Brgy. Muntay, Kolambugan
“We were unprepared. We did not know we would be attacked,”
“We just grabbed the children and put them on the boats. Never mind where their mothers were. We thought they would just meet up when we all got to safety in Ozamiz City.”
Pikit & Aleosan, North Cotabato
“Just don’t figure in an encounter here.” We talk to whoever is in command, the highest in command. We tell them we don’t want violence. They share that principle. The MILF is for peace. Our soldiers are also for peace.
Basilan
We don’t really have a plan of action. When something happens, that’s when we react. We don’t plan ahead what to do. When things are safe, we go back home. We don’t plan on things like what to eat, how to… That’s life. That’s how we live there.
Jolo, Sulu
We, the Tausug, came from Sulu. What is a Tausug? Why are we called that? The word Tausog comes from Tao, which means man, and Sug, which means current. So Tausug… of the Sulu Sea.
OVERVIEW
The Main island group of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines has experienced intermittent but almost perennial violent, terror-evoking acts and events in the last decade. Consequently, the region should realistically prepare for high-level threats or occurrences of similar acts and events in the future.
This project is a documentation of experiences and collection of oral histories of resilient communities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. It is primarily designed to provide an understanding of what Mindanao community resilience means as Mindanawons confront violence and natural disasters. Results of this documentation shall provide grassroots concepts of resilience that can be readily understood and appreciated by stakeholders. The resiliency skills identified may be learned and replicated by other communities in the Southern Philippines.
The Mindanao Resilient Communities Project was undertaken by the Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM) through a research grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United states Embassy Manila.
The Resilient Voices
