Eight years ago on February 25, 2000, a six-year old girl from Pampanga, Philippines, died of leukemia. Her name was Crizel Jane Valencia. I did not know her. But what I read about her has evoked anger and admiration.

        I’m angry because Crizel was too young to die. No child at six should die of any disease. No, don’t tell me that fate was to blame, that it was God’s will for her to die of cancer. If it were God’s will, no one would ever be accountable for any wrongdoing committed on earth. And this would put God in trouble.

        Crizel was one of the many children exposed to dangerous levels of heavy metals and other toxic substances left by the American military forces in Clark Air Base in Pampanga. Her family, like many other families that lived at the Clark Air Base Command Evacuation Center, used to drink from the hollow wells in the evacuation center, which later on was found to contain toxic contaminants.

        Being poor limits one’s options. That’s what happened to Crizel. But what if she were rich? She would probably live in one of the posh Makati condominiums. No doubt, she would still be alive today. The problem with “what ifs” is it does not make the dead resurrect.

        Crizel did not die without a fight. She fought her battle well and with dignity. She turned her young tragic life into something positive and meaningful. She liked to draw and one of her drawings was used in a valentine card to raise funds for her treatment and other toxic waste victims. Her act drew national and international attention that she was christened – the child toxic warrior.

        What makes Crizel’s story especially powerful is that she was not imbued with any political agenda. She was an innocent child who used whatever talent she had to stoke the fire of hope among her fellow victims of toxic poisoning. As a result, she became an inspiration to many who continue to suffer from America’s toxic legacy and to those who have taken the cause of bases cleanup in the Philippines.

        I leave it up to my readers to reflect on Crizel’s young life. But I would be remiss if I don’t say something about the Americans who started it all.

        When the U.S. military abandoned Clark air base in 1992, it did not inform the Philippines of the vast toxic wastes left behind in the soil and groundwater. What kind of a friend would poison an entire community? As if to add insult to injury, the U.S. cleaned up toxic materials in Germany and Canada, but not in the Philippines.

        At the very least, the memory of Crizel should make every Filipino question why the U.S. is unwilling to conduct a comprehensive base clean up and act accordingly.Although Crizel is not as famous as Jun Lozada, the courageous Bikolano who exposed the corruption-laden ZTE/NBN deal, her young life has made a significant contribution in the overall struggle for justice in the Philippines.

        She will never be forgotten.