A Closer Look at the Mindanao Conflict

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A little behind, but better late than never...

WEEKLY UPDATE:

Saturday: I tried Durian, a unique fruit known to many countries in SE Asia. It's one of a kind because of its strong smell and size. It can get pretty big (30cm/12in long and 15cm/6in in diameter) but the smell is like nothing I've ever smelt before! haha it's real intense! The taste...? Not for me.

Sunday: Visited Davao's China Town - hung out with some of the local kids!

Monday: Our adventure begins; we had a briefing in the morning, ate lunch and off we went. In two mini vans, we raced across Mindanao, and I mean raced: Our driver had a severe case of a lead foot!! We hit all the potholes known to mankind! Anyway, it took us about 5 hours to get from Davao to Cotabato City. Arrived around 19:00, ate, and chilled.

Tuesday: A big day for all of us! After breakfast we drove about an hour to one of the camps of the rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Since this region is predominantly Muslim, all of the women covered up. As we pulled up to their camp, which was located in the middle of nowhere, we were stopped by several men in camouflage outfits carrying M-16 and automatic rifles. We were escorted through a serene garden which led us to a white building. As we walked into the building, where the meeting would take place, we were greeted by a man, casually dressed in pants and a button down shirt. The men in our group all received a firm hand shake, the women simply greeted hello. The desks in the room were arranged in a semi-circle, with some extra chairs along the side. I wasn't sure if women were expected to sit along the side or in the front, so I waited for a quick-second before taking my place in the front.

We started off by introducing ourselves (our names, where we're from, and the organization we're with). The first 15-20 min were very intimidating but then, all of a sudden, the chairman of the MILF made a joke, which eliminated all tensions in the room. From then on our dialogues and Q&A sessions were great! They even asked us questions. At one point, however, the chairman says, "Excuse me for saying, but it's America's fault for

Durian

the conflict in Mindanao - it's your government's fault"...dang, how are we supposed to react to that?? It's interesting: the MILF is still armed, they won't lay down arms but after talking to them, it truly seems that they are open to peacebuilding efforts and negotiation with the government.

Later that night, back at the "safe house", I couple of us were hanging out outside. Suddenly, I swore I heard faint ...."ka-booms" - no one believed me but it was definitely verified the next day when some of the locals told us there were some riots and explosions a couple kilometers from us.

Wednesday: Today we were able to meet with another crucial party in the conflict: the government! They were surprised to see us, "Wow, you're here? You're not afraid?" Apparently the area isn't the best place to be! The Governor of North Cotabato, Jesus Sacdalan, confirmed it when he said, "I can guarantee your safely as long as you do not cross the river." What do we do? We cross the river! It was good to hear this side of the story though; honestly, I don't know how I feel about the government's arguments. The whole MPI group agreed that we felt as if the government spoke down to us; as if we didn't know anything about the conflict. Little did they know that we met with the MILF the previous morning. The government was really shocked to hear this when we told them about that.

Later that day, we met with some of the local, grassroot organizations involved in the Mindanao conflict. We were in Pikit, a fairly unstable town which we had to leave by nightfall.

Thursday: In the morning we received an "Islam in the Philippines" lecture, which was really interesting. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines. We visited hot springs and a waterfall - beautiful! Definitely refreshing after such a serious week.

One of the vans broke down along the way; seemed only appropriate to be broken down along the side of the road...we were back on the road after about 45min!

The rest of the week was spent telling one another about our adventures, hanging out with our new friends before saying goodbye to some on Friday and others on Saturday.



After almost three weeks of adventure in Mindanao, it's off to the beach for some sun and DIVING!! Next stop: Boracay Island!!

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