Reinventing Resistance: Memoir of An Accidental Activist

When Ed Garcia gifted me with a digital copy of his latest book, Reinventing Resistance: Memoir of An Accidental Activist, I was elated and thankful. I was also oozing with excitement because I would finally be able to track the life’s journey of a former Jesuit who I lived with for almost four years at Loyola House of Studies in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, and played bruising basketball against at the Ateneo de Manila’s covered courts in the late ‘60s. 

Garcia may describe himself as an accidental activist, but the book, for me, is much less the memoir of Garcia the accidental activist and more so the reflections of Garcia the committed activist. 

Early on in his life, Garcia gave an insider perspective of how his parents and joining the Jesuits impacted his life. He gave the readers inspiring insights on how his values were formed and why his love for people, influenced by a strong element of the Ignatian spirituality, is very much a part of his DNA. 

He writes, “My mother embodied dedication...While my mother served as my very first mentor, who checked my spelling and pronunciation, who drilled me in math and the multiplication tables, who coached me in writing and public speaking and projecting one’s voice and confidence,  it was my father who helped to awaken my social awareness and to gain a better understanding of the poverty experienced by barrio people and the hardships found in the rural areas. In brief, he introduced me to society’s harsh realities.” 

He describes the Jesuits and his former Jesuit friends in his memoir as “... have been constant reminders of the Ignatian precept of magis – the principle of being “more” to do more; and “in everything to love and serve” others in the Lord. 

Garcia, best known as one of the framers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, takes the readers on a journey to places around the world from Latin America to Europe; from Africa to Asia, and back to the Philippines where his activism started with the declaration of martial law.  In each stop along the way, he documents life-changing events, even personal ones, that he generously shares with the readers, making them admire his candor, determination, and honesty. 

Over the course of his life, he immersed himself in the cultures of the countries where he worked that are largely “ruled by generals without mandates.” He learned from the people and local peace advocates and patiently grappled with the most important question of what should be done to solve the problem of injustice and lack of peace.  

That’s how Garcia “learned from the masses.” Reflecting on his own political evolution, he would later write that “the ‘70s and ‘80s became an essential part of my consciousness,” just as the “1990s and the 2000s strengthened my resolve to engage as a peace practitioner even as the odds seem stacked against the undertaking.” 

Describing the genesis of his growth in activism, Garcia writes, “It has been my experience that though there may be deep differences of opinions in analysis, approach, and courses of action that obviously divide, there is nevertheless a deep reservoir of shared values and common purpose that can somehow unite the people and bring about the required deep-seated change. This is my conviction.” 

What the readers will learn as Garcia shows them glimpses of his personality as a committed activist is his humility, selflessness, understanding the people’s needs, and his compelling vision of the future. 

A paragraph in the Foreword of the book describes his other qualities: “Ed Garcia has always managed to nonviolently engage violence, oppression and marginalization. He is a natural-born peace builder and brings calmness, wisdom, and insight to all that he does...All these qualities are critical to successful peacemaking. We cannot heal that which is broken unless we are a channel of divine love. We cannot engage violence unless we are willing to embrace and transform in ourselves and others with boldness and courage.” 

Written from an activist’s  perspective, what I really love about the book is Garcia’s honest-to-goodness reflections about his activism: being arrested and jailed for a week after the occupation of the office of the Justice Secretary in1970; founding the militant, nonviolent movement Lakasdiwa in the early ‘70s;  leaving the Jesuits in 1974 while studying in Latin America; being away from home working in London for over 20 years; dealing with death in the family and of companions in the movement;  living with the challenges and setbacks of working for peace and justice; and, campaigning for losing candidates without losing hope. 

Anyone who has worked in peace and justice issues will probably have experienced the same ordeal that he did. But few would have the honesty and openness that Garcia has in sharing his life’s story in a clearly, detailed fashion, devoid of any propaganda and self-aggrandizement.  For this alone, activists of every stripe should get a copy of the book because it is full of straightforward information of the challenges that activists face. 

Garcia was four years ahead of me when he entered the Jesuit Novitiate in Novaliches. But we were together in Loyola House of Studies when he was studying theology, and I was studying philosophy. But through the years since we went our separate ways, I have looked up to Garcia (I prefer to call him Ed) as a man of strong moral character whose heart is with the poor and the oppressed. Friendly but tough to play against in basketball, he is the type of person who will fight down to his last breath be it in basketball or in fighting for just causes. 

Thus, I am not surprised that Ed has become an activist, a principled one at that. If all this means anything, it means that Ed’s activism is not accidental at all. It was meant to be. He is a natural-born activist. Metaphorically speaking, Ed’s activism is written in heaven. 

Reinventing Resistance: Memoir of an Accidental Activist, is divided into eight chapters that includes a postscript. It has colored and black-and-white photos, complete with captions, that give the readers a better idea of what the author’s life is like. It is a well written account of a man whose desire to work for justice and peace gives meaning to his life. I would strongly recommend the book to activists because it will resonate better with them, and to anyone who wants to understand the challenges that activists face. 

Mabuhay ka, Ed! May pag-asa.