This year, 17 year old Rehoney, a Moslem girl from troubled Mindanao, was invited to share her experiences as a World Vision child peacebuilder at the CIVICUS World Assembly. Here she talks about the pressures of growing up in a community divided by generations of violence. As told to Diwa Aquino-Gacosta, World Vision Philippines communications.

Peace remains elusive in the land of my birth. I’m used to conflict, prejudices and biases.  I have lived it all through the 17 years of my life.

Being a Moslem in this predominantly Christian nation is not easy… it never has been, especially because Moslems are often regarded as sources of conflict, troubles and violence.

Mindanoan

The tensions in Mindanao have existed for so long and the Mindanaoan – Muslims, Christians and Lumads (indigenous people) – have been enduring these tensions with much apprehension.

I believe the problems in Mindanao are more than political, more than religious. I believe the core of the continuous conflict in Mindanao is the lack of effort of one another to understand each other. This comes from a long history of hatred and prejudice that has been passed from generation to generation. What make it even worse is the fighting - over land or for self-determination by Islamist separatist groups.

Land ownership has caused a huge gap between the Lumad, Muslims and Christians.  It is such a sensitive issue that any chance of misunderstanding would definitely cause another war in Mindanao. 

This gap has existed for so long. It’s passed from one generation to another and caused most of the attitudes and behaviour of Mindanaons today.

When there is also poverty, differences in faith and culture, lack of regard for the rights of children, a poor political system and lack of political will, the conditions of people, especially children, in Mindanao continue to worsen.

It also makes me feel sad when I hear that Christians from Luzon and Visayas also regard Muslims as a threat to national security. It’s not just Mindanao. 

Minority

I may not have experienced actual war happening.  The tensions I see may not be the same tensions my parents, and grandparents, witnessed during their time, which I believe were too painful to erase.  But every time a person judges me for what I am not… I feel pain. 

People in the community where I live have been putting labels on people. Muslims, Christians, Lumads… each has its own labels on each other. Sadly, children, like my self, