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Weaponizing Fear:
The Philippine Drug War
Para sa Sandali Lang
(For Just a Moment)
Para sa Sandali Lang (For Just a Moment) is a piece inspired by Normita Lopez’s poem for her son, Djastin, whow as was a victim of Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs in the Philippines. The poem entitled, Anak sa Sinapupunan ng Isang Ina (Child in the Womb of a Mother), tells a story of a mother caring for her child until he was taken away from her by the drug war, leaving a mother who is thankful for their short time on earth but now only yearning to be with her son once again.
This music follows the narrative arc of the poetry intermingling nostalgic, happy memories with painful and tragic emotions. The piece echoes semblances of lullabies but also generates unworldly sounds that can either be ethereal or jarring, produced by harmonics, scrapes, and gritty textures from the violin.
The piece intends to juxtapose reality and memory by interspersing and fragmenting similar material from the beginning of the piece throughout, and this hopefully invokes the difficult task of remembering but also reconciling one’s feelings in the present.
Anak sa Sinapupunan ng Isang Ina (Rough translation in red)
Son from the womb of one mother
By Normy Lopez
Isang anak/ na dinala ko sa aking sinapupunan/ sa loob ng siyam na buwan
To carry my one son in my womb for 9 months
Ini ngatan ko siya/ sa lahat ng oras
I took care of him all hours
Hinintay ko/ ang pagdating ng kanyang pagsilang sa liwanag
I waited for him to come and be born in the light
Hinintay ang una niyang pang ngi ti
I was waiting for his smile
Inalalayan sa kanyang paglalakad
I Helped/supported him with walking
Paglaki ng mahal kong anak ay ginabayan
Raising my loving son was blessed
Ngunit dahil sa utos ng isang pangulo, na ubusin ang mga adik
But while at the orders of the president, to get rid of many addicts
Nagdeklara ng War on Drugs
He declared the War on Drugs
Kaya sa isang iglap/ ang mahal kong anak/ ay nakitilan ng buhay
With one moment, my loving son found life
Anak na minahal/ ay hindi ko na makikita at mayayakap
The son that was cherished I can no longer see or hug
Pati ang kanyang mukha ngumingiti ay hindi na masisilayan
Also his smiling face I can never get a glimpse of
Pakikipagkulitan ay hindi na maririnig
I can no longer hear him goofing around
Halakhak na napupuno sa loob ng bahay/ ay hindi na maririnig
The hearty laugh filling the air outside the house is no more to be heard
Hindi bale anak, naging madali man ang ating pagsasama
Not each child, will be easy to be together
Darating din ang panahon, tayo din/ ay magkakasama doon sa buhay na walang hanggan
The day will come, that we will be together in life with no hurdles or barriers.
Akoy iyong hintayin/ at muli tayoy magkikita
You wait for me and we will see each other again
Ang hinihiling ko Ing sa iyo Panginoong Diyos
All I am asking from you God
Na sana kapag dumating na/ ang takdang oras
That when time comes
na ako naman/ ang lilisan sa mundong ito,
That I am to leave this world
Sana/ ay iyong ipahintulot na muli/ kaming magkita ng aking pinakamamahal na anak
Hopefully that we will see each other again my beloved child
At bago pa man/ lang pumikit ang aking mga mata,
Before my eyes close in this life
sana mabigyan na ng hustisya ang iyong pagkamatay, aking anak.
may your killers be brought to justice, my son.