Connie said Karen always talked to her about one day helping to end poverty. “I often heard her say that people should have equal rights, but our situation is getting worse,” she said.
Linda, meanwhile, told Bulatlat that she could not understand at first why Sherlyn would “prioritize other people over her family.” But today, the mother had no bitterness at all toward the daughter. “I am proud of her. I realized that she knew that we can survive but not the poor people in the villages,” she said. “I admire her for that.”
The gruesome details of what had happened to their daughters have not weakened the spirit of the Cadapan and Empeño families, although Asher, Sherlyn’s father, is still distraught. He could hardly control his tears when he recalled his last conversation with Sherlyn. “She told me that she would go home to celebrate her mother’s birthday,” he said.
But, Linda said, “We will not stop searching. We go to military camps, use the legal process. We will not stop searching.”
“I can feel that she is still alive,” Connie said of Karen. She said she still yearns for her girl’s homecoming. At night, before going to sleep, she would “talk” to Karen. “Wherever you are, whatever your situation right now is, we have not forgotten you,” the mother said. “We love you.”
A photograph of Karen serves as a screensaver on Connie’s mobile phone. The ring tone is a song about a young activist bidding her parents farewell, promising to them that she would be a good “anak ng bayan” (“child of the people”). (Bulatlat.com)
Related links
http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/06/2nd-year-karen-and-sherlyn-s-abduction-search-justice-continues
http://www.stopthekillings.org/stknpv2/?q=pagpupunyagi-nina-karen-sherlyn
http://www.arkibongbayan.org/2008-06June25-KS2ndyr/karsheryr2.htm
http://kapirasongkritika.wordpress.com/category/karen-sherlyn/
http://www.rightsreporting.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6421&Itemid=123
http://www.pinoyweekly.org/cms/2008/06/dalawang-taon-nang-nawawala
http://www.stopthekillings.org/stknpv2/?q=pressreleases/33
http://www.pinoypress.net/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=2
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=370
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.co/news.php?news_id=20081013221841
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=1979
http://www.bulatlat.com/2007/06/between-hope-and-despair-search-missing-students-goes
http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-29/6-29-refugees_printer.html
http://www.bulatlat.com/breaking/6-28/6-28-warrant.htm
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20081123-173829/Rage
http://www.philippinerevolution.net/cgi-bin/ab/text.pl?issue=20090221;lang=eng;article=12
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June 28th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Thank you for a wonderful article about two amazing women, their lives cut short but a Philippine elite ready to go to any lengths to protect its control of the land and the people. Here in Canada we are working to demand justice for Karen and Sherlyn. From your friends as the Centre d'appui aux Philippines / Centre for Philippine Concerns in Montreal, and the Philippine Solidarity Network (Canada). We will never forget!
June 29th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Karen's case was shown recently on British Television (Channel 4 – Unreported World), and her case desreves international exposure. More power!
June 29th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
the revelation of melissa rojas regarding her torture and the way she deceived her captors for her to be released, will prompted the military abductors not to release anyone captured next time to avoid same controversy.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
What is the government doing in a case of these young victims? The Military should protect our society againts socio and psycho path. I felt sad and disappointed of what was happening to our country and society…
December 7th, 2009 at 9:49 am
We really needs a total revolutions.just like what happen in thailand where people
fights the corupt government and the millitary alot of bloodsheds happened there with the struggle of the poor people of thailand vs.corrupt government leaders abd the millitary. and they prevailed it againts the corrupt regime.
its' a wake up calls to Us all filpinos
the citizens of thailand is a role model that evry filipino should have to follow.they are not stupid.they are not tiklup tuhod.
September 21st, 2010 at 8:21 pm
[...] Enforced disappearances Among the 200 enforced disappearances recorded by KARAPATAN, two cases have received much publicity. The first is the abduction of farmer-activist Jonas Burgos, son of internationally-renowned journalist Jose Burgos. The second is the abduction of University of the Philippines (UP) student-activists Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan. [...]
June 20th, 2011 at 2:52 am
[...] http://bulatlat.com/main/2009/06/27/karen-empeno-and-sherlyn-cadapan-fates-intertwined-by-a-desire-t... Tagged: desaparecidos, karen empeno, sherlyn cadapan Posted in: Diliman ← 150 Years After Rizal, Fascism Still Prevails: 7 Militants Including 5 UPLB Student Leaders Detained for Scoring Aquino’s Twisted Policies LikeBe the first to like this post. Be the first to start a conversation [...]
August 2nd, 2011 at 11:21 pm
The case of these two women only shows that the government still refuses to see what reality is. Moving towards advancement is definitely not a bad thing, but to serve as lapdogs for imperialist countries and cater to the whims of capitalists, is truly despicable. It’s bad enough that they have controlled the country’s economy for decades.
Time to wake up.
August 30th, 2011 at 11:51 am
[...] aktibista ay naging biktima ng karahasan ng estado — na-dedesap — gaya na lamang nina Karen Empeno at Sherlyn Cadapan, at ni Jonas Burgos. Habang naipasa na sa Senado ang SB2817 o ang Enforced or Involuntary [...]
December 2nd, 2011 at 2:59 pm
[...] for years but justice still remains elusive. Erlinda Cadapan, mother of the missing UP student Sherlyn Cadapan who has been missing since June 26, 2006, would never tire in her quest for justice. On [...]
December 16th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
[...] Sherlyn and Karen, both students of the University of the Philippines (UP), were abducted on June 26, 2006 by suspected soldiers under the command of Palparan, then commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. Since the two have gone missing, their mothers went to courts, police stations, military camps, hospitals and morgues in searching for them. [...]
December 20th, 2011 at 9:44 am
It tragic that these two women were abducted. But one must understand the bigger picture. The NPA and their supporters have declared war on the government and are killing people thru ambushes and land mines. So-called amazons (female NPAs) do their share of liking also. The army is doing all it can to stop these killings, and sadly, amazons must be taken out also. What I don’t understand is why these amazons, if they truly want to help the poor, do not find jobs and give money to the poor. What possible purpose could they have for inserting themselves among the poor? Is it to kill government soldiers? The poor don’t need another mouth to feed.
January 27th, 2012 at 8:11 pm
[...] cited the case of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño who were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. Empeño is a Sociology student and Cadapan, [...]
January 27th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
[...] cited the case of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño who were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. Empeño is a Sociology student and Cadapan, [...]
January 28th, 2012 at 4:37 am
[...] cited the case of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño who were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. Empeño is a Sociology student and Cadapan, [...]
January 31st, 2012 at 3:59 am
[...] cited the case of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño who were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. Empeño is a Sociology student and [...]