(Written Monday Jan 5, 2015)
Hello from the Philippines! I am blogging in flight from Manila to Davao – day five of travel. It was a long journey – more than 50 hours after leaving home in Oakland, one missed connection in LAX, a layover in Guangzhou, China – I arrived in Manila the morning of Sunday, Jan 4, 2015. The taxi ride from Ninoy Aquino International Airport into the heart of Manila was a hot, humid ride through the chaos of a true megacity. Under a bright white fog of pollution, we navigated through the bustling city activity, past transportation construction, cement apartments above open storefronts, weaving motorbikes and the famous brightly decorated jeepneys. Busy city activity flashed by and transformed into glitzy luxury hotels and landscaped avenues of Makati City, Manila’s financial district. The backpackers hostel most recommended on Hostelworld is called Our Melting Pot and located central to the commercial and entertainment district of Makati. At the hostel, Evyn and I ran into each other with perfect serendipitous timing, and soon headed out into the city for an afternoon of sight seeing. We visited Intramuros or Old Manila, the walled district of central Manila that, on this Sunday afternoon, housed quiet avenues of beautiful traditional colonial architecture and historical sites. We visited the famous Manila Cathedral-Basila, Casa de Manila, and Fort Santiago that included the museum and final resting place of the national revolutionary hero, doctor, poet, artist and icon Jose Rizal.
Intramuros
Churches were the main center of activity with wedding parties, ongoing mass, tourists, and worshippers congregating in the sacred spaces. The face of Pope Francis appeared on banners, portraits, and signs everywhere anticipating his arrival later this month. It was an excellent (although short) day to experience Manila.
Back in Makati, the contrast was stark and quite dramatic. The area is indeed the consumerist capital of Manila with the bright lights and activity of shopping malls, fast food restaurants and lavish public Christmas decorations. In addition to the jetlag, it was an almost dizzying experience; even more so knowing we would be departing for Mindanao in the morning.
Looking ahead: Within this research project on conflict and peacebuilding, I am focusing on environmental justice within the peacebuilding process, looking to learn more about land rights issues, mining, pollution, and the impact on labor rights, health, food security and cultural identity of the people of Mindanao. At this point I’m somewhat familiar with some of the the academic lenses on the conflict and peacebuilding process, however I am eager to learn more through the political, legal, civil society, gender, ethnic identity and religious lenses from the communities themselves. I feel like a vessel ready to be filled (i.e. overloaded) with new knowledge in this immersive experience.
At this point, I wonder about my own cultural references to what is peace, and the activities of peacebuilding after violence. What are my frames of reference for justice? Human rights? What models of peacebuilding and development am I already socialized into through my studies in international development? The United States’ model of peace, aid and “nation-building” is notoriously wrought with violence. What alternatives are there to be explored in confronting challenges to peacebuilding?