Last December 11, 2013, I attended a symposium
entitled, The Zamboanga City Crisis:
Reconciling A Divided Community. It
was held in the College of Mass Communication Auditorium with the guest
speaker, Ms. Amina T. Rasul-Bernardo, the president of Philippine Center for
Islam and Democracy (PCID).
I was aware that there was a
conflict with our government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that
lasted for weeks. As time passed by, I
was not able to follow the news on the television or in the newspaper. At the symposium, I was more
exposed with the current condition of Zamboanga City and as well as of other
Muslim communities.
This conflict greatly
affects our economy as there were a lot of innocent citizens injured and some
even died, businesses were off for a few weeks, and even the Zamboanga
International Airport had shut down for days.
The Islam first arrived in
Sulu during the 13th century.
When the Spaniards and the Americans came to the Philippines, they made
treaty arrangements with the Moro people, so the Sultanates retained their
sovereignty. But today, we can see that
the Moro have lost their sovereignty as they are now the least served region by
our government. During 1990, Sulu had
better access to electricity than in Ilocos Sur, and also had better access to
water than in Pampanga. But only after
20 years, it was the other way around. The
Moro belong to one of the poorest people in our country and their region has
low access to electricity and water. In
ARMM, there were destruction of infrastructures because of the bombings, more
than one-third of the people who are 18 years old and above are illiterate, and
most people left their places to seek employment.
There is a racial
discrimination as there is less funding by the government to the Muslim
regions. I think that the government
should view the Moro people or the Muslims the same as they view other Catholic
citizens. They should give support for
the ARMM as they do in other regions.
In order to rebuild
Zamboanga City, the government should protect and give aid to refugees,
especially the children. Psychological
counselling should be given to the citizens who were traumatized because of the
sudden events. Discrimination against
Muslims should be abolished to promote the freedom of expressions of the Muslim
people. Peace agreements should be
properly arranged to prevent another crises from happening.
Media also plays an
important role in unifying the people in our country. Through the reports shown in televisions,
radios and internet articles, the content should be fact-based which does not
promote discrimination, but religious tolerance and cultural sensitivity. All events should be able to reach the media
for a more reliable documentation.
It is important for every
community to be united for the development and improvement of the country. As the saying goes, “We belong in the same
boat, and we will sink if we don’t get together.”
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