“Heavenly Father, our city is wounded in its soul. Our people’s wounds are deep and wide. These wounds are the hatred and dislike of drug addicts and drug pushers, the senseless disregard of due process of law, the violent killing of mere suspects, the crass taking of the law into one’s hands, the lustful greed in the hooded killers on motor bike, the baseless claim that there are no witnesses, the inhuman disrespect for life of the unborn from womb to tomb, and the unjust socio-political system that tolerates all these to happen.
“Lord, on bended knees, we too confess that our souls and spirit are wounded by our anger and desire for revenge. Yes, we are angry because our loud protests and public outcry have fallen on deaf ears. Our souls are nourishing irresponsible suspicions and rash judgments on the real perpetrators of the crimes. We are wounded by our disunity and hopelessness which imprison our hearts and weaken our willpower. Most of all, Heavenly Father, our souls are wounded by our stark ignorance that we too are responsible for the existence and perpetuation of the systems that promote, condone and abet these social wounds in the soul and spirit of our people. For all these, Lord, we are deeply sorry and beg your mercy and forgiveness.
“God of power and mercy, since our collective efforts at peaceful protests have proven fruitless, we come to you for help. Yes, Lord, we come to ask for healing. Heal our souls and spirits of all the violent animosities that weaken our society and life. Give us light, give us strength, give us courage to believe and to trust in you. Make us realize that in each of us from every walk of life there is an inherent and inborn goodness. You planted this goodness and it is not and cannot be erased by our sin and crime. This is our reason for hope.
“For this reason, Heavenly Father, we beg you to give us your healing touch. Touch the hardened hearts of criminals, drug addicts, drug pushers, drug lords, law enforcers, and the hearts of us all. Open them to the healing power of your love and compassion. Give the grace of courage to the eyewitnesses of crimes. Awaken in us all a collective consciousness and support which are urgently needed by the witnesses and the grieving families of victims. Convert us to you and to one another. Reconcile us to you and to one another through sincere repentance and mutual forgiveness. For without forgiveness, there is no future for our city.
“In this penitential season of Lent – and even beyond – give us courage and strength to make reparation for all our sins and crimes by means of voluntary acts of penance and self-sacrifice symbolized by your cross. We believe that when these are offered together with your own sacrifice on the cross, they can save us, heal us, and restore us to your friendship (“by his wounds we have been healed” 1 Peter 2:24). Make us overcome the evil in the system by the power of goodness in us all who are within the system, the goodness that is rooted in you alone.
“We make this humble prayer together with the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, so that as one united family in the bond of love, we may all experience the soothing joy of your presence and the healing balm of your love, you who live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.”
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Praying for killers, praying for ourselves
591 words. That's all it took the archbishop of Davao, Fernando Capalla, to open a new front in the ongoing controversy over the Davao Death Squad. Since February of this year, the church season of Lent, we Catholics in Davao City have been praying for our death squad, the - "hooded killers on motorbikes" - as it says in the prescribed prayer, called an Oratio Imperata. But not just for them, but for our part in it all, we pray,
"Most of all, Heavenly Father, our souls are wounded by our stark ignorance that we too are responsible for the existence and perpetuation of the systems that promote, condone and abet these social wounds in the soul and spirit of our people. For all these, Lord, we are deeply sorry and beg your mercy and forgiveness."
"Most of all, Heavenly Father, our souls are wounded by our stark ignorance that we too are responsible for the existence and perpetuation of the systems that promote, condone and abet these social wounds in the soul and spirit of our people. For all these, Lord, we are deeply sorry and beg your mercy and forgiveness."
I go back and forth wondering as to whether this is more than just a cost-less church gimmick or a real effort at changing a terrible situation. Where is the action? Where are base communities organizin? Why are not my fellow Catholics and other Christians outraged?
