Showing posts with label solidarity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solidarity. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Political violence hits journalists hard in Philippines
She didn't actually know where she was going as she left the house this morning. Carol, my neighbor and the editor for the Mindanews media center, is following the breaking story of a massacre about 4 hours away from where we live. But she didn't know where they would bring the bodies. Nearly a dozen journalists were also killed in the atrocity. For more details, click here
Monday, November 16, 2009
Documenting the injustices of war
The posting today Nov. 17 on the Mindanao People's Caucus facebook page by Father Eduardo Vasquez Jr., of his experiences as the Catholic parish priest in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, Philippines, provides horrifying details regarding some of the worst realities of the recent war in Mindanao, including: 1) Who really started it; 2) Gun running by Philippine military; 3) torture and killing of civilians; 4) ghost units of the Philippine military 5) death of children and others in IDP centers; 6) stealing of relief supplies.
1) People always want to know who "started it." The fighting after the failed signing of the MOA-AD (agreement on thorniest issue of ancestral domain) was initiated NOT by the MILF (muslim fighters), as is reported in the media, but by the goverment paramilitary CVOs (civilian volunteer organization). Father Vasquez reports that on Aug. 8, 2008, "The reason for evacuating was the news that circulated through text messages that the military would make an offensive to the MILF camps in Pikit. This news coincided with the arrival of military troops with heavy armaments in Pikit that day....At around 5:00 PM, firing between the Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) and the MILF troops started in Barangays Kolambugan and Tapodoc....The tension in Pikit heightened when the AFP started the mortar shelling to the MILF camp. Explosion of mortars could be heard all over Poblacion, on Sunday of August 10, 2008." This modus operandi was confirmed by other reports from "inside," that the CVO's would breach the ceasefire line, drawing fire from the MILF, they would engage each other, then regular army units would come in to reinforce the CVOs, leading to full-scale MILF-army confrontation. These inside reports further indicated that the MILF fell-back from their position and the army occupied their village, often burning and looting houses in the process.
2) Gun running by the Philippine military and paramilitaries, "July 2009 I received a phone call from an MILF Commander...in Datu Piang. He requested me to visit his place and to facilitate on how the war between his men and the 54th IB of the Philippine Army could be stopped. When I met him, I could sense that he really wanted to end the war. He was also afraid to die. He wanted already to live peacefully.... But what bothered me when I left the place was the revelation that he made about the sources of their bullets and other armaments. He attested that the bullets that they use are also coming from the Armed Forces of the Philippines. What he said was also confirmed by MILF Commander "jojo" (not his real name), the operation commander of the 105th base command.... When someone asked him how they buy bullets from the military, he said that 'the CVOs are the ones making the deal'.... War is indeed a business and unless this business is cut off, many civilians will continue to be displaced."
3) The disappearance, torture and killing of unarmed civilians, "The MILF attack that took place that day resulted to the death of Lucio (72) and Isidra Fano (63) who were husband and wife. Based on the testimony of their son-and-law, Lucio was shot while he was harvesting corn. Isidra however was inside their house when shot by another armed-man. Dulcisimo (37) who was their son was taken by the armed troops. We recovered his body after three days. It was already on the state of decomposition. Part of his intestine went out from his side. One of his eyes was gone. Probably he was tortured."
4) Operation of "ghost units" of the Philippine military involved in breaking the of law of war (human rights violations), "On September 6, 2009 just right after I celebrated Mass in Datu Piang a woman named Lindongan Husain who is around 60 years old approached me and asked me to help her find her 23-year old son who was arrested by the military last May 7, 2009 at around 8:00 AM. The name of her son is Kaharudin. According to the mother, Kaharudin was gardening in their backyard in Barangay Pagatin, Datu Saudi when some government soldiers picked him up and asked him to ride in the military truck. She wanted to go with her son but the soldiers did not permit her. The name clothes and the name of the company of the soldiers were covered with masking tape so that she was not able to identify them. Some people who saw the actual arrest of Kaharudin told me that some companions of the military were wearing bonnets. They were the ones who seemed to be identifying the people who were to be arrested.Kaharudin is the only son and the only person who supports his mother Lindongan."
"Meriam Aman the wife of Said Aman was so uneasy when I found her in Barangay Makir, Dato Odin Sinsuat on September 9, 2009. She and her 6 children were originally residing in Barangay Pagatin, Datu Saudi (35 years old) but decided to transfer when her husband Said was killed. Said was also arrested by the military in the morning of May 7, 2009. His body was found three days later at the Rio Grande de Mindanao in Barangay Duaminanga, Datu Piang. His wife and his six children are now living miserably in Barangay Makir Evacuation Center."
5) Death of children and other civilians in IDP centers, he lists, by number, several heart wrenching stories, "#3. Mohaymin Dangandangan - She was only 10-days old when he died in Damabalas Evacuation Center. She suffered from diarrhea. Her mother unable to lactate, fed her with any milk she could afford. She was never brought to the hospital when she got sick. When I met her parents she was already buried under the ground for one day. #4. Baby Boy Kureg - He was brought to the Bahay Kalinga on June 18, 2009. He suffered from pneumonia and severe difficulty in breathing. His whole body was swollen because of severe infections. I found out that his mother had been feeding him with “simbug” – a mixture of water and brown sugar and the worst was that, the water was coming from a dirty well not suitable for drinking. Baby Kureg died on June 20, 2009 in Cotabato Regional Medical Center."
6) Stealing relief food intended for IDP's, he lists 4 methods utilized by government officials, including the selling of food ration tickets, local governments confiscating rice sacks as their 'share', a mayor redirecting relief goods to their friends/constituents, and indiscriminate ticket throwing.
1) People always want to know who "started it." The fighting after the failed signing of the MOA-AD (agreement on thorniest issue of ancestral domain) was initiated NOT by the MILF (muslim fighters), as is reported in the media, but by the goverment paramilitary CVOs (civilian volunteer organization). Father Vasquez reports that on Aug. 8, 2008, "The reason for evacuating was the news that circulated through text messages that the military would make an offensive to the MILF camps in Pikit. This news coincided with the arrival of military troops with heavy armaments in Pikit that day....At around 5:00 PM, firing between the Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) and the MILF troops started in Barangays Kolambugan and Tapodoc....The tension in Pikit heightened when the AFP started the mortar shelling to the MILF camp. Explosion of mortars could be heard all over Poblacion, on Sunday of August 10, 2008." This modus operandi was confirmed by other reports from "inside," that the CVO's would breach the ceasefire line, drawing fire from the MILF, they would engage each other, then regular army units would come in to reinforce the CVOs, leading to full-scale MILF-army confrontation. These inside reports further indicated that the MILF fell-back from their position and the army occupied their village, often burning and looting houses in the process.
2) Gun running by the Philippine military and paramilitaries, "July 2009 I received a phone call from an MILF Commander...in Datu Piang. He requested me to visit his place and to facilitate on how the war between his men and the 54th IB of the Philippine Army could be stopped. When I met him, I could sense that he really wanted to end the war. He was also afraid to die. He wanted already to live peacefully.... But what bothered me when I left the place was the revelation that he made about the sources of their bullets and other armaments. He attested that the bullets that they use are also coming from the Armed Forces of the Philippines. What he said was also confirmed by MILF Commander "jojo" (not his real name), the operation commander of the 105th base command.... When someone asked him how they buy bullets from the military, he said that 'the CVOs are the ones making the deal'.... War is indeed a business and unless this business is cut off, many civilians will continue to be displaced."
3) The disappearance, torture and killing of unarmed civilians, "The MILF attack that took place that day resulted to the death of Lucio (72) and Isidra Fano (63) who were husband and wife. Based on the testimony of their son-and-law, Lucio was shot while he was harvesting corn. Isidra however was inside their house when shot by another armed-man. Dulcisimo (37) who was their son was taken by the armed troops. We recovered his body after three days. It was already on the state of decomposition. Part of his intestine went out from his side. One of his eyes was gone. Probably he was tortured."
4) Operation of "ghost units" of the Philippine military involved in breaking the of law of war (human rights violations), "On September 6, 2009 just right after I celebrated Mass in Datu Piang a woman named Lindongan Husain who is around 60 years old approached me and asked me to help her find her 23-year old son who was arrested by the military last May 7, 2009 at around 8:00 AM. The name of her son is Kaharudin. According to the mother, Kaharudin was gardening in their backyard in Barangay Pagatin, Datu Saudi when some government soldiers picked him up and asked him to ride in the military truck. She wanted to go with her son but the soldiers did not permit her. The name clothes and the name of the company of the soldiers were covered with masking tape so that she was not able to identify them. Some people who saw the actual arrest of Kaharudin told me that some companions of the military were wearing bonnets. They were the ones who seemed to be identifying the people who were to be arrested.Kaharudin is the only son and the only person who supports his mother Lindongan."
