NO LESS than Paulo Pierre, a well-known author of the Book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and working then as an Educator of the United Nations in the 80’s coined the term, Conscientisacao (Conscientization), “the action or process of making others aware of political and social conditions, especially as a precursor to challenging inequalities of treatment or opportunity; the fact of being aware of these conditions.”
The book has inspired me to write articles in SunStar to put forth in-depth reflections of painful socio-economic and ecological realities which I have been exposed to early in life when my conscientization process took-off, well rooted in being a student activist in the 70’s and having the opportunity to share such advocacy in the University’s School Organ as an Editor.
It was then the period of Martial Law and I remember writing an article entitled, a Barrio in a Cage, a story about Panalsalan, a barrio in Maramag, Bukidnon, which had been enclosed by a rich, influential Congressman then from the Visayas with 6-feet barb wire, making the barrio as the Congressman’s ranch.
I took pictures showing cows mixing with pupils at the elementary school or even entering a chapel during Sunday mass. The cows were the first to harvest the vegetables and crops, leaving the barrio people, the Higaonons, hungry and poor as ever. In fact, out of desperation, the father of a family mixed poison, Thiodan, in the food of his family at dinnertime and then committed suicide to join the family in the after-life. Another sad tale was on how a father of a family had gone crazy and burnt his house.
My advocacy to expose such painful societal truth was used against me by influential people, charging me as a Leftist-Propagandist, then put me to prison.
Inside the prison cell, I wrote a poem, Veritas Liberabit Vos (The Truth Shall Set Us Free).
Such bitter experience turned me into a passionate writer which I carried as a Columnist, writing articles about “Veritas” that intend to motivate the readers to act to be set free out of painful realities which came about because of the people’s apathetic attitude.
When people are informed and conscienticized, collective actions follow.
This had been the case of the ecological people in the uplands of Cagayan de Oro when upon knowing that indeed, there was no such thing as rule of law in environment, they readily took direct actions through human barricades to stop the massive flow of illegally-cut logs.
No less than His Eminence Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, S.J., who was then a priest and the Director of SEARSOLIN in 1991 reported to us that some fifty ten-wheeler trucks carrying illegally cut logs were passing Cagayan de Oro from one o’clock to five o’clock in the morning as he instructed his staff to monitor. When a security guard took pictures of these trucks passing in front of SEARSOLIN, an armed escort ran after the guard. Thus, no way can deforestation be stopped but through people’s direct actions.
For ten-years, human barricades went on, beginning first in 1991 with some 300 farmers, Indigenous People and fisherfolk, lying in the street and dared logging trucks to run-over them before these 50 logging trucks every night could pass. Then, in 1999, the number of barricaders went up to 6,000 and finally, we put in clear categorical term the statement, “The people united can never be defeated.” Finally, the rule of law won through the conscientization ptocess.
This time, the people direct actions are not anymore on barricading logging trucks. This time, the actions are long term on a much broader context but the strategy remains: mobilize the collective power of the people, especially those in the margins so that they can be drawn into the mainstream of development processes.
Paulo Pierre has said it all in the “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” A thorough social analysis has become imperative. Only through a conscientization process through a dialogical approach that one can understand the critical issues besetting society which cannot be known through the mainstream media which seem to be subservient to the interest of the Oligarchs.
Finally, let me share with you the conscientization process which has been experienced by our ecological people, the Lumads and the peasantry that was why they opted to stage human barricades upon knowing that we have already lost our ecological integrity for the simple reason that this country has not followed the rule of law.
Yes, in this country, no one is above the law; all must bow down to the majesty of the law because we follow the rule of law and not of men. Please be informed that our millions of hectares of dipterocarp forest should have not been logged for reason that these were lying then 1,000 meters above sea level or in slopes with more than 50% gradient where logging was disallowed by existing laws.
Today, we have lost our ecological security, the reason why ecological disasters have become the “new normal.” Please remember that even with a strong army, a country that has lost its ecological security is not secured at all. Let conscientization now begins!