“WAR is what happens when language fails.” -- Margaret Atwood
“War does not determine who is right - only who is left.” -- Bertrand Russell
FOR all we know, uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines swarmed Maguindanao and even nearby provinces carrying an order that aims to route renegade armed-members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) into oblivion.
While military officers proceed with the euphemistic term “all-out offensive,” the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been their counterpart in ways that most of the jeering public must have raised their eyebrows, who have remained staunch critic against the MILF to what happened in Mamasapano a month ago.
At this moment the people who are seeing the events unfold need to understand the intricate lines that separate BIFF from MILF, and to their big difference between the Abu Sayyaf Group, and the Moro National Liberation Front.
However the problem sometimes lies in the prejudice that they are one of the same, just because of the common denominator that they are Moros, who have networks of “relatives” and “friends” on all those armed groups, and the generalization of things for them being Muslims. Well, there can be a grain of truth to this claim, however the larger picture should be taken into consideration on which among these groups showed effort toward peace process.
With due fairness, many media materials have already tried to distinguish the differences in order to draw a line and attempted to see this issue as political and social and not as a matter about religious disparity that leads to uglier outcome.
Yet many people still fail to comprehend or understand the matter even without an ample time to ponder on, worse, these people remain passive even when they are Mindanaoans themselves.
While the “all-out offensive” is currently on the move and both the BIFF and AFP forces are careful with their steps before it becomes a total clash, we tend to forget the real casualties of this unrepentant game, the civilians. Even they are still alive, the effect of this “offensive” means leaving once again their homes and fleeing from their main source of livelihood – the farmlands.
Access to public health and services remains elusive in this side of the country, the trauma and stress induced cannot just be compensated by temporary shelters and food. It is a long process of healing. They are what we call the “bakwits,” and they have always become collateral in every armed conflict.
We may be “safe” from the comforts of our homes right now but armed conflicts have its way to manipulate the inner human in us. Sometimes, had it not for the mass media keeping us updated on the events that are taking place, we might get it from the traditional word-of-mouth which has its tendency to twist important facts and accuracy.
And in turn, we may get the wrong information and wrong response to this message, and again, creating an atmosphere that can be hard to breathe in the name of peace.
[Email: nefluczon@gmail.com]