"Meriam Aman the wife of Said Aman was so uneasy when I found her in Barangay Makir, Dato Odin Sinsuat on September 9, 2009. She and her 6 children were originally residing in Barangay Pagatin, Datu Saudi (35 years old) but decided to transfer when her husband Said was killed. Said was also arrested by the military in the morning of May 7, 2009. His body was found three days later at the Rio Grande de Mindanao in Barangay Duaminanga, Datu Piang. His wife and his six children are now living miserably in Barangay Makir Evacuation Center."
5) Death of children and other civilians in IDP centers, he lists, by number, several heart wrenching stories, "#3. Mohaymin Dangandangan - She was only 10-days old when he died in Damabalas Evacuation Center. She suffered from diarrhea. Her mother unable to lactate, fed her with any milk she could afford. She was never brought to the hospital when she got sick. When I met her parents she was already buried under the ground for one day. #4. Baby Boy Kureg - He was brought to the Bahay Kalinga on June 18, 2009. He suffered from pneumonia and severe difficulty in breathing. His whole body was swollen because of severe infections. I found out that his mother had been feeding him with “simbug” – a mixture of water and brown sugar and the worst was that, the water was coming from a dirty well not suitable for drinking. Baby Kureg died on June 20, 2009 in Cotabato Regional Medical Center."
6) Stealing relief food intended for IDP's, he lists 4 methods utilized by government officials, including the selling of food ration tickets, local governments confiscating rice sacks as their 'share', a mayor redirecting relief goods to their friends/constituents, and indiscriminate ticket throwing.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Human rights catastrophe in Mindanao - will you help us take action?
My U.S. tax dollars at work via the $30 million aid to the Philippine military.."a few minutes past seven [am]...My husband was outside the house...I saw five soldiers come...straight to him...one of them hit and kicked him...they ganged up on him...hit him with their guns. He tried to stand up...to protect our 7 year old daughter...they shot him...Our three children...witnessed their father being killed...his skull was broken and his left eye popped out.
click on the title to link to the full report.
click on the title to link to the full report.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Peacebuilding update: Philippines
A good up-to-date summary of the peace situation in the Philippines by fellow peace worker Susan Granados.
MINDANAO PEOPLE'S PEACE AGENDA
:: On July 23, 2009, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) declared its suspension of military operations or SOMO against the MILF.
:: Two days later, July 25, the MILF issued a corresponding order to all its field commands to suspend all military actions or SOMA against government forces.
:: The SOMO and SOMA were declared after almost one year of renewed fighting between the Philippine Government and the MILF that resulted after an aborted signing of an initialed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the two parties. On October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared this draft agreement unconstitutional, leading to further escalation of hostilities that displaced more than 600,000 people in Central Mindanao.
:: In late 2008, the formidable Bishops Ulama Conference (BUC), a convergence of high-ranking religious leaders who have resolved to give an interfaith dimension to the continuing search for peace in Mindanao, had tasked a section of the “academic community” in Mindanao to conduct a series of community dialogues and consultations covering the whole of Mindanao on how to put the peace process forward after the MOA-AD controversy.
:: Dubbed “Konsult Mindanaw,” these dialogues began in February 2009 and would soon end. About 800 focus group discussions (FGDs) have been slated to be conducted in eight Mindanao regional groupings, namely: Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao region, Caraga, Central Mindanao, Socsksargen, Northern Mindanao, and Lanao region.
:: While government-inspired, Konsult Mindanaw is being done independent of government. It has been made sure that in the dialogues, ample representations cover various sectors among Muslims, indigenous peoples, Protestants and Catholics. The sectors include women, youth, rural and urban poor, local government units, nongovernmental organizations, internally displaced persons, traditional leaders, religious groups, academics, business practitioners and professionals. Special group discussions are being conducted among artists, armed groups, and children. It is hoped that the result of these community dialogues would put the Mindanao peace process back to its track with more vigor and resolved.
:: In February 2009, a civil society – led consultation process was conceived and is currently being undertaken by seven major peace networks in Mindanao, under the umbrella network of networks “Mindanao Peaveweavers” (MPW). Named “Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda” (MPPA), the objectives include: (1) the development of a common understanding of a Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda (MPPA) among the MPW member networks and the wider Mindanao peace constituency, and (2) the translation of these Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda into public policy and lobby points that would help increase engagement of civil society and grassroots in formal policymaking processes in the country.
:: The consultation process hopes to end in a Peoples Peace Assembly to be held in October or November 2009, with the end in view of arriving at consensus points to support and help sustain the peace process in Mindanao.
GRP–MILF PEACE TALKS
:: On July 28-29, 2009, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Panels finally ended their impasse and held a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur and issued a Joint Statement which included agreements on the following:
.. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government’s Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF’s Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA).
.. Acknowledgment of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement.
.. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in the armed conflict.
.. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of International Contact Group (ICG) of groups of states and non-state organizations to accompany and mobilize international support for the peace process.
:: In this same statement, it was mentioned that the GRP Panel Chairman took serious note of the concern of the MILF on the implication of the exclusion from the SOMO of some MILF commanders tagged as “rogues” by the Government.
:: The formal resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks was set to the third week of August with two issues top in their agenda: Formation of the International Contract Group and setting up of a mission that will protect non-combatants from harm’s way. But the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) postponed the resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
:: The two parties would also discuss the possible return of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG). But decision on their return is still hazy as this will require the concurrence of contributing countries.
:: On July 23, 2009, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) declared its suspension of military operations or SOMO against the MILF.
:: Two days later, July 25, the MILF issued a corresponding order to all its field commands to suspend all military actions or SOMA against government forces.
:: The SOMO and SOMA were declared after almost one year of renewed fighting between the Philippine Government and the MILF that resulted after an aborted signing of an initialed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the two parties. On October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared this draft agreement unconstitutional, leading to further escalation of hostilities that displaced more than 600,000 people in Central Mindanao.
:: In late 2008, the formidable Bishops Ulama Conference (BUC), a convergence of high-ranking religious leaders who have resolved to give an interfaith dimension to the continuing search for peace in Mindanao, had tasked a section of the “academic community” in Mindanao to conduct a series of community dialogues and consultations covering the whole of Mindanao on how to put the peace process forward after the MOA-AD controversy.
:: Dubbed “Konsult Mindanaw,” these dialogues began in February 2009 and would soon end. About 800 focus group discussions (FGDs) have been slated to be conducted in eight Mindanao regional groupings, namely: Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao region, Caraga, Central Mindanao, Socsksargen, Northern Mindanao, and Lanao region.
:: While government-inspired, Konsult Mindanaw is being done independent of government. It has been made sure that in the dialogues, ample representations cover various sectors among Muslims, indigenous peoples, Protestants and Catholics. The sectors include women, youth, rural and urban poor, local government units, nongovernmental organizations, internally displaced persons, traditional leaders, religious groups, academics, business practitioners and professionals. Special group discussions are being conducted among artists, armed groups, and children. It is hoped that the result of these community dialogues would put the Mindanao peace process back to its track with more vigor and resolved.
:: In February 2009, a civil society – led consultation process was conceived and is currently being undertaken by seven major peace networks in Mindanao, under the umbrella network of networks “Mindanao Peaveweavers” (MPW). Named “Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda” (MPPA), the objectives include: (1) the development of a common understanding of a Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda (MPPA) among the MPW member networks and the wider Mindanao peace constituency, and (2) the translation of these Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda into public policy and lobby points that would help increase engagement of civil society and grassroots in formal policymaking processes in the country.
:: The consultation process hopes to end in a Peoples Peace Assembly to be held in October or November 2009, with the end in view of arriving at consensus points to support and help sustain the peace process in Mindanao.
GRP–MILF PEACE TALKS
:: On July 28-29, 2009, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Panels finally ended their impasse and held a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur and issued a Joint Statement which included agreements on the following:
.. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government’s Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF’s Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA).
.. Acknowledgment of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement.
.. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in the armed conflict.
.. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of International Contact Group (ICG) of groups of states and non-state organizations to accompany and mobilize international support for the peace process.
:: In this same statement, it was mentioned that the GRP Panel Chairman took serious note of the concern of the MILF on the implication of the exclusion from the SOMO of some MILF commanders tagged as “rogues” by the Government.
:: The formal resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks was set to the third week of August with two issues top in their agenda: Formation of the International Contract Group and setting up of a mission that will protect non-combatants from harm’s way. But the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) postponed the resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
:: The two parties would also discuss the possible return of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG). But decision on their return is still hazy as this will require the concurrence of contributing countries.
MILF CONSULTATION AMONG THEIR PEOPLE
:: The MILF conducted Mindanao-wide consultation meeting of grassroots leaders on August 7- 12, 2009.
:: Ghazali Jaafar, Vice Chairman of the MILF for Political Affairs, said the purpose of the consultation is to provide updates on the recent developments on the peace process between the government and MILF, particularly on the four issues reached by the government and MILF during the special meeting of the two parties’ peace negotiating panels in Malaysia last July 28-29, 2009.
:: Jaafar also said the consultation is not as massive as what the MILF had on May 29-31 in Darapanan, where at least a million people came and participated in said direct consultation.
GRP TALKS WITH THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES (NDFP)
:: The NDFP is the umbrella organization of revolutionary forces in the Philippines led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA).
