The top executive of the United Methodist missions agency has spoken out against the detention and return of a Filipino Muslim activist who had been invited to the United States by his agency.
According to a report by Drew Elizarde-Miller on the Sojourners website, Moro-Muslim peace advocate Jerome Aba was detained April 18 at the San Francisco International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Mr. Aba says he faced harassment and cruelty during his 28-hour detention, including being denied access to an attorney.
Jerome Aba
Jerome Aba
"A Moro-Muslim from the island of Mindanao — which is under Martial Law — Aba is a human rights advocate who has documented human rights violations in the Philippines. Most recently, Aba led fact-finding and relief missions in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city that was recently destroyed by fighting between the Armed Forces of the Philippines, supported by U.S. intelligence, and foreign fighters claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. While hunting ISIS-affiliated terrorists in Marawi, the Philippine government displaced 400,000 people and flattened the city with aerial bombing. Aba provided relief and advocacy for the displaced while the crisis ensued," the Sojourners article said.
Thomas Kemper, general secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, one of the agencies that invited Mr. Aba to the United States, issued a statement April 26:
"We were surprised and disturbed to learn that Jerome Aba, a civil rights advocate from the Philippines, was detained at the San Francisco airport, held for 24 hours without access to a lawyer, and put on a plane back to his country by US Customs and Border Protection, despite having a valid visa to attend Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC and speak in several other US cities. Mr. Aba had been invited to the US by The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and other religious organizations taking part in Ecumenical Advocacy Days, April 20-23.
"Mr. Aba has been active in opposing the recent rise in killings and displacement of communities in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao, that has created a humanitarian and human rights crisis that targets the poor, indigenous and Moro communities, as well as human rights defenders. We were pleased to invite him to participate in a workshop at Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, entitled, 'Justice Uprooted: Widening Waves of Killings and Escalating Repression and Displacement in the Philippines—What Faith Communities in the US Can Do.'
"That a human rights defender like Jerome Aba would be harshly mistreated and denied entry into the US with a valid visa underscores our concern about human rights everywhere. As people of faith we know that a threat to justice and dignity anywhere is a threat to us all and must be challenged. Our prayers are with Jerome, and we stand in solidarity with all who face violence and denial of their rights."
Since his return to the Philippines, Mr. Aba has reported graphic mistreatment by U.S. Customs agents, including being strip-searched and forced to stand naked in front of a blowing fan. According to the Philippines Star Global website:
"... rights advocates Karapatan yesterday challenged Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano to file a diplomatic protest against the Trump administration for the cruel and inhuman acts of the US Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection to Filipino Moro human-rights activist Jerome Succor Aba. According to the group, Aba suffered various forms of psychological and physical torture at the hands of US agents from April 17 to 19 after arriving at the San Francisco International Airport for a speaking tour organized by the Human Rights Office of the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and the US chapter of the International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines."