Henry V. Abraham Jr

A life of serving the people

With shattered skull and an undetermined number of gunshot wounds, Henry V. Abraham was buried by PNP elements at the West Amulung town cemetery in Cagayan Province last April 19. His body, merely covered with five sacks, was exhumed eight days later.

Henry's death ended a fulfilling and meaningful life in the service of the poorest of the poor.

Starting out as a student activist in Magallanes, Sorsogon, Henry was among those who refused to take the "oath of allegiance to the New Society" when Martial Law was declared in 1972. At that time the local government and the PC Provincial Command campaigned for a mass oath taking including known student activists. Under threat of detention, many student activists left Magallanes for other places to continue their task of organizing youth and students.

For Henry it was at the University of the Philippines campus in Los Baños where he continued his student activism. He tirelessly organized students and conducted education work among them. He went on to win as Vice-Chairman of the UPLB Student Council.

Henry was also an active member of Sarung Banggi, an organization of Bicolano students and one of the most progressive organizations on campus. It was the early years of Martial Law and Henry was among those who were fighting for the restoration of the student councils.

Opting to Work for the People

Henry is the youngest child of three children. His older sisters are based in the United States. His father, a civil engineer, lives with his pharmacist wife, also in the U.S.

Armed with units earned for an MBA course at the De La Salle University and a B.S. Statistics degree from UPLB, Henry was encouraged by his parents and sisters to join them in the U.S. His parents assured him of support to successfully make it abroad. But he declined, preferring to work among the poor in his own country.

Believing in the leading role of the workers in undertaking structural change in society, Henry determinedly helped organize their ranks. Day in and day out, he conducted consultations with workers, visited their families in urban poor communities, and mobilized their ranks for pickets, strikes, and other protest actions.

Those were the days when it was common to see Henry in rubber slippers, faded maong pants and white t-shirt. But more than the attire, it was the ever-ready smile and oftentimes boisterous laughter that people associate Henry with. He was full of life. Conversations with him were replete with jokes. Discussions were spiced with funny anecdotes. He engaged in playful banter and spirited debates with people from the communities.

A Full Life

One who loves to spend time with his children, Henry would often repeat the same stories to them: his hometown friends and how many of them who come from fairly comfortable families preferred to organize their ranks rather than prepare for lucrative careers; his UPLB days where he was known to be one of the most resourceful in soliciting food for full-time student organizers; how he courted their mother and how their relationship developed amid shared cause and interests; and his life with the workers and of late, with the rural poor.

All his four children were exposed to meetings, consultations and mass actions. They were also provided with reading materials on current issues. Henry likewise encouraged his older children to join children's collectives to address issues affecting children and society.

Henry wanted his children to know and understand the masses as well as work with  them. It is his most fervent wish that all his children follow the footsteps of their parents who value and practice service to the people.

According to his eldest child Henry as a father is kind, supportive, and a disciplinarian. A few years back, Henry quit smoking for health reasons and also because he wanted to be a role model to his children.

Friends say that Henry fills up a room. Standing at 5'9, Henry would occupy much space in cramped apartments and two-story houses — home to his family for many years and speaks of a lifestyle different from people of his same class and stature. He can discuss social and economic issues for hours complete with gestures and his trademark laughter. One would immediately know if he left the house because people start looking for him. Always, his presence is missed.

His children recall how their Papa help them do their assignments. The three older children are unanimous in saying that their father did not put much premium on academic honors. What is more important for their father is that they understand thoroughly the lessons in school so that they can be of service to others.

Know what is more important than individual honors, material wealth, fame and popularity.  Live by service to the people. Henry's legacy to his children and to the teeming masses of people he so selflessly served. #

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