:: The MILF conducted Mindanao-wide consultation meeting of grassroots leaders on August 7- 12, 2009.
:: Ghazali Jaafar, Vice Chairman of the MILF for Political Affairs, said the purpose of the consultation is to provide updates on the recent developments on the peace process between the government and MILF, particularly on the four issues reached by the government and MILF during the special meeting of the two parties’ peace negotiating panels in Malaysia last July 28-29, 2009.
:: Jaafar also said the consultation is not as massive as what the MILF had on May 29-31 in Darapanan, where at least a million people came and participated in said direct consultation.
GRP TALKS WITH THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES (NDFP)
:: The NDFP is the umbrella organization of revolutionary forces in the Philippines led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA).
:: Secretary Avelino Razon of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP) recently announced that peace talks with the NDFP will resume in Oslo, Norway in October instead of this year as originally set.
:: Peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP reached an impasse in 2004. A year later (2005) the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), providing “safe conduct pass” to panel members to the talks, was suspended.
:: In 2008, a Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) was signed between the two parties. CARHRIHL is the first out of four main agenda in the GRP-NDF peace talks. The other three are: (1) Social and Economic Reform, (2) Political and Constitutional Reform, and (3) Disposition of Forces.
:: At the moment, a series of regional consultations are being conducted by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), which is supported by the Norwegian Ecumenical Peace Platform (NEPP), all over the Philippines on a draft agreement between the Philippine government and the NDF on Social and Economic Reforms.
:: These consultations are spearheaded by the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC--a member of PEPP), together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP).
:: Peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP reached an impasse in 2004. A year later (2005) the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), providing “safe conduct pass” to panel members to the talks, was suspended.
:: In 2008, a Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) was signed between the two parties. CARHRIHL is the first out of four main agenda in the GRP-NDF peace talks. The other three are: (1) Social and Economic Reform, (2) Political and Constitutional Reform, and (3) Disposition of Forces.
:: At the moment, a series of regional consultations are being conducted by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), which is supported by the Norwegian Ecumenical Peace Platform (NEPP), all over the Philippines on a draft agreement between the Philippine government and the NDF on Social and Economic Reforms.
:: These consultations are spearheaded by the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC--a member of PEPP), together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP).
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Recommendations from the fields of Mindanao
Since 9-11, the U.S. has been poviding $30 million in military assistance annually as part of a counter-terror operation in the Philippines. This assistance is being subsumed in the larger civil war between Bangsamoror freedom fighters and the Philippine government. Unfortunately, this puts the U.S. on the side of one of the most corrupt governments in Asia, where impunity is widespread.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty international, Human Rights watch and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have all conducted and issued extensive reports on this in the past several years. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks the Philippines 6th in it's world impunity index, worse than Mexico, Russia and Afghanistan. Filipino humanitarian workers in Mindanao recently found over 200 houses burned by the Philippine army, which is directly supported by American tax dollars. Peacebuilders field workers have witnessed the deployment in central Mindanao of “ghost units” of the Philippine military, operating without insignia or identification.
To top it off, Melissa Roxas, an American woman from California volunteering as a community health outreach worker, was recently abducted, tortured and accused of being a communist. Evidence suggests that this was carried out by agents of the Philippine military. This has been widely reported in Philippine news, but not in the U.S.
These are just several examples of the many human rights problems in the Philippines. The government and military here have virtually no accountability. Rarely is there prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, if even an effective investigation.
Currently, only $2 million of the 30 million U.S. military aid is contingent on human rights conditions. We are at an important juncture as the government and Muslim sides in Mindanao have declared a truce in the fighting and the country heads into it's "election season" for the 2010 presidential elections. The U.S. government needs to make it clear that fighting terror does not mean condoning rampant impunity and disregard for basic human rights.
Therefore, we at Peacebuilders Community are remmending the following policy initiatives:
1) Immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to the Philippines pending an inquiry into counter-insurgency military operations, human rights and impunity, especially the case of American citizen Melissa Roxas.
2) Creation of a multi-sectoral task force to visit the Philippines to investigate the human rights situation and make recommendations for further policy changes.
3) Re-positioning of U.S. policy and program initiatives related to the civil war in Mindanao as a more neutral arbiter.
4) Conven an international advisory group of peace "elders," especially from the Muslim nations, to help shepherd the peace process forward for both the Muslim and Communist insurgency and to submit recommendations for a long term transitional/restorative justice process (aka, truth & reconciliation commission).
5) The creation of a UN peacekeeping force to intervene in Mindanao.
