On one of the first days that we were in Mindanao, we traveled through the capital of Davao City, which still experienced alienation from the actual conflict that we were there to study. However, the second day in Davao we visited the Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM), which is one of a few organizations trying to combat that reality. They work with partner communities as part of a few key projects like Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding which provides updates of what is happening with the MILF and Bangsamoro, Gender and Rural Development, Small- and Large-scale mining awareness and advocacy, and a partnership with the Department of Education to empower teachers in the peace education mandate. Basically, they reported on all the major aspects of the conflict that we wanted to understand.
The thirteen of us sitting in the very small conference room at AFRIM in Davao City.
I remember very specifically that the woman we were speaking with said the biggest challenges they faced as a data collecting and publishing organization was in convincing the people of Davao to care about all the peace and development issues that so heavily plagued the central part of Mindanao. Later on in the meeting, another employee explained to us that the mining in the area were part of the transfer of coal companies from the US and Europe to Asia, in a Global north to south movement. After the West “learned” its environmental lessons, Asia was now just coming to the point where the same lessons would need to be learned.
I remember walking out of that meeting feeling so surprised to hear that these were the problems facing Mindanao, and in a larger sense, Southeast Asia. But then upon further thinking, this is exactly what we see so often here at the MIIS campus, where it’s a challenge to keep Salinas, just a short drive away, in the mentality of the student and faculty body. I’ve mentioned this question in past blogs, especially since our recent presentation, but how do we get people to care about the livelihood of others when other matters, no matter what they be, are more enticing? Who is going to listen to these stories or be able to take any action here from our end in the US if the people in Davao don’t listen or care?