But maybe prayer is the first step in bringing it into the conscience of the larger community of faithful. The church tends to work on a longer time frame, often much to the chagrin of impatient activists. But whether it works slow or fast, this prayer seems to be a necessary step. It is necessary in order to muster the spriritual energy and focus to confront systemic and pervasive injustice. Whatever actions or practical next steps occur, they will be stymied and discouraged unless we first take these steps in our soul to confront this reality. As the prayer states, "Make us overcome the evil in the system by the power of goodness in us all who are within the system, the goodness that is rooted in you alone." The reality of massive injustice must be matched by overwhelming goodness. Now I ask myself, what will I do about it?
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Davao Death Squad news report
During the term of the current mayor, Davao has become known not only around the country, but around the world as ground zero for vigilante style justice in the Philippines. Approximately 900 killings in 10 years, unsolved. This past January 2009, more than one victim was found daily, with lackluster investigation and no prosecutions. I have posted 2 news clips about this. Click on the title of this post to view one, and the previous post for the other. Please be advised these contain stark images of victims and may not be appropriate for children.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Amplifying 100,000 Voices
I sometimes wonder if the energy I put into writing has any more practical results than interesting words on a screen. I was heartened this past month in relation to the essay “Silencing 100,000 Voices” I posted last month and which was picked up by a local online news outlet called Mindanews. Two weeks ago I met a Muslim non-profit/NGO worker who also participated in the March rallies for peace I wrote about. He was also extremely frustrated that it had been ignored in the national press (which readily picks up stories of violence in the Muslim community.) He told me that he had been personally moved by the essay, and had forwarded it to a number of people in his network. The next day he got a call from a local radio broadcaster who apologized for not covering the peace rallies and promised the lack of coverage would not be repeated. While it’s nice to know that someone likes your literary work, it’s great if it actually promotes positive change in an often discouraging situation! Accuracy in the media is such a crucial component in encouraging the greater Mindanao population (often manipulated by both deliberate and unintentional misinformation) to understand, and eventually transform, the current conflict.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Good News - Jailbreak!!
April 4, 2009 and 27 inmates from the Davao City jail stood silently on stage at the CAP auditorium, waiting nervously. Were they waiting to be arrested or presented to the media as "criminals" or "menaces to society?" No, rather - curtains, lights and the show began!
I was sitting in the balcony with my wife and friends, and several co-workers were scattered through the audience. We had bought tickets to attend an original musical-drama tracing the real-life stories of jail inmates, performed entirely by inmates, their families and guards from the Davao City Jail. And once the show began, we were drawn in, even though much of the dialogue and lyrics were in Filipino. Here were real "criminals", now actors in their own stories, participating in an act of liberation. Gone were the concerns about how far the front row would be from the actors, or if they would be handcuffed etc.. Now we were all equalized in the realizations that: they had a story to tell us; that we needed to hear it; and the theatrical process of doing so would break the stereotypes of prisoners as social outcasts and rejects. The jail inmates were now participants in what some consider the soul of a society's civilization - theater - and they were good! (see this positive review in our local paper).
It is likely that was a historical event, 27 prisoners temporarily released to perform in a public venue. Historical because the criminal justice system, often cast by reform activists as the oppressor of prisoners, played (literally) a supporting role in an exercise of liberation. A co-worker told me later how she was brought to tears during the performance as the scales fell from her eyes with the realization that if the inmates could perform at that level of expertise, they could do anything. Another friend told me how her son hung back, waiting and wanting to talk with the stars of the show. Wow. Could this be true?
Will an event such as this help us re-think our approach to crime, consequences and restoration in our society? Perhaps. Prisons and jails are overcrowded around the world. Research has shown that while their costs are high, their benefits are low. Perhaps all that is needed to make the change is liberation from the prison of our own mind. Will you jailbreak?
I was sitting in the balcony with my wife and friends, and several co-workers were scattered through the audience. We had bought tickets to attend an original musical-drama tracing the real-life stories of jail inmates, performed entirely by inmates, their families and guards from the Davao City Jail. And once the show began, we were drawn in, even though much of the dialogue and lyrics were in Filipino. Here were real "criminals", now actors in their own stories, participating in an act of liberation. Gone were the concerns about how far the front row would be from the actors, or if they would be handcuffed etc.. Now we were all equalized in the realizations that: they had a story to tell us; that we needed to hear it; and the theatrical process of doing so would break the stereotypes of prisoners as social outcasts and rejects. The jail inmates were now participants in what some consider the soul of a society's civilization - theater - and they were good! (see this positive review in our local paper).
