Mindanao

       Earlier this month, we went to Cotabato City for a field trip for one of our major electives. Initially we were a bit scared because the city that we were going to is the seat of the ARMM and is right in the middle of all the events that have happened recently in Mindanao. While waiting for our turn to board the plane we were at the terminal and there were a lot of Muslims sitting there as well. I was fascinated because they were wearing malongs and the prayer caps on their heads. Something stood out for me though, and that was two Muslim women wearing niqabs (full veils covering the face) and it really sunk in that we were going somewhere totally different from what we are used to. 

It is not normal for most of us to see women wearing niqabs. Media has associated the wearing of hijabs, niqabs, and burqas as a bad thing. Because of media, when we see those things we already think of terrorists, jihadists, and suicide bombers. I have to admit I was guilty of thinking of that too. When we rode the plane, that's when my stress levels started rising. Some lady was sitting in my seat because Cebu Pacific (again...) made a double seating and the lady lost her seat. She was refusing to leave despite the flight attendant kindly asking her to leave the chair for the meantime and kept saying that it was alright. But naturally, we wouldn't let our seats go because we chose them. So she conceded eventually. It wasn't a pleasant trip though because there were children EVERYWHERE. And one of the kids sitting behind me kept pulling my hair. My view on them got a bit worse.

When we landed, I was surprised at what I saw. The place is no different than any provincial town in Luzon. With a few exceptions of seeing more military personnel everywhere. The people were very friendly, they were accommodating, and most of all they were smiling a lot. It wasn't a big act or show that they were trying to put on, it was actually real. That's how the people were. That wasn't what the media was showing us. I thought that the moment we stepped foot in Mindanao it was like going into a battlefield. It wasn't

We learned so much from the trip, but one thing I realized is this. The conflict in Mindanao and their development problems cannot be fully addressed if we don't bring all the parties together to come up with a kind of mutual ground. Every group in Mindanao has their own agenda when it comes to their land, and the only way things will work out is if they are all properly represented in a talk that aims to find peace there. The Bangsamoro framework only deals with the MILF and the Government. While the ARMM is between the MNLF and Government. The Bangsamoro framework has a provision that will abolish the ARMM, which will then cause the MNLF to be underrepresented again. It troubled me because the conflict will eventually start again if the Bangsamoro framework doesn't deliver and if it causes the MNLF to be damaged as well. 

In the video that we made for Globdev, we showed what the preconceptions are about the Muslims in Mindanao and we showed the good side. It is my hope that the people of Luzon and Visayas will really start to take notice of the people in Mindanao and do something to help end the conflict that is bogging them down. There will be no end if we continue to be apathetic about Mindanao, and we would just feed the fear that we have about people from there. 

As students of DLSU, we really should do something to help them and not just let fend for themselves. We should do something to make their lives a whole lot better, and we should understand where they are coming from and institute the right policies or concessions that will really benefit them and us.

Mindanao is not as scary as people think, yes there is still violence in some parts. Yes they have their own laws regarding justice and retribution. But as long as you give them the respect that they are very much due, and you give respect to their traditions and culture. Then I don't see any reason why you would have a problem when you visit them. After all, isn't respect something we give to the people of the place that we visit? Shouldn't the Muslims be accorded the same kind of respect?

Stop the stereotyping. Don't believe everything you see in the media until you see it for yourself.