Forced out of sight, but not out of mind and heart. The bad word here is “forced,” but that act of cruelty cannot dim the resolve of families to find their loved ones who were forcibly made to disappear by state forces several decades ago. Nothing deters them. Not power and might, not time and distance.

We are still in remember-September mode, bringing to mind how 45 years ago in September the Marcos dictatorship laid waste to our liberties, snuffed out lives, seized people and properties, and ushered in the Philippines’ 14 years in the grip of an iron hand.

The book “Beyond Disappearance: Chronicles of Courage” is at the heart of Filipinos’ experience of martial law and tyranny. Published by FIND (Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances) with the help of the Embassy of Finland, the book came out years ago without much fanfare, and thus not many knew about it. But it can hold its own beside other books about that dark era.