by: Ancheden
Mindanao has a rich culture, various traditions and people. There are Muslims, Lumads and Christians living on the same island. Therefore, we are brothers; we take care and respect each other.
During the Media Dialogue Series last Friday on how to report Mindanao better, to resolve conflict in Mindanao we should stop labeling Muslims as terrorist or rebels or better yet we should stop treating them like Muslims and Christians are different. They are the same and brothers.
Inside the University, there are Muslim students but I do not find them harmful or what. A friend of mine has a Muslim friend and she told me that they are okay.
I admit that before I feared them thinking that they are capable of hurting other people. Most people often think of them as terrorists especially what happened last August when the MILF started killing innocent civilians because of the failed signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), the discrimination towards our Muslim brothers increased.
Not all Muslims are bad. Those who creates chaos are not Muslims. The word Muslim means someone who submits to the will of God or to Allah. Therefore, they are not into violence. Just like Christians, we believe in God yet some of us do bad things or against the will of God.
The Lumads or the Indigenous Tribe has lived in this Island even before the colonizers came. What happened right now is their population decreased compared before that they were many. It seems like they have been driven away from their own lands and homes.
It is just a matter of respecting their culture and tradition; for who they are. Furthermore, they are also human beings and they are Filipinos.
I hope the parents of every children would stop telling their sons and daughters that Muslims are bad people and they should be avoided because they are harmful. By doing this, the less we can resolve the conflict here in Mindanao.
You see, war is never a solution but peace talk is.
The peace process between the Government and the Muslim community should continue.
