mindanao on the mend
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Anson, Ryan. SAIS Review, Volume 24, Number 1, Winter-Spring 2004, pp. 63-76 (Article) For additional information about this article Access Provided by University of the Philippines - Diliman at 05/28/10 4:00AM GMT http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/sais/summary/v024/24.1anson.htmlTRANSCRIPT
Mindanao on the Mend
Anson, Ryan.
SAIS Review, Volume 24, Number 1, Winter-Spring 2004, pp. 63-76 (Article)
Published by The Johns Hopkins University PressDOI: 10.1353/sais.2004.0001
For additional information about this article
Access Provided by University of the Philippines - Diliman at 05/28/10 4:00AM GMT
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/sais/summary/v024/24.1anson.html
63MINDANAO ON THE MENDSAIS Review vol. XXIV no. 1 (Winter–Spring 2004)
63
Mindanao on the Mend
Ryan Anson, Network Photographers
These images were included in a book about conflict and peacebuilding entitled“Mindanao on the Mend” published by Anvil Inc., Philippines, June 2003.
Darkness descends quietly upon the small village of Nalapaan. Thenights remain serene, and are only disturbed by lightening flashes
from towering thunderclouds far in the distance. As the parched soil waitsto drink from a heavy sky, men sip traditional coconut wine called tuba,and sing about brighter futures.
“And our dream,” Elmer Cedeño hums to a group of local farmers,“that someday we’ll live in peace . . . and no more war that scares us, wherethe people live as one, and there is no want for possession . . . ”
The circle of men seated comfortably around him tip back theirglasses in approval, quietly acknowledging that Cedeño’s lyrics capture theambiance of hope that surrounds their community’s “Sanctuary for Peace”.Yet his words also reveal a deep longing for justice in a land scarred by warand displacement.
These scenes are taking place in Mindanao, a war stained island inthe southern Philippines that had been struggling for independence since1972. Although the government had fought various separatist groups overthe past three decades, the “all-out-war” campaign launched by PresidentJoseph Estrada in April 2000 against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF) resulted in levels of destruction unseen since the 1970s. Scores ofcivilians died, homes were burned and looted, and relationships amongChristian, Muslim and the indigenous Lumad —collectively known as thetri-people—were severely strained by a conflict that had no end in sight.
Finally, in August 2001, thirty years of fighting came to an end withthe signing of a ceasefire between newly elected President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Mindanao separatists. The separatist movement had beenfighting to establish an Islamic state on the island of Mindanao, the poor-est region of the Philippines with 18 million inhabitants. In three decadesof fighting, over 120,000 people were killed.
After years of destruction, thousands of people who had languishedin sprawling evacuation camps without adequate food or safe water packedup their few belongings and cautiously returned to their communities tobegin anew. Even though most had nothing to return to, ideas like peacebuilding surfaced from underneath the rubble of bombed-out churches andmosques. Inter-religious dialogue had even become a popular buzzword invillages such as Nalapaan whose residents later organized it into CentralMindanao’s first “Sanctuary of Peace”.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:40 AM63
64 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Although other areas of the Philippine’s second largest island experi-mented with similar concepts, it was in Central Mindanao where peacebuilding appeared to be most visible and effective. Perhaps it was becausethe tri-people here had much from which to recover.
As Christians, Muslims and Lumads slowly transcended prejudicesaggravated by generations of war, the entire region began moving in a di-rection filled with promise. Even the sporadic clashes between MILF andgovernment forces, both of whom increasingly began to ignore the ceasefire,failed to destabilize the slow yet deliberate progress made toward recon-ciliation. Village after village shrugged off the fear of displacement, anddeclared their areas as gun-free, violence-free communities.
There are few places in our polarized world that demonstrate whatpeace really means: how it is broken and how it can be remade. Thethoughts and actions of the tri-people of Mindanao show how ethno-reli-gious conflict can be solved creatively without the use of weapons.
“Our hope is that one day, all of Central Mindanao will become aspace for peace so that armies have nowhere to go,” said Father RobertoLayson, parish priest in Pikit who helped to organize relief and peace build-ing efforts in the nearby villages of Panicupan and Nalapaan.
Despite this renewed optimism, however, parts of the tri-people’shomeland now seem to be slipping back into a quagmire of instability. Landdisputes and family feuds rage on in parts of Maguindanao and Cotabatoprovinces, and new movements, including the Indigenous People’s FederalArmy (IPFA) and splinter factions from the Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF), have emerged as frustration and anger in disenfranchised com-munities mount. In addition, the al Qaeda linked group Abu Sayyaf hasbeen using the Southern Philippines as a base of operation, thus causingrenewed clashes with the Filipino government. And, like last year, the U.S.military will continue its war on terror in southwestern Mindanao by train-ing their Filipino counterparts in counter-terrorism tactics to eliminate AbuSayyaf.