It is likely that was a historical event, 27 prisoners temporarily released to perform in a public venue. Historical because the criminal justice system, often cast by reform activists as the oppressor of prisoners, played (literally) a supporting role in an exercise of liberation. A co-worker told me later how she was brought to tears during the performance as the scales fell from her eyes with the realization that if the inmates could perform at that level of expertise, they could do anything. Another friend told me how her son hung back, waiting and wanting to talk with the stars of the show. Wow. Could this be true?
Will an event such as this help us re-think our approach to crime, consequences and restoration in our society? Perhaps. Prisons and jails are overcrowded around the world. Research has shown that while their costs are high, their benefits are low. Perhaps all that is needed to make the change is liberation from the prison of our own mind. Will you jailbreak?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Philippines takes first place in number of new internal refugees (IDPs)
While a number of high profile conflicts such as in Sudan and Sri Lanka continue to generate global media interest, what is happening here in the Southern Philippines remains relatively under-reported, as I highlighted last month on this blog in "Silencing 100,000 Voices". Below is a statement by the Mindanao People's Caucus, an organization I work with, calling attention to this and to the human cost of this war....
Mindanao Peoples Caucus Statement
May 11, 2009
Philippines with the Highest Number of new IDPs in the World:
A Wake Up Call for the Peace Process!
TWO years back, the Philippines has been named one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. In 2008, the Philippines hit a new world record and like the most corrupt record, this new record brings only shame and international concern. According to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement, the Philippines ranked first in the number of IDPs worldwide by registering 600,000 evacuees in 2008. This figure is higher than that of Sudan (550,000) -- a country similarly long beset by internal armed conflict.
The 600,000 IDPs in Mindanao topped that of Kenya (500,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (at least 400,000), Iraq (360,000), Pakistan (over 310,000), Somalia (300,000), Colombia (270,000), Sri Lanka (230,000) and India (over 220,000).
This comes as a surprise detour for the Philippines which was well into track one of the peace process, having a viable political formula already determined at the negotiating table and a ceasefire which had effectively silenced most of the guns in Mindanao for the last five years. The more than 600,000 internally displaced persons or "bakwits" in Mindanao is a concrete testimony of the human costs of suffering that armed conflict brings especially among the civilian population.
The skirmishes since August 2008 claimed 276 deaths and 138 injuries, said the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). But the number of civilian casualties is rising. In Datu Piang alone, 168 civilians died in the crossfire between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to the recent record of Bantay Ceasefire.
It has been over nine months since the government launched its military operations against three MILF field commanders and so far, the human costs of such tactical operations, has only succeeded in terrorizing the lives, homes, properties, livelihood and security of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The most horrifying of which was the tragedy that befell the Mandi family. As they traversed a treacherous river in Datu Piang last September 2008 in order to escape from the fighting, they were fired upon by a fighter plane. Six children died instantaneously during the attack, including a pregnant mother and an old man. No one was held responsible for wiping out the entire Mandi family.
Last March 1, two teenagers in Guindulungan, Maguindanao were electrocuted by a live barbed wire serving as a perimeter fence of the detachment of the 46th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Barangay Macasampen, Guindulungan. Based on the Bantay Ceasefire field report, the two victims, named Mentato Mamalinta, 15, and Mohammad Bayan, 14, were riding a cow on their way back to the Tambunan Evacuation Center when the animal set foot on the a barbed wire which was tapped to the service line of the Maguindanao Electric Cooperative. The two victims fell on the same live wire when the animal felt the electric shock.
Having the highest number of IDPs in the world is not something to be proud of. It is a cause of international embarrassment and only shows our collective failure to resolve this raging armed conflict in Mindanao. MPC calls on the government and the MILF to immediately resume the peace talks and bring the negotiation towards a viable political settlement. We urge the government and the MILF to reactivate ceasefire mechanisms following the earlier call of the EU Parliament to expand the mandate of the International Monitoring Team.
