Human rights defenders are not alone in their fight because there are indeed violations of human rights, United States Vice President Kamala Harris said.
Talking about empowerment at a town hall in Pasay City, Harris said this is one of the things required when fighting for human rights—a kind of right that people are born with.
"Remember, you are not alone, and it matters," she made the remark on Monday at a gathering of women, who were mainly young professionals, advocates, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Harris, the US' first female vice president, is in the Philippines for a series of activities that included talking about human rights.
Fighting for human rights means seeing some of the worst human behaviors, Harris, a former US prosecutor, said.
"That means understanding and seeing what suffering looks like, what pain looks like, what unfairness looks like," she added.
"And for someone and anyone who has a level of empathy and understanding about that, it requires a great level of endurance to stick with it — if you care about it and you understand what it means," she also said.
Fighting for something is different from fighting against something, Harris asserted, adding the former is "noble."
"To fight for something that is motivated out of a belief and principles and faith in knowing things can be improved, things can be better. That's optimism; that's not despair," she said.
Harris then cited former president Corazon Aquino, World War II heroine Josefa Llanes Escoda and prominent feminist and human rights activist Concepcion Calderon as among the women who charted the course of leadership even at their young ages.
She said these personalities should serve as inspiration for those who are losing their passion and motivation on the basis of their gender.
"Part of what you must remember is that there are people who came before you who charted a course for you then to pick up the mantle," Harris said, noting life is like "relay racing."
"The people who are heroes, whichever gender they are, they ran their part of the race and then they passed us a baton. And the question is: What will we do with the time we carry the baton? Which means there’s no time to get tired," she added.