In an effort to accurately depict life in Mindanao, this photo essaydocuments both the disappointing setbacks as well as the signs of successand hope for the future of the tri-people. Despite the constant militariza-tion of their homeland, the people of Mindanao are determined to forgeahead with their peace building campaigns. Through summer youth camps,forums on religious and cultural awareness, and meaningful day-to-dayinteraction; Christians, Muslims and Lumads are laying solid groundworkfor a future built on mutual understanding and genuine reconciliation.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:40 AM64
65MINDANAO ON THE MEND
Mor
o Is
lam
ic L
iber
atio
n F
r on
t (M
ILF)
sol
dier
s ga
ther
tog
eth
er in
pra
yer
at C
amp
Jaba
l Nu
r be
fore
sta
rtin
g an
edu
-ca
tion
al s
emin
ar o
n t
he
ceas
efir
e. O
ffic
iall
y cr
eate
d in
19 8
4 , t
he
MIL
F co
nti
nu
es t
o w
age
both
an
arm
ed a
nd
poli
ti-
cal s
tru
ggle
for
an
inde
pen
den
t st
ate
in M
usl
im M
inda
nao
.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:41 AM65
66 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Nor
ma
An
gi s
ifts
ric
e th
at s
he
rece
ived
fro
m r
elie
f w
orke
r s a
t th
e D
a’w
ah C
ente
r n
ear
Cot
abat
o C
ity.
M
ore
than
20 0
dis
plac
ed f
amil
ies
from
ar e
as n
ear
the
MIL
F’s
form
er h
eadq
uar
ters
at
Cam
p A
buba
kr A
s-Si
ddiq
ue
hav
e m
ade
this
mad
dras
ah t
hei
r h
ome
sin
ce M
ay 2
0 00 ,
bu
t re
fuse
to
retu
rn t
o th
eir
plac
es o
f or
igin
un
til t
he
U. S
. Arm
y’s
64th
In
fan
try
Bat
tali
on w
ith
draw
s it
s fo
rces
fro
m t
he
sepa
r ati
sts’
tr a
diti
onal
mou
nta
in la
ir.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:42 AM66
67MINDANAO ON THE MEND
Jesi
bell
e G
ape,
8, o
f Si
tio
Spri
ng,
Lil
ion
gan
, vis
its
the
Gar
os’ h
ome
in t
he
evac
uat
ion
cen
ter
afte
r pl
ayin
g w
ith
her
fr i
ends
. Th
e so
un
d of
hea
vy m
orta
r fi
r e a
nd
hel
icop
ter
gun
ship
s du
r in
g th
e w
ar t
r au
mat
ized
man
y ch
ildr
enfr
om t
his
vil
lage
.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:43 AM67
68 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Wit
h a
ssis
tan
ce f
r om
a p
olic
eman
, an
eld
erly
wom
an s
quee
zes
thr o
ugh
a c
onge
sted
foo
d li
ne
to c
olle
ct a
5-k
ilo-
gram
bag
of
r ice
fro
m a
id w
orke
r s in
Pik
it.
She
was
am
ong
20,0
00 p
eopl
e w
ho
esca
ped
figh
tin
g be
twee
n g
over
n-
men
t an
d M
ILF
sold
ier s
in t
he
nea
rby
tow
n o
f B
uli
ok in
Nov
embe
r 2 0
0 1.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:44 AM68
69MINDANAO ON THE MEND
Mu
slim
stu
den
ts p
rot e
st t
he
dep
loym
ent
of A
mer
ican
sol
die
r s o
n t
he
isla
nd
of
Bas
ilan
in
sou
t hw
est e
r nM
inda
nao
at
the
Ban
gsam
oro
You
th’ s
An
ti-B
alik
atan
Pea
ce R
ally
in C
otab
ato
Cit
y. I
n J
anu
ary
2002
, 100
0 U
Sso
ldie
r s b
egan
tra
inin
g Ph
ilip
pin
e tr
oops
in c
oun
tert
err o
rism
tac
tics
to
hel
p th
em d
efea
t A
bu S
ayya
f, a
not
o-r i
ous
kidn
ap-f
or-r
anso
m g
ang
that
all
eged
ly h
as li
nks
wit
h a
l Qae
da.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:45 AM69
70 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Du
rin
g th
e sa
fe r
etu
rn c
erem
ony,
off
icer
s fr
om t
he
New
Spr
ing
Com
mu
nit
y fo
r Pe
ace
and
Pros
per i
ty (
NSC
PP)
are
swor
n in
to t
hei
r r e
spec
tive
pos
itio
ns
by L
ilio
nga
n’s
Bar
