Becoming "Instruments of Healing" in Traumatized Communities
Mindanao is my homeland. Its unsurpassable beauty of lush farm fields, mineral resources, crystal clear water and a wide spectrum of tribes, cultures and languages make it one of the most fascinating places in Southeast Asia. Tragically, poverty, corruption and violence have robbed our futures. It is the stunning wealth of this land that has led to decades of conflict, pitting family against family, clan against clan and Muslim versus Christian: It is my ties to this land and its people that have made me a peacemaker.
During the past few months, Hope for the normal life that we all dream of has been shattered once again by armed conflict. According to the United Nations some 500,000 people in Mindanao, especially children, have been displaced from their homes and live in the shadow of fear due to continued armed conflict. There is a great need to heal and rebuild communities that have been traumatized by violence. "Child warriors" fighting in guerrilla armies are as young as 12 and 13 years old. Government soldiers are as young as 18. Schools with no chairs, books or supplies for basic education are burned to the ground or turned into artillery fire bases or refugee camps. The healing process, which must begin in each person and family, whether Christian or Muslim, is essential to overcome the extreme distress, fear and even hatred that prolong the ongoing cycles of vengeful communal violence.
I have been fortunate as a young Muslim woman from this impoverished area of conflict, to have the benefit of graduating from a respected college in the country's capitol. Now, holding a leadership position in an International NGO specializing in community-based projects in areas of conflict, I have developed a commitment to building "Bridges of Peace." My colleagues and I are utilizing the common humanity between my country's Muslim and Christian peoples with full respect to our religious diversity.
In early September, in the midst of conflict in Mindanao, I was accompanied on a relief mission to Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur by the Asia America Initiative (AAI) President and Founder Albert Santoli to help me organize and carry medicines, nutritional supplies and toys. We were assisted by our college student volunteers who are called AAI-Catalysts for Peace headed by MSU-IIT Medical Student, Ralphtrin Hermosisima and Sharijane Balawag, an active youth peace advocate in Cotabato.
In each evacuation center we visited, we shared medicines, food supplements and toys - even forks and spoons and plastic to build tents. In each location, local officials, social workers and doctors expressed their concern about psychological and emotional trauma suffered by people who fled for their lives. One of the social workers said, “Ang ibang mga bata, pag nakakakita ng mga naka-uniporme, tumatakbo na lang bigla at umiiyak.Yung iba namang bata na sangkot ang kanilang kapatid o tatay sa mga terorista, may itinanim ng galit sa mga sundalo at gobyerno”. They stated that without proper counseling interventions, the people's trauma and fear of ongoing violence might cause their communities to fall apart.
In one of the interviews we conducted, there was one family who lost their grandfather and uncle because they were attacked allegedly by MILF. A child crying asked his mother, “Mama, paano na tayo, wala na si lolo? Pinatay na siya.” I was trying to control my tears. At the back of my mind, I wanted to create a miracle or do magic so that there would be no more children suffering that kind of trauma. I said to myself, he was too young to experience war; he was too young to witness someone being shot to death. Imagine thousands of children suffering from that kind of life especially in Mindanao, where they are left with no choice but to face the reality of being displaced because of conflict, losing loved ones, not being able to go to school because of danger while some even at a young age have to hold arms to protect themselves.
I myself experienced war as young as seven years old – bomb explosions, no good shows to watch except news, I had to bring my gas mask always in case of a chemical explosion and our classes got disrupted because our school was turned into an evacuation center. I did not understand what was going on during those times, but I was fortunate enough that I had parents who helped me comprehend what was happening and made sure that my experiences did not break my spirit. And here I am now, working hard for peace and development in Mindanao. I just hope that in the same way that I had parents who guided me after experiencing war, a lot of people will realize the importance of trauma healing interventions and doing more projects for a better Mindanao especially for our youth and children.
