rebels, killers, criminals and the like they actually live in a semi feudal, a post colonial society where they are oppressed and exploited.
The Government of the Philippines condones this exploitation of the poor and deploys its Army against its own people, cheap labor by millions of Philippinos, to force them to abide their corrupted policies. In the Samar in the Visayas archipelago uprisings have a long history. Since the neo-colonial attitude is still prevalent on Samar the people do not need much encouragement to literally fight for their rights as decent human beings. Ordinary farmers they did not need to be recruited for the New Peoples Army of the Philippines, people who are usually depicted as faceless or dead rebels.
Having been there and knowing the faces of the ‘rebels’ with this book Frans Welman pays tribute to all those who have the courage to stand up for their right, in this case the people of the island Samar who are exemplary for all those all over the Philippines who are forced to live in bondage. These heroic people who fight for fundamental human rights are gentle, hospitable and most of all genuinely friendly.