A smile of hope

Daryl Dano

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A smile of hope
'Asked the reason for her beaming smile, she waves at the new hut made of pandan leaves that she shares with six others'

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – One hundred-year-old Badjao Sawira Biddin, otherwise known as “Babu” which translates to “grandmother” in Sinama language, sits contentlly outside her new seafront home. Asked for the reason of her beaming smile, she motions to the new hut made of pandan leaves that she shares with 6 others.

“Them,” pointing to her great-grandchildren tossing coins on “dry land,” now that it is low tide. “And them,” she said, referring to her neighbors who stop to buy cooking ingredients or to simply have a chat with her.

Babu was among the people displaced by the September 2013 Zamboanga City crisis, which was due to weeks of armed clashes between government forces and the rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Earlier this year, the Philippine government signed a final peace agreement called the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro – a peace deal that would create an autonomous political entity bigger than the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, concluding 17 years of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Babu and her family were among the first 49 families transferred to a new transitional site in Buggoc located in the north-central part of the city. The shelters were built specifically for Badjaos, whose lives, cultures, and traditions are closely tied to the sea. The Buggoc transitional site, built in respect and in accordance to the group’s traditions, is a realization of the community’s wishes.

Babu and some of the Badjaos who moved to Buggoc, as tradition dictates, sailed in vinta – traditional boats with sails of distinctive vertical bands and triangles of kaleidoscope colours – which represent the community’s rich culture and history.

The Philippines’ Department of Social Work and Development, together with its partners, is currently building 900 transitional shelters in Buggoc and Mampang alone. An additional 1,300 will be constructed to accommodate the remaining displaced families. Meanwhile, the National Housing Authority’s Zamboanga Road Map to Reconstruction and Recovery plans to build a total of 6,900 permanent shelters through June 2015.

The government recognizes the diverse cultural needs of the displaced (indigenous) peoples. An essential part of the resettlement process is a series of community consultations, which often lead to inter-faith and peacebuilding dialogues. The International Organization for Migration’s displacement tracking matrix shows that the displaced population includes 75% Tausug, 18% Sinama, 4% Bisaya/Cebuano, 2% Chavacano and 1% other ethno-linguistic groups, including Yakan, Subanen, Elanon, Maranao, Maguindanao.

BAYANIHAN. Residents help rebuild their community.

The biggest challenge faced by the government and its partners is the complex dynamics of identifying land for durable shelter solutions and land use rules relating to identified sites, not to mention the complex ethnic and cultural composition of Zamboanga.

But Babu is just happy to be in her new home and out of the sweltering heat in the recently closed evacuation site along the narrow stretch of shoreline known as Cawa-cawa, which hosted more than 1,000 families during the height of the displacement.

Adjacent to Cawa-cawa is the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex, the largest evacuation center in the city, where over 2,000 families, mostly Badjao and Tausug Muslim ethno-linguistic groups, have been housed for the last 12 months or since  the conflict erupted.

“It is good to be beside the sea and to have fresh air. I am happy it has been peaceful for a year now,” she said with a smile. “Panggi and fish also make Badjaos happy.”

Panggi is cassava, a staple food of the Badjaos, which they roll into small balls on the right hand, while holding fish – usually dried – on the other hand. For Badjaos, rice, the staple food of the Philippines, is reserved for special occasions or for dessert. They have no regular meals, as they eat whenever they are hungry or when there is food. Consequently, there is no equivalent word for breakfast, lunch or dinner in their language.

“Badjaos only take what the sea gives.”

– 100-year-old Sawira Biddin

Badjaos, a close-knit community whose lives revolve around the Sulu Sea, pride themselves as God-fearing individuals and guardians of the seas. Their search for answers to penetrating questions to life is by reading nature. They are also noted for their extraordinary free diving skills, enabling them to dive longer and see better underwater. It is said that some Badjaos intentionally rupture their eardrums at a young age for “ease” in diving and fishing.

“Badjaos only take what the sea gives,” Babu said.

“If the sea gives us this,” lifting her right palm, “we are grateful. But if the sea gives us this,” lifting her hand into a meter stretch, “we praise in thanks,” she said, laughing heartily.

HOME. Community interaction is important for the people after the Zamboanga crisis.

However, Babu’s community is slowly fading into cultural endangerment. As with many other groups in contact with dominant cultures, many of the Badjao’s oral literature and traditional ways are slowly being replaced with new beliefs and practices. The houseboat tradition is slowly vanishing into extinction as many Badjaos have moved into homes in nearby larger Sama settlements where they become more sedentary.

Nearby, a group of Badjao men work together to erect stilt foundations from mangrove remnants for a soon-to-be home of another Badjao family. The bayanihan, a Filipino tradition where neighbors help each other in fulfilling seemingly impossible tasks through the power of unity and cooperation, is dubbed as the “Buggoc Challenge,” a livelihood program to people affected by conflict. The challenge is a collaboration of various stakeholders from public and private sectors, as well as private individuals, in providing manual, moral and financial support for the construction of temporary shelters.

While pounding hammers continue to make discordant sound in the new neighborhood, the laughter of children wafted across the water from a docked fishing boat.

“The only thing I wish in my last few breath is peace,” Babu said with conviction, as she shifted her gaze from the men to me. “I’ve seen enough war to destroy lives. I can only hope the younger ones learn to take care of the sea and to talk to each other to resolve their differences.”

The road to recovery may be long and winding, but Zamboanga has hope. – Rappler.com

Daryl Dano has background in peace and development in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.


 

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