6) Creation of an environmental report card/sign posts for appropriate development so that the root causes of conflict are addressed in an ecological way.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty international, Human Rights watch and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have all conducted and issued extensive reports on this in the past several years. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks the Philippines 6th in it's world impunity index, worse than Mexico, Russia and Afghanistan. Filipino humanitarian workers in Mindanao recently found over 200 houses burned by the Philippine army, which is directly supported by American tax dollars. Peacebuilders field workers have witnessed the deployment in central Mindanao of “ghost units” of the Philippine military, operating without insignia or identification.
To top it off, Melissa Roxas, an American woman from California volunteering as a community health outreach worker, was recently abducted, tortured and accused of being a communist. Evidence suggests that this was carried out by agents of the Philippine military. This has been widely reported in Philippine news, but not in the U.S.
These are just several examples of the many human rights problems in the Philippines. The government and military here have virtually no accountability. Rarely is there prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, if even an effective investigation.
Currently, only $2 million of the 30 million U.S. military aid is contingent on human rights conditions. We are at an important juncture as the government and Muslim sides in Mindanao have declared a truce in the fighting and the country heads into it's "election season" for the 2010 presidential elections. The U.S. government needs to make it clear that fighting terror does not mean condoning rampant impunity and disregard for basic human rights.
Therefore, we at Peacebuilders Community are remmending the following policy initiatives:
1) Immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to the Philippines pending an inquiry into counter-insurgency military operations, human rights and impunity, especially the case of American citizen Melissa Roxas.
2) Creation of a multi-sectoral task force to visit the Philippines to investigate the human rights situation and make recommendations for further policy changes.
3) Re-positioning of U.S. policy and program initiatives related to the civil war in Mindanao as a more neutral arbiter.
4) Conven an international advisory group of peace "elders," especially from the Muslim nations, to help shepherd the peace process forward for both the Muslim and Communist insurgency and to submit recommendations for a long term transitional/restorative justice process (aka, truth & reconciliation commission).
5) The creation of a UN peacekeeping force to intervene in Mindanao.
6) Creation of an environmental report card/sign posts for appropriate development so that the root causes of conflict are addressed in an ecological way.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Where in the world is Melissa Roxas
At home in Los Angeles, California. Recovering after her weekend press conference detailing her trauma incurred here in the Philippines.
Melissa, an American community health volunteer in the northern Philippines, was kidnapped last month, tortured and released, she alleges, by agents of the Philippine military.
I note this NOT because it's remarkable. There has been a perpetual, and perpetually violent, counterinsurgency war of attrition going on in the shadows of Philippine society. It has been waging at least since the era of Marcos. Left leaning civil society groups allege hundreds of tortured, killings and disappearances at the hands of government agents and security services. The government insists these are just propaganda of the communist party of the Philippines and points to individuals killed in acts of "revolutionary justice" by the armed wing of the communist party, the New People's Army.
Yet this is the first time an American citizen has been dragged into it in many a year. What is amazing to me is the lack of coverage. LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Denver Post (my hometown paper) - searches by her name come up with zilch. Nadie. None. Aside from Denver, all major cities with significant Filipino populations. The New York times had a story soon after she was released.
Wait a minute, this is an American citizen (hate to say it, but the torture of an American has more value than a non-American), and it seems to reach a new low point for the Philippine human rights situation.
And the media silence is deafening.
Melissa, an American community health volunteer in the northern Philippines, was kidnapped last month, tortured and released, she alleges, by agents of the Philippine military.
I note this NOT because it's remarkable. There has been a perpetual, and perpetually violent, counterinsurgency war of attrition going on in the shadows of Philippine society. It has been waging at least since the era of Marcos. Left leaning civil society groups allege hundreds of tortured, killings and disappearances at the hands of government agents and security services. The government insists these are just propaganda of the communist party of the Philippines and points to individuals killed in acts of "revolutionary justice" by the armed wing of the communist party, the New People's Army.
Yet this is the first time an American citizen has been dragged into it in many a year. What is amazing to me is the lack of coverage. LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Denver Post (my hometown paper) - searches by her name come up with zilch. Nadie. None. Aside from Denver, all major cities with significant Filipino populations. The New York times had a story soon after she was released.
Wait a minute, this is an American citizen (hate to say it, but the torture of an American has more value than a non-American), and it seems to reach a new low point for the Philippine human rights situation.
And the media silence is deafening.
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?
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Silencing 100,000 voices
The Need for Global and Local Solidarity with Mindanao
My hands and arms are getting tired of being pulled, grasped, clasped and yanked. Is this what it feels like to be a celebrity? We’ve been driving since 6 am when we met at Freedom Park in Downtown Davao, the main city in the southern Island of Mindanao, Philippines. The plan for “Peace Power Day” was to travel a 500 km circular route through the 4 province Magindanaoan region of central Mindanao and then back to Davao. An ambitious goal for our “Peace Caravan” of 21 vehicles plastered with banners saying the likes of, “Save the Evacuees,” and, “Ceasefire Now!”
