An overwhelming feeling came over me when I did not have a glimpse of even the shadow of my brother that night. No text. No phone calls. No brother came home.
Jonas was abducted by state forces in 2007 while having lunch in a mall. It was a case of enforced disappearance and it was the start of the family’s nightmare.
The government defines Enforced Disappearance in Republic Act 10353 as the act of arresting, detaining, abducting, or otherwise depriving someone of their liberty by state agents or by individuals or groups acting with the approval, backing, or consent of the state.
Since the martial law of dictator Marcos Sr, about 1,912 desaparecidos remain missing to date, according to human rights group Karapatan. But how can justice prevail when the crime is committed by the very institution that is mandated to protect its people? Where does one even turn for answers?
This is why this documentary is very personal to me. Telling Jonas’s story is telling the story of more than a thousand victims of enforced disappearance. Our nightmare is the nightmare of every family of a desaparecido.
There are no illusions that this documentary will stop enforced disappearances. But it is my hope that this film will serve as both a step towards finding Jonas and a stride towards justice for all victims of enforced disappearance.
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