Sep 2020
They came first for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I am not a Communist
Then they came for the immigrants
And I did not speak out
Because I am not an immigrant
Then they came for the feminists, and gays, and lesbians
And I did not speak out, never shouting out that Love is love
Because I was not a woman, neither a gay, lesbian, nor a feminist
Then they killed the blacks
And I did not speak out
Because I am colored, but not black.
Then they persecuted scientists just like in Bolshevik Russia, Chinese Cultural Revolution, and ignored, defunded them just like in present-day strongman regimes
And I did not speak out, never shouting out that Science is real
Because I live in a democratic state, with advanced science and technology.
Then they killed botanists like Leonard Co and companions
While doing fieldwork in the Philippines
And I did not speak
Because I am not a botanist, and I don’t go on fieldwork in those places.
Then they killed Lumads, and burned Lumad schools
And I did not speak,
Because I am not a Lumad, and I went to a prestigious university.
Then one day, they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
And I did not speak out
Because I am not a Communist
Then they came for the immigrants
And I did not speak out
Because I am not an immigrant
Then they came for the feminists, and gays, and lesbians
And I did not speak out, never shouting out that Love is love
Because I was not a woman, neither a gay, lesbian, nor a feminist
Then they killed the blacks
And I did not speak out
Because I am colored, but not black.
Then they persecuted scientists just like in Bolshevik Russia, Chinese Cultural Revolution, and ignored, defunded them just like in present-day strongman regimes
And I did not speak out, never shouting out that Science is real
Because I live in a democratic state, with advanced science and technology.
Then they killed botanists like Leonard Co and companions
While doing fieldwork in the Philippines
And I did not speak
Because I am not a botanist, and I don’t go on fieldwork in those places.
Then they killed Lumads, and burned Lumad schools
And I did not speak,
Because I am not a Lumad, and I went to a prestigious university.
Then one day, they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
an expanded paraphrase of Martin Niemöller’s First they came, a poem that deals with themes of personal responsibility, among several others; a reaction to a comment on a botanist friend’s post on a poster dealing with inclusivity in science; Leonard Co was a Filipino botanist who was killed along with other field companions and technicians, while doing fieldwork, purportedly mistaken for rebels but his killers have never been arrested and justice remains elusive; Lumads are non-Muslim indigenous peoples in Mindanao, often in far-flung areas that are also targets of mining activities. With assistance from non-government organizations, Lumad groups have established Lumad schools in answer to the need for their children's education, such schools now being targets of destruction in the guise of fighting leftist rebels.