The purpose of our trip was to affirm a massive community organizing effort in Magindanao, one of the most conflict affected area of Mindanao. Magindanao is where a majority of the 300,000 mostly Muslim, internally displaced people (IDP’s or “evacuees”) live in make-shift shelters. They remain in refugee camps or living with relatives, waiting to return home in the midst of a 40 year liberation struggle that flared into open warfare 8 months ago. This happened after a negotiated settlement, called the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (or MOA AD), fell apart at the last minute, forcing over half a million people out of their communities.
As an American community organizer, I wonder how it is possible to get tens of thousands of people to rally over a 4 province area of underdeveloped Mindanao Island. Yet, there is a way to organize a massive demonstration among some of the poorest people in the world, many of them refugees, dispersed over miles of dirt roads, mountainous terrain and one of the largest marshes in southeast Asia. First, is to have a few large, central rallies at major cities where people can be transported to or live locally. The rest of the demonstrators then “converge” on the national highway at smaller villages and intersections timed to coincide with the passing of the peace caravan. This is all coordinated through an extensive network of cellular text messages along the elaborate social and extended family networks of the Muslim community in Magindanao. The result - 100,000 Muslim community members, joined by Christian Filipinos, vocalizing their desire for peace.
I am riding the peace caravan with Datu Assib Ibrahim and Datu Kharis Matalam Baraguir, the direct descendant of Sultan Kudarat. Sultan Kudarat was a beloved leader in the early 1600s who fought off Christian Spanish invaders of the beautiful Magindanaoan region we’re traveling through. Though the Moro’s (Muslim) continue their struggle to reclaim just the portion of land they currently live on, Datus Assib and Datu Kharis tell me that they want to occupy the hearts of non-Moro’s first. The land that was taken away from them through years of oppression, exploitation and violence is, in some ways, incidental. Underneath the desire for a piece of earth is a desire for a home community of respect, “Bangsa-moro,” - a “Bangsa” (“Nation”) of Moro (“Muslim”). This is a place where the voice of the Moro is heard, and everyone’s voice is heard and valued in the heart. If this reality could be understood, that hearing precedes peace making, then we will have “occupied” each other’s hearts and would be able to find a way to a less violent future.
So, in the days following the peace caravan, I comb local and international news periodicals to see if peaceful rallies by 100,000 Muslims have found a way into the news, from which mainstream Filipinos might start to see the non-violent side of the Moro struggle. Though I don’t expect to find anything beyond a paragraph tucked away in the international news section, I assume Peace Power Day will be carried in the Philippine news. I am not too surprised that there is no mention of it in the international news, but I am stunned that none of the major news periodicals in the Philippines carry even a sentence about the tens of thousands of people rallying peacefully for change in a war torn society. Since there is no repressive state news blackout hiding the emerging reality of a peaceful option in Mindanao, how can this be?
As we pass through rolling agricultural and forest land and the sun sets over Liguasan marsh, hundreds of children stream out of the blue tarp covered refugee shelters lining the road. They come to shake our hands and help us hear their desire for a place of safety and nurture. I want to explain that though I am one of only a dozen and a half foreigners in the peace caravan, I represent a much larger community of people who also believe in the creation of a listening space for justice, peace and reconciliation. While an international member in the solidarity caravan notes that the presence of so many Moro demonstrators reveals the sustainability of the violent struggle for self determination, another participant hears their voices representing the cry of Muslims everywhere. While I cannot determine who is right, (and they both may in fact be right), it seems only the violent voice is heard. And that is a reality that the supposedly dynamic peace constituency in Mindanao, myself included, has yet to effectively address.
Though most of my global constituency knows nothing about the details of the Bangsamoro struggle and suffering I see here, they also affirm the fundamental importance of listening as a sign of respect and a starting place for building peace. If they were here, they would also be extending their hand in solidarity. But since they are not, while my left arm is feeling sunburned from exposure to wind and hundreds of clasping greetings, I roll down the window as we approach another group of demonstrators convening along the road. I open my hand in blessing, “Asalaam Alaikum,” I say, which means, ‘Peace to you.’ “Alaikum Asalaam,” they respond, ‘peace to you in return.’
But is anyone else listening….?
