[nyfoil-l] Lee Siu Hin: Looking Back My Life, Looking Myself, and Looking Forward My Future

[SIUHIN at aol.com]

Lee Siu Hin: 2007 New Year  Message
Looking Back My Life, Looking Myself, and Looking Forward My  Future
 
January 1, 2007, 2:15 AM PST
 

Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
 
Action LA Coalition
National Immigrant Solidarity  Network
Peace No War  Network

 
 
I want to wishes you a happy New Year 2007--with lots of love, care and  
happiness from everyone.
 
Second, I want to commemorate the death of 3,000 U.S. soldiers at Iraq--and  
600,000 more innocent Iraqi civilians killed because of the brutal U.S.  
invasion and occupation for the past three-and-half years.
 
Third, I also want to commemorate millions died in Africa, Asia  and Latin 
Americas because of civil war, starvation, disease, AIDS and  injustice. And 
tens of millions of more workers working like slaves at the  sweatshops for 
multi-national corporations.
 
This will be my third years I didn't celebrate New Year, and  working thru 
passing the mid-night.
 
Don't give me wrong, I love party and fun: We had accomplished many success  
last year: May Day 2006 "A Day Without Immigrants" general strike/economic  
boycott; the November election; and across Latin America, elections have  
continued to bring a wave of progressive leadership to power.
 
But I cannot fake myself to be "fun" because injustice and suffering around  
the World are still everywhere eveyday: Internationally, the continue U.S.  
occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan; domestically, the continue oppression  
against immigrants and the people of color. Personally, I received death threat  
and black mail--some from people I thought can trust with my life.
 
Because injustice doesn't seems to want to take a break, I cannot take a  
break
 
Today (12/31/06) I confronts with critical questions from two friends of  
mime:
 
"Siu Hin, I admire your work to fight for justice--but don't you know you  
never win?"
 
"Siu Hin, people want to know how to build strong, lasting movements  to 
change our World--can you tell me how we can do it within 10 min?"
 
I am speechless--because I don't have answer--or, I have answer, but they  
don't want to accept.
 
As a long-time (still today) low-pay/sweatshop worker from downtown LA  
fighting to changing my destiny--I wishes I have a 'secret of my success" can  tell 
everyone. Hope, disappointment; more hopes, more disappointment again--but  
that's what life is. But I never say never, never give up the hope, because I  
believes "people comes and goes--the true one will always stays."
 
.....After a long thinking, I answer the questions to my friends:
 
 
1) This is My Struggle:
I am doing this BECAUSE THIS MY STRUGGLE! and this is my manifest destiny.  
You need to take the ownership of the struggle in order we can make change  
happen. Understanding the connections between our individual conditions of life  
and the lives of people everywhere in the word allows us to come together and  
organize across all borders. WE NEED to link the connections between: wars in 
 Africa, south America, Asia, Iraq, Palestine & Korea with sweatshops in Asia 
 as well as in Los Angeles, New York; international arm sales and WTO, FTAA,  
NAFTA & CAFTA with AIDS, hunger, child labors and child solider;  
multinational corporations and economic exploitation with racism and poverty at  
home--then we can win the struggle.
 
 
2) We Need to Ready to Sacrifice:
Social change is not a fun persona/political games--it's often a brutal  
struggle, you can lost everything, even you life, I personally  know folks killed 
or in prison last year because their fighting for peace  and justice--or at 
least financially bankrupt themselves. 
 
When I was younger, I always naively dreams that doing something good for  
the people, and something good will happen to you--a respect, job and  
love--instead, I end up a victim of racism, political struggle because  I refuse to do 
what I feels is wrong. 
 
Not once, I need to choose between good and bad: a good job with good  income 
but need to betray people and my principle--I tell them go to  hell--I made 
the right decision, but I need to face the dire  consequences--poor rat for the 
rest of my life working in sweatshop, and hunted  by death threat and 
intimidation everyday. But I never regret my decision, we  need to overcome our own 
evil, and our fear--the fear of sacrifice. Yes,  people do tells me my 
sacrifice is "crazy" "stupid" and "silly." 
 
My father almost killed himself during the war 50 years ago--a bullet went  
thru his lung--but he survived. I am miserably poor, but I still have my  
dignity--our entire social justice works are funded thru out of my own pocket  and 
passing the bucket--with the tireless works of our volunteer staffs, I need  
to personally thanks Don White, Jesee White and John Johnson for their help 
past  year, and doexn other friends gave us protection and shelter when we need.
 
People jokes to me that I had married to the revolution--if the faithful  day 
finally comes to me, I'll be calmly with dignity to face it.
 

 
3) Never Give Up The Hope, Never Give Up Our  Fight:
We are always fighting for a uphill battle--the enemy of peace and  justice 
always have larger resources then us. I don't believes there's a such  thing as 
"quick fix" or "road map"--every struggles are unique and difficult. 
 
We always faces hopes and disappointments, but we need to believe  there'll b
e a hope and the love at the end or our struggles--and the happy  ending will 
be happen, otherwise, there's no reason why we are doing this.
 
Furthermore, we need to understand change won't happen over night, nor next  
month, or even next several years--a true changes need decades even  
generations of sacrifice in order to accomplish a success--we need expect: our  work is 
to benefits our children and grandchildren, our sacrifice today  will give 
everyone better hope for the future generations.
 
I always remember the famous quote from Dr. Sun Yat-sen, China's  
revolutionary leader of 191--when the revolution failed and he died in 1925,  he said 
before passed away: "Our revolution still not succeed,  everyone should continue 
keeping up their fight." 
 
 
Still, people always asks me: what is my new year wishes?
 
My new year wishes, has been the same for the past 15 years:
 
Peace On Earth
 End All Hunger
  Justice for All
   One True Love
 
 
I wishes you happy New Year! and may all your wishes, dreams and  happiness 
will comes true!
 
 
 
Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
 
Action LA Coalition
National Immigrant Solidarity  Network
Peace No War Network
 
 
ActionLA
Action for World Liberation  Everyday!
Tel: (213)403-0131

URL: _http://www.ActionLA.org_ (http://www.actionla.org/)  
e-mail: _Info at ActionLA.org_ (mailto:Info at ActionLA.org)  

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Los Angeles, CA  90048
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