anga
y C
hai
r man
, Ju
lio
Bag
ong
Sr. A
lth
ough
on
ce a
batt
lefi
eld,
Spr
ing
is n
ow a
rel
ativ
ely
peac
efu
l pla
ce w
her
e pe
ople
ar e
slo
wly
reb
uil
din
g th
eir
live
s.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:47 AM70
71MINDANAO ON THE MEND
Rai
n o
r sh
ine,
Din
a A
nsa
ya, l
eft,
an
d A
r cel
ie P
enda
upa
n w
atch
Ar u
man
en M
anu
vu d
ance
r s p
erfo
r m t
hei
r tr
a-di
tion
al s
ayaw
in
th
e vi
llag
e of
Ben
tan
gan
, Cot
abat
o Pr
ovin
ce. F
or t
he
peop
le o
f th
is c
omm
un
ity,
th
e w
eekl
yda
nce
res
tore
s a
sen
se o
f pe
ace
and
con
tin
uit
y in
an
en
viro
nm
ent
con
stan
tly
thre
aten
ed b
y co
nfl
ict,
say
s da
nce
trou
pe le
ader
Ru
fin
o A
mad
o.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:48 AM71
72 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Julita de Catalina of Takepan, one of many young women leaders in the PanicupanSpace for Peace program, listens to a speaker at a culture of peace seminar in Pikit.Throughout Central Mindanao, women play extremely active roles in community-based peace programs which aim to create non-violent, justice-based alternatives tothe region’s history of insurgency, violence and suffering.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:48 AM72
73MINDANAO ON THE MEND
A h
andf
ul
of C
hri
stia
ns
join
Bar
anga
y Pa
nic
upa
n’s
Mu
slim
res
iden
ts i
n c
eleb
r ati
ng
Eid
-al-
Fitr
, an
im
por t
ant
Is-
lam
ic h
olid
ay t
hat
mar
ks t
he
end
of t
he
hol
y m
onth
of
Ram
adan
. In
ret
urn
, Mu
slim
s w
ill c
eleb
r ate
hol
iday
s su
chas
Ch
rist
mas
wit
h t
hei
r C
hr i
stia
n n
eigh
bors
.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:49 AM73
74 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Fran
klin
Sal
ilin
, th
e cl
airv
oyan
t h
eale
r of
Ben
tan
gan
, exa
min
es t
he
loca
tion
of
evil
spi
r its
th
at h
ave
occu
pied
the
body
of
Bol
in-a
s La
nto
ng
and
cau
sed
her
gr e
at p
ain
. D
uri
ng
this
hea
lin
g ce
rem
ony,
wh
ich
is
know
n a
sPa
nah
uw
ahaw
iran
, Sal
ilin
ser
ves
inte
r ven
es o
n b
ehal
f of
Lan
ton
g to
def
end
the
wom
an f
r om
neg
ativ
e sp
iri-
tual
for
ces.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:50 AM74
75MINDANAO ON THE MEND
Mem
bers
of
SAM
AK
AN
A, y
outh
pea
ce a
dvoc
ates
an
d B
aton
’s M
anu
vu r
esid
ents
join
a p
eace
mar
ch t
o si
tio
Ba-
ton
at
the
base
of
the
Dag
um
a M
oun
tain
Ran
ge. A
fter
con
cen
trat
ing
peac
e an
d r e
con
cili
atio
n e
ffor
ts p
r im
aril
yon
Bu
al, t
he
loca
l peo
ple’
s or
gan
izat
ion
dec
ided
to
use
th
e pe
ace
zon
e’s
ann
iver
sar y
cel
ebra
tion
to
form
ally
wel
-co
me
thei
r in
dige
nou
s fr
ien
ds in
to t
hei
r co
mm
un
ity
prog
ram
s.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:51 AM75
76 SAIS Review WINTER–SPRING 2004
Jon
ath
an B
arat
sca
ns
the
hil
lsid
es n
ear
Ben
tan
gan
for
pot
enti
al in
tru
ders
. Bar
at is
on
e of
fou
r C
VO
mil
itia
-m
en w
ho
prov
ide
dail
y se
cur i
ty f
or f
arm
ers
wh
en t
hey
wor
k in
th
eir
fiel
ds. A
lth
ough
Ben
tan
gan
’ s p
r edo
mi-
nan
tly
Ar u
man
en M
anu
vu r
esid
ents
on
ce e
njo
yed
har
mon
iou
s r e
lati
onsh
ips
wit
h t
hei
r M
usl
im n
eigh
bors
,th
e 20
00 w
ar a
gain
st t
he
MIL
F ag
grav
ated
ten
sion
s al
ong
eth
nic
an
d r e
ligi
ous
lin
es, a
nd
even
tual
ly l
ed t
oan
infl
ux
of a
r ms
in t
he
area
.
24.1photo_essay. 2/19/04, 10:52 AM76