Monday, October 02, 2006
Rebollido: War-torn
By Rommel G. Rebollido
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"War-torn" is a term often associated with Mindanao, especially by Manila-based media.
If you have been around Mindanao, you would think they do not know the meaning of the word.
Describing Mindanao as war-torn is inaccurate in many ways. The general prevailing situation in Mindanao clearly belies it.
If there are clashes between rebels and soldiers in the country's second largest island, these are usually in remote mountains or jungles.
Similarly in Luzon, there have been firefights between rebels and soldiers in the Ilocos, Cordilleras, along Sierra Madre, Southern Tagalog region, Bicol region, and Central Luzon.
Yet, news reports never ever described Luzon as being war-torn.
Perhaps, there are still some Manila-based reporters and editors whose mindset is fixed in thinking that Mindanao is just a tiny island where a shooting war in a remote village in Sulu or Agusan easily destroys the entire island.
The "tiny island" has a land area of 102,043 square kilometers. It is about a third of the country's total land area and is larger than Taiwan or Singapore.
The Inquirer published on page A1 of its September 23, 2006 issue a story, "There's still hope for RP, 3 young leaders find."
The story is good and quite relevant. There is a bit of irony and inaccuracy, though, especially when the reporter referred to Mindanao as "war-torn."
The reporter may have another view of what war-torn is, but, I would say Iraq is war-torn, not Mindanao.
I really doubt if the reporter, Tina Arceo-Dumlao, has ever been to Mindanao. If ever, she may have only gone to places that gave her the impression Mindanao is war-torn. But, is that fair journalistic practice?
Had she tried to check further, she would have learned that the "war-torn" place she calls is teeming with economic activity. It supplies a major part of the country's food requirements even as tourists flock to the island's tourism sites.
She may not know it, but some of the fruits she may be enjoying there in Manila come from Mindanao.
In fairness, I would assume that Ms. Dumlao picked that description "war-torn" to give contrast and prominence to justify the effort of Mr. Ariel Hernandez in embarking on a culture of peace project in Mindanao.
Doing so, however, had done an injustice to Mindanao and its people, who more than anyone else care so much about peace and do our very best to preserve it.
The manner Ms. Dumlao described Mindanao typecasts how some people in imperial Manila view Mindanao as a mere battle arena of rebels and soldiers.
She should perhaps try to understand that a place need not be in war in order to introduce a culture of peace.
We have peace in Mindanao. Peace has always been in most part of the island. We are not seeking it as news reports would often portray, but we are moving to preserve it.
It is just very unfortunate that some reporters failed to see it that way.
They are more interested in highlighting the sights and sounds of guns than listen to the majority of people moving to preserve peace.
(October 2, 2006 issue)
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