You learn something new everyday. I attended a peace forum ( http://archive.inq7.net/view.php?db=1&story_id=35246 ) where Filipino Muslim women and a Japanese hibakusha or atomic bomb survivor shared their experience in keeping the peace in their communities, and even though I could barely imagine what they went through, I could sympathize with their cause.
However, I must say that I am cynical with all these peace talks or forums or exchanges, as I feel that they have little impact, especially in Muslim Filipino affairs.
The common man on the street would think that a Filipino Muslim (or Moro, as they call themselves now --- whatever happened to the negative connotation?) would be prone to violence. Some have been quick to associate them with the Abu Sayyaf, pirates of the South, or else hard-nosed salesmen --- i have been warned many times to be careful dealing with pearl merchants in Greenhills. Muslims have a bad rep all right, aggravated by the US-spread terrorism scare, but the impression is hardly inaccurate, don't you think?
Just last week, the news was of the Muslim Congresswoman who went wild crazy with her bread knife lurching dangerously at their caterer who was not able to correctly inform her that the pansit she ate contained pork. Not exactly a peaceful way to express one's faith, is it?
A Moro woman explained that indeed this is very unfortnate. How the caterer can be so insensitive to the Muslim woman's faith... and how rash the Muslim woman was with her reaction. In one breath, one woman, pronounced Islam as a religion of peace and how there were a lot of misconceptions about it and how these people to people interactions foster a general understanding and appreciation of each culture's unique features, and then say during the open forum that... "mabuti na lang at nasa Manila yung caterer, dahil kng nangyari yan sa Marawi... mapapatay siya." Ah. Okay.
Apparently, there are still a lot of things to do in this issue. Poverty has been pointed as the culprit, along with ignorance and apathy. How people just dont care. How prejudice and discrimination prevail despite the efforts... Probably because people are more concerned with their soap-box pronouncements rather than living as an example...more than talking the talk, they have to walk the walk. For people to go past the stereotype, you have to make an effort to show them that you are not the stereotype.
How can you reconcile such a rich culture amidst rich natural resources be mired in conflict and poverty? How? Everybody concerned, I think, must go beyond dances and paper cranes.
Sigh. What do you think about this issue?
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