In 2007 and early 2008, we had already begun doing healing activities in conflicted areas of Sulu and Basilan provinces, through our Kiddie Fun Day events as part of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process’ H.E.L.P. [Health Education Livelihood Programs] Caravans. Now, in Central Mindanao, as the threat of war is escalating, we - as an interfaith but secular organization - began partnering efforts with a Faith-Based NGO, Operation Blessing, Philippines that specializes in Emergency Relief. Our purpose is to conduct TRAUMA DEBRIEFING SEMINARS and COUNSELOR TRAINING WORKSHOPS for Christian and Muslim social workers and public officials.
We also traveled to refugee camps with our local college student volunteers to conduct a program which we call, A FUN DAY: BRINGING HOPE AND CHEERS TO COMMUNITIES. We could not have done this without the partnership of the Provincial Governments of Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Cotabato. The Fun Day activities for children and their families instill hope and promote peace awareness through music, arts, games and laughter. The fun activities trigger a healing antidote to anger, trauma and distrust.
The Seminar and Workshop
The Trauma Debriefing Seminar and Workshop was conducted in the Provincial Governor of Lanao del Sur's administrative compound. It was attended by a diverse cross-section of professional people from Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. Local government officials, Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council members, Muslim Ulama religious leaders, Youth and Women Group leaders, Social Workers, NGOs, Philippine military officers and Christian Faith Based groups all attended. The Operation Blessing (OB) Philippines developed a curriculum for healing traumatic stress through dialogue and sharing experiences. To everyone's surprise, religion and diverse culture was not a divisive factor. We all focused on our common humanity and addressed the suffering of the war victims.
The training was aimed to give proper orientation and to provide different professional sectors with knowledge and skills in trauma healing sessions through Self-Awareness --- emphasizing on Healing and Peace should come from within and that the most important attribute is to be a good listener.
They were educated in the psychological process of stress and trauma by professional counselors. Then, separated into group sessions to practice counseling and group discussions. After two days of training, all participants were encouraged to apply the techniques they learned in their own communities.
I was deeply touched during the training in the predominantly Muslim City of Marawi. A middle-aged female social worker repeatedly expressed negative comments like, "peace is never possible," and " groups like you cannot do anything about what's going on." She did not want the military to be present in the training. I became curious about her background and her negativity towards giving peace a chance.
Coming from Lanao del Sur, I was not afraid to ask local people who this woman was. Twenty years earlier, her husband had been killed by the military in fighting between the Moro National Liberation Front and government forces. For confidentiality, I will not mention her name but my conclusion was this: Her past still haunts her. She's among the many persons who never received proper counseling to help her overcome her traumatic experiences -- not to mention the extreme pain she suffered because of death of her loved ones.
I gained respect for her because despite her many critical statements, she never left nor walked out of the training. I was trying to empathize and continually observed her. As the sessions went on, her negativity slowly diminished. She freely participated and cooperated with the rest of the group. Throughout the latter sessions, she sat silently and listened intently, very different from how she was acting at the start of the training.
Most of the participants said that it was their first time to undergo training on post-traumatic stress or Trauma Healing. They all realized the importance of incorporating it in their Disaster Management programs. The debriefing workshops acted as an icebreaker among professionals from different sectors. This was especially important because of the negative notion by local people against the military combatants. The practice exercises paved the way for dialogue among different groups.
Compassion and Consistency are the Keys for Healing
On the last day of the training, participants discussed the next steps for instituting post-traumatic stress counseling in their own communities. Ms. Grace Alag, the speaker from Operation Blessing, Philippines, encouraged the participants to network and create a support network. This can help facilitate consistent and continually improved trauma counseling in communities afflicted by conflict. Everyone, Christian and Muslim, left the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol of Lanao del Sur with one goal in mind: To be instruments of Hope to facilitate healing in their communities.
