2 years pa na-detect: Monique, may blood cancer!

Nagdesisyon na si Monique Wilson na aminin sa madla ang kanyang sexual preference. Sa presscon niya kahapon para sa One Billion Rising advocacy ay diretsa na niyang inaming “I’m gay!”

Although alam naman niyang matagal nang alam sa industriya ang tungkol sa kanyang sekswalidad, aniya ay nagpapasalamat daw siya sa press people dahil hindi ito dini-discuss sa kanya.

 “First I think, people have always known,” simula ni Monique, “I just always felt that the media always respected me and that’s all of you, you’ve always respected me, you’ve always allowed me to talk about my advocacy, my theater works, you’ve always been there for me.

 “And I’ve always felt that maybe you knew about me but you also never really asked because you also understood what I was trying to advocate with my theater work was much more important than my issue of sexuality.

“So, now that I’ve already come out, I mean, the reason why I decided to come out is because it is linked to One Billion Rising because everytime I come back home here, I realized I was doing so much work for Gabriela, Migrante, tapos, the young gay people here are getting so discriminated and there’s so much violence going on towards them.

 “So, for me, it’s like, you know what, I think, young people need role models. People like me need to come out and say we are gay because I think it’s very important that people see that you are proud of what you are and also unless you can say it, if any violence happens to you, mahirap labanan ‘yun.

 “So, I’m also doing it as part of One Billion Rising because I think we need to break the silence on all levels and if my coming out can help a lot of young, gay people now, to not be afraid to show and express their sexuality, and not be afraid to say they are hurt if they’re getting hurt, then to me, it’s worth doing that,” pahayag ni Monique.

Pero ang isa pang rebelasyon ni Monique na ikina-shock ng marami ay ang tungkol sa kanyang pagkakaroon ng blood cancer at isa nga raw ito sa dahilan kung bakit nagdesisyon na rin siyang mag-come-out.

 “I was diagnosed of blood cancer two years ago. And until now, I still have blood cancer and in that moment, two years ago, parang inisip ko, you know what, life is so short and parang it demands na we do something meaningful with our lives, hindi lang para sa sarili.

 “And then, parang all the doubts and fears you had about anything, not just about my sexuality, but even about my advocacies, my life choices, parang it all became very clear.

 “Ganu’n pala ‘yun when you face mortality or life and death experience. You get clarity and you get also urgency to be able to say something significant so to me, that was the start.

 “Tapos ito pang One Billion Rising thing about. Ang dami kong stories na narinig na when they come out, both girls and boys na ginugulpi sila, they don’t even get job opportunities, they cannot gain the same successes that I’ve been very lucky to have.

“So to me, it was parang unacceptable na parang in my life, I’ve been able to get so many opportunities, didn’t matter if I was gay or not, so I think, we need to speak up and be a role model.”

Sa kasalukuyan ay nama-manage naman daw niya ang kanyang karamdaman.

 “Kasi, what I have is a type of blood cancer that is chronic. So you just have it for your whole life. So I take a chemo tablet a day. They said, wala pa siyang cure but if you ma­nage it, then you can extend your life or prolong it,” she said.

Samantala, ang One Billion Rising ay isang campaign para tulungan ang mga kababaihan natin na nakakaranas ng violence or pang-aabuso sa kahit anumang paraan.

Kaugnay nito, sa February 14, 2013, on the 15th year anniversary of V-Day (the movement spearheaded by the Vagina Monologues playwright Even Ensler), ay inaanyayahan ang lahat ng mga kababaihang Pilipino to strike, dance and rise to end the violence against women. One Billion Rising will hold a huge, spectacular dance concert street party in Quezon City kasama ang ating mga malalaking artista, singers at mga banda.

Ayon kay Monique ay isang malaking street party raw ang magaganap dahil isasara ang buong Tomas Morato, QC just for this event. Bukod dito ay marami pang naka-line-up na events ang nasabing advocacy starting this November at nagsimula na nga ito kahapon, Nov. 23 sa pagpapalabas ng The Vaginal Monologues sa Teatrino, Greenhills.