one small drop, one strong wave

Last Thursday I went to the Labour Education Centre 20th anniversary celebration.

The Labour Education Centre was founded in 1987 by union activists from the Toronto and York Region Labour Council who believed in the power of learning to transform the lives of working people.

What a fantastic event ... a great opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues in this social season and to reflect upon the role of the labour movement in education and the role of the literacy movement in labour.

We were treated to a series of musical presentations. One group to serenade us was from PATAC.

PATAC envisions a future where each person’s right is respected and upheld in a society with genuine freedom and peace based on justice. ...PATAC is an Anglicized spelling of the Filipino word ‘patak.’ It means a drop of something and aptly describes the basic principle of the organization. ‘Patak-patak lang’ is a common phrase that Filipinos say when they want to ask everyone to contribute to the achievement of something, whether it be a contribution to help someone or to buy a meal. It is this same principle that PATAC adheres to. We believe that with a little help from everyone, we will be able to achieve our dream.

Here are the lyrics from one of their songs:

We are one great echo
Saying no to those who give us
machines of death and destruction
saying no to those who kill
The soul of beloved places

Now we are one strong wave
Crush the wall of darkness
Drive out those who make us
Strangers in our land

Tomorrow we'll sing to you
A vision of the peace we wage
Fr we are growing faithful and strong
In the middle of the storm
Tomorrow oh child, we'll work hand in hand
As we fight for peace today

We are on a bold wind
Reclaim the world we honor
And open it up to peace alone
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
And all the ancient islands and waters
To where our spirits
Must come home!

This song was written by a group of artists. The musicians who performed it at LEC were Marco Luciano, Levy Abad Jr. and Ricky.