I have been writing about the innocent lives being affected by the conflict in Mindanao. Until now, I still cry while writing articles about their sufferings. This is for several reasons: I could recall my own experience of war; I could remember seeing the centers where the displaced persons were brought to – where they rely on donations for food, children becoming sick because of no clean water, no proper nutrition, not enough medicines and poor living conditions, lack of blankets and plastic sheets to protect them from heat and rain; I could recall poor children who stopped going to school because of trauma; I could recall an old lady who asked from us more ‘lugaw’ for her to eat because she was so hungry; I could recall myself seeing a fresh dead body of a soldier who died in an encounter; and most of all, I have always wondered why not a lot of people outside Mindanao aware of this tragic situation that they are in?
I think if Media would help us bring the real message of Mindanao, our Clamor for Peace, then people will know what we need to help rebuild our lives and in giving hope to our communities.
This is my Call to Action to Every Filipino.
Let us all be instruments of Hope to facilitate the healing of wounds that have marked centuries of bloodshed. My people cannot do this alone; we have to work together. The problem of peace is the problem of every Filipino.
Like my parents who became my healers, let us all act like a loving family to these children in Mindanao.
During the past few months, Hope for the normal life that we all dream of has been shattered once again by armed conflict. According to the United Nations some 500,000 people in Mindanao, especially children, have been displaced from their homes and live in the shadow of fear due to continued armed conflict. There is a great need to heal and rebuild communities that have been traumatized by violence. "Child warriors" fighting in guerrilla armies are as young as 12 and 13 years old. Government soldiers are as young as 18. Schools with no chairs, books or supplies for basic education are burned to the ground or turned into artillery fire bases or refugee camps. The healing process, which must begin in each person and family, whether Christian or Muslim, is essential to overcome the extreme distress, fear and even hatred that prolong the ongoing cycles of vengeful communal violence.
I have been fortunate as a young Muslim woman from this impoverished area of conflict, to have the benefit of graduating from a respected college in the country's capitol. Now, holding a leadership position in an International NGO specializing in community-based projects in areas of conflict, I have developed a commitment to building "Bridges of Peace." My colleagues and I are utilizing the common humanity between my country's Muslim and Christian peoples with full respect to our religious diversity.
In early September, in the midst of conflict in Mindanao, I was accompanied on a relief mission to Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur by the Asia America Initiative (AAI) President and Founder Albert Santoli to help me organize and carry medicines, nutritional supplies and toys. We were assisted by our college student volunteers who are called AAI-Catalysts for Peace headed by MSU-IIT Medical Student, Ralphtrin Hermosisima and Sharijane Balawag, an active youth peace advocate in Cotabato.
In each evacuation center we visited, we shared medicines, food supplements and toys - even forks and spoons and plastic to build tents. In each location, local officials, social workers and doctors expressed their concern about psychological and emotional trauma suffered by people who fled for their lives. One of the social workers said, “Ang ibang mga bata, pag nakakakita ng mga naka-uniporme, tumatakbo na lang bigla at umiiyak.Yung iba namang bata na sangkot ang kanilang kapatid o tatay sa mga terorista, may itinanim ng galit sa mga sundalo at gobyerno”. They stated that without proper counseling interventions, the people's trauma and fear of ongoing violence might cause their communities to fall apart.
In one of the interviews we conducted, there was one family who lost their grandfather and uncle because they were attacked allegedly by MILF. A child crying asked his mother, “Mama, paano na tayo, wala na si lolo? Pinatay na siya.” I was trying to control my tears. At the back of my mind, I wanted to create a miracle or do magic so that there would be no more children suffering that kind of trauma. I said to myself, he was too young to experience war; he was too young to witness someone being shot to death. Imagine thousands of children suffering from that kind of life especially in Mindanao, where they are left with no choice but to face the reality of being displaced because of conflict, losing loved ones, not being able to go to school because of danger while some even at a young age have to hold arms to protect themselves.