My hands and arms are getting tired of being pulled, grasped, clasped and yanked. Is this what it feels like to be a celebrity? We’ve been driving since 6 am when we met at Freedom Park in Downtown Davao, the main city in the southern Island of Mindanao, Philippines. The plan for “Peace Power Day” was to travel a 500 km circular route through the 4 province Magindanaoan region of central Mindanao and then back to Davao. An ambitious goal for our “Peace Caravan” of 21 vehicles plastered with banners saying the likes of, “Save the Evacuees,” and, “Ceasefire Now!”
The purpose of our trip was to affirm a massive community organizing effort in Magindanao, one of the most conflict affected area of Mindanao. Magindanao is where a majority of the 300,000 mostly Muslim, internally displaced people (IDP’s or “evacuees”) live in make-shift shelters. They remain in refugee camps or living with relatives, waiting to return home in the midst of a 40 year liberation struggle that flared into open warfare 8 months ago. This happened after a negotiated settlement, called the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (or MOA AD), fell apart at the last minute, forcing over half a million people out of their communities.
As an American community organizer, I wonder how it is possible to get tens of thousands of people to rally over a 4 province area of underdeveloped Mindanao Island. Yet, there is a way to organize a massive demonstration among some of the poorest people in the world, many of them refugees, dispersed over miles of dirt roads, mountainous terrain and one of the largest marshes in southeast Asia. First, is to have a few large, central rallies at major cities where people can be transported to or live locally. The rest of the demonstrators then “converge” on the national highway at smaller villages and intersections timed to coincide with the passing of the peace caravan. This is all coordinated through an extensive network of cellular text messages along the elaborate social and extended family networks of the Muslim community in Magindanao. The result - 100,000 Muslim community members, joined by Christian Filipinos, vocalizing their desire for peace.
I am riding the peace caravan with Datu Assib Ibrahim and Datu Kharis Matalam Baraguir, the direct descendant of Sultan Kudarat. Sultan Kudarat was a beloved leader in the early 1600s who fought off Christian Spanish invaders of the beautiful Magindanaoan region we’re traveling through. Though the Moro’s (Muslim) continue their struggle to reclaim just the portion of land they currently live on, Datus Assib and Datu Kharis tell me that they want to occupy the hearts of non-Moro’s first. The land that was taken away from them through years of oppression, exploitation and violence is, in some ways, incidental. Underneath the desire for a piece of earth is a desire for a home community of respect, “Bangsa-moro,” - a “Bangsa” (“Nation”) of Moro (“Muslim”). This is a place where the voice of the Moro is heard, and everyone’s voice is heard and valued in the heart. If this reality could be understood, that hearing precedes peace making, then we will have “occupied” each other’s hearts and would be able to find a way to a less violent future.
So, in the days following the peace caravan, I comb local and international news periodicals to see if peaceful rallies by 100,000 Muslims have found a way into the news, from which mainstream Filipinos might start to see the non-violent side of the Moro struggle. Though I don’t expect to find anything beyond a paragraph tucked away in the international news section, I assume Peace Power Day will be carried in the Philippine news. I am not too surprised that there is no mention of it in the international news, but I am stunned that none of the major news periodicals in the Philippines carry even a sentence about the tens of thousands of people rallying peacefully for change in a war torn society. Since there is no repressive state news blackout hiding the emerging reality of a peaceful option in Mindanao, how can this be?
As we pass through rolling agricultural and forest land and the sun sets over Liguasan marsh, hundreds of children stream out of the blue tarp covered refugee shelters lining the road. They come to shake our hands and help us hear their desire for a place of safety and nurture. I want to explain that though I am one of only a dozen and a half foreigners in the peace caravan, I represent a much larger community of people who also believe in the creation of a listening space for justice, peace and reconciliation. While an international member in the solidarity caravan notes that the presence of so many Moro demonstrators reveals the sustainability of the violent struggle for self determination, another participant hears their voices representing the cry of Muslims everywhere. While I cannot determine who is right, (and they both may in fact be right), it seems only the violent voice is heard. And that is a reality that the supposedly dynamic peace constituency in Mindanao, myself included, has yet to effectively address.
Though most of my global constituency knows nothing about the details of the Bangsamoro struggle and suffering I see here, they also affirm the fundamental importance of listening as a sign of respect and a starting place for building peace. If they were here, they would also be extending their hand in solidarity. But since they are not, while my left arm is feeling sunburned from exposure to wind and hundreds of clasping greetings, I roll down the window as we approach another group of demonstrators convening along the road. I open my hand in blessing, “Asalaam Alaikum,” I say, which means, ‘Peace to you.’ “Alaikum Asalaam,” they respond, ‘peace to you in return.’
But is anyone else listening….?
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