MPC also supports the plan of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to establish an independent human rights commission in Mindanao. The independent commission will be of great value in protecting the rights of the ordinary people especially the internally displaced persons who are absorbing the brunt of war and violence caused by this renewed fighting in Mindanao.
It is time to push for the resumption of the peace talks and discuss outstanding issues on the ancestral domain right at the negotiating table. It is time to bring back the International Team and the Joint Ceasefire Committee to enforce and fully implement the ceasefire agreement, it is time to bring those thousands of evacuees back to their homes.
Mindanao Peoples Caucus Statement
May 11, 2009
Philippines with the Highest Number of new IDPs in the World:
A Wake Up Call for the Peace Process!
TWO years back, the Philippines has been named one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. In 2008, the Philippines hit a new world record and like the most corrupt record, this new record brings only shame and international concern. According to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a Geneva-based leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement, the Philippines ranked first in the number of IDPs worldwide by registering 600,000 evacuees in 2008. This figure is higher than that of Sudan (550,000) -- a country similarly long beset by internal armed conflict.
The 600,000 IDPs in Mindanao topped that of Kenya (500,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (at least 400,000), Iraq (360,000), Pakistan (over 310,000), Somalia (300,000), Colombia (270,000), Sri Lanka (230,000) and India (over 220,000).
This comes as a surprise detour for the Philippines which was well into track one of the peace process, having a viable political formula already determined at the negotiating table and a ceasefire which had effectively silenced most of the guns in Mindanao for the last five years. The more than 600,000 internally displaced persons or "bakwits" in Mindanao is a concrete testimony of the human costs of suffering that armed conflict brings especially among the civilian population.
The skirmishes since August 2008 claimed 276 deaths and 138 injuries, said the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). But the number of civilian casualties is rising. In Datu Piang alone, 168 civilians died in the crossfire between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to the recent record of Bantay Ceasefire.
It has been over nine months since the government launched its military operations against three MILF field commanders and so far, the human costs of such tactical operations, has only succeeded in terrorizing the lives, homes, properties, livelihood and security of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The most horrifying of which was the tragedy that befell the Mandi family. As they traversed a treacherous river in Datu Piang last September 2008 in order to escape from the fighting, they were fired upon by a fighter plane. Six children died instantaneously during the attack, including a pregnant mother and an old man. No one was held responsible for wiping out the entire Mandi family.
Last March 1, two teenagers in Guindulungan, Maguindanao were electrocuted by a live barbed wire serving as a perimeter fence of the detachment of the 46th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Barangay Macasampen, Guindulungan. Based on the Bantay Ceasefire field report, the two victims, named Mentato Mamalinta, 15, and Mohammad Bayan, 14, were riding a cow on their way back to the Tambunan Evacuation Center when the animal set foot on the a barbed wire which was tapped to the service line of the Maguindanao Electric Cooperative. The two victims fell on the same live wire when the animal felt the electric shock.
Having the highest number of IDPs in the world is not something to be proud of. It is a cause of international embarrassment and only shows our collective failure to resolve this raging armed conflict in Mindanao. MPC calls on the government and the MILF to immediately resume the peace talks and bring the negotiation towards a viable political settlement. We urge the government and the MILF to reactivate ceasefire mechanisms following the earlier call of the EU Parliament to expand the mandate of the International Monitoring Team.
MPC also supports the plan of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to establish an independent human rights commission in Mindanao. The independent commission will be of great value in protecting the rights of the ordinary people especially the internally displaced persons who are absorbing the brunt of war and violence caused by this renewed fighting in Mindanao.
It is time to push for the resumption of the peace talks and discuss outstanding issues on the ancestral domain right at the negotiating table. It is time to bring back the International Team and the Joint Ceasefire Committee to enforce and fully implement the ceasefire agreement, it is time to bring those thousands of evacuees back to their homes.
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