I myself experienced war as young as seven years old – bomb explosions, no good shows to watch except news, I had to bring my gas mask always in case of a chemical explosion and our classes got disrupted because our school was turned into an evacuation center. I did not understand what was going on during those times, but I was fortunate enough that I had parents who helped me comprehend what was happening and made sure that my experiences did not break my spirit. And here I am now, working hard for peace and development in Mindanao. I just hope that in the same way that I had parents who guided me after experiencing war, a lot of people will realize the importance of trauma healing interventions and doing more projects for a better Mindanao especially for our youth and children.
In 2007 and early 2008, we had already begun doing healing activities in conflicted areas of Sulu and Basilan provinces, through our Kiddie Fun Day events as part of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process’ H.E.L.P. [Health Education Livelihood Programs] Caravans. Now, in Central Mindanao, as the threat of war is escalating, we - as an interfaith but secular organization - began partnering efforts with a Faith-Based NGO, Operation Blessing, Philippines that specializes in Emergency Relief. Our purpose is to conduct TRAUMA DEBRIEFING SEMINARS and COUNSELOR TRAINING WORKSHOPS for Christian and Muslim social workers and public officials.
We also traveled to refugee camps with our local college student volunteers to conduct a program which we call, A FUN DAY: BRINGING HOPE AND CHEERS TO COMMUNITIES. We could not have done this without the partnership of the Provincial Governments of Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Cotabato. The Fun Day activities for children and their families instill hope and promote peace awareness through music, arts, games and laughter. The fun activities trigger a healing antidote to anger, trauma and distrust.
The Seminar and Workshop
The Trauma Debriefing Seminar and Workshop was conducted in the Provincial Governor of Lanao del Sur's administrative compound. It was attended by a diverse cross-section of professional people from Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. Local government officials, Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council members, Muslim Ulama religious leaders, Youth and Women Group leaders, Social Workers, NGOs, Philippine military officers and Christian Faith Based groups all attended. The Operation Blessing (OB) Philippines developed a curriculum for healing traumatic stress through dialogue and sharing experiences. To everyone's surprise, religion and diverse culture was not a divisive factor. We all focused on our common humanity and addressed the suffering of the war victims.
The training was aimed to give proper orientation and to provide different professional sectors with knowledge and skills in trauma healing sessions through Self-Awareness --- emphasizing on Healing and Peace should come from within and that the most important attribute is to be a good listener.
They were educated in the psychological process of stress and trauma by professional counselors. Then, separated into group sessions to practice counseling and group discussions. After two days of training, all participants were encouraged to apply the techniques they learned in their own communities.
I was deeply touched during the training in the predominantly Muslim City of Marawi. A middle-aged female social worker repeatedly expressed negative comments like, "peace is never possible," and " groups like you cannot do anything about what's going on." She did not want the military to be present in the training. I became curious about her background and her negativity towards giving peace a chance.
Coming from Lanao del Sur, I was not afraid to ask local people who this woman was. Twenty years earlier, her husband had been killed by the military in fighting between the Moro National Liberation Front and government forces. For confidentiality, I will not mention her name but my conclusion was this: Her past still haunts her. She's among the many persons who never received proper counseling to help her overcome her traumatic experiences -- not to mention the extreme pain she suffered because of death of her loved ones.
I gained respect for her because despite her many critical statements, she never left nor walked out of the training. I was trying to empathize and continually observed her. As the sessions went on, her negativity slowly diminished. She freely participated and cooperated with the rest of the group. Throughout the latter sessions, she sat silently and listened intently, very different from how she was acting at the start of the training.
Most of the participants said that it was their first time to undergo training on post-traumatic stress or Trauma Healing. They all realized the importance of incorporating it in their Disaster Management programs. The debriefing workshops acted as an icebreaker among professionals from different sectors. This was especially important because of the negative notion by local people against the military combatants. The practice exercises paved the way for dialogue among different groups.
Compassion and Consistency are the Keys for Healing
On the last day of the training, participants discussed the next steps for instituting post-traumatic stress counseling in their own communities. Ms. Grace Alag, the speaker from Operation Blessing, Philippines, encouraged the participants to network and create a support network. This can help facilitate consistent and continually improved trauma counseling in communities afflicted by conflict. Everyone, Christian and Muslim, left the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol of Lanao del Sur with one goal in mind: To be instruments of Hope to facilitate healing in their communities.
I have been writing about the innocent lives being affected by the conflict in Mindanao. Until now, I still cry while writing articles about their sufferings. This is for several reasons: I could recall my own experience of war; I could remember seeing the centers where the displaced persons were brought to – where they rely on donations for food, children becoming sick because of no clean water, no proper nutrition, not enough medicines and poor living conditions, lack of blankets and plastic sheets to protect them from heat and rain; I could recall poor children who stopped going to school because of trauma; I could recall an old lady who asked from us more ‘lugaw’ for her to eat because she was so hungry; I could recall myself seeing a fresh dead body of a soldier who died in an encounter; and most of all, I have always wondered why not a lot of people outside Mindanao aware of this tragic situation that they are in?
I think if Media would help us bring the real message of Mindanao, our Clamor for Peace, then people will know what we need to help rebuild our lives and in giving hope to our communities.
This is my Call to Action to Every Filipino.
Let us all be instruments of Hope to facilitate the healing of wounds that have marked centuries of bloodshed. My people cannot do this alone; we have to work together. The problem of peace is the problem of every Filipino.
Like my parents who became my healers, let us all act like a loving family to these children in Mindanao.
Comment
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Comment by Jamju on July 21, 2009 at 1:22pm -
Finally! A right step towards the establishment of TRUE PEACE in Mindanao.
The HEALING must start by recognizing that the pain and the hurt is experienced and felt by both sides of the conflict. THAT, and a concerted effort from everyone in the community to give their share to start the process of healing as soon as possible.
Healing cannot start by cutting a baby in half when two mothers claim it to be theirs. Healing starts by realizing that both mothers could equally take care and nurture the baby that they both claim to love and cherish. Healing starts when we recognize that beyond all the labels, we all share a common humanity...and that we all deserve to live peacefully in the land of our birth.
Yes, Christians and Muslims must UNITE for the sake of Mindanao...and your work sure is one that other NGOs and Civic Organizations in the area must take heed.
Take the lead, Ms. Sumndad, and we will follow. Where do we sign up?
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Comment by Vincent on July 20, 2009 at 3:54pm -
MARAMI PONG SALAMAT SA PAGMAMAHAL NINYO SA ATING BANSA, MAHAL KONG KAPATID! MARAMI PONG SALAMAT SA PAGMAMAHAL NINYO SA MINDANAO, MAHAL KONG KAPATID! Christians and Muslims must be UNITED to HEAL OUR BELOVED MINDANAO. Please count on me, Madam!
Let us not be deceived by some politicians who are great "actors" and "actresses." They have been shouting that they love Mindanao, but MAY NAGAWA NA BA SILA? LALO LANG YATA SILANG YUMAYAMAN. (SILA LANG ANG YUMAYAMAN, BUT ANG MAJORITY OF THE MINDANAWONS AY NAGHIHIRAP AT NAGTIIS SA PAGHINTAY NA MATUPAD ANG KANILANG MGA PANGARAP).
I am inviting you, Kapatid, to join the social network LONG LIVE THE PHILIPPINES through http:\\patrioticpinoys.ning.com\. You may post your blogs there.
God bless you and your family more abundantly!
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Comment by tom on July 20, 2009 at 11:47am - Keep on keeping on Honey... you are doing great contribution for peace in Mindanao... SALAM...
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Comment by Carolina B. Balmaceda on July 19, 2009 at 9:39pm -
Assalamualaikum.
my heart bleeds, sister.
thank God for people like you, for
the strength of your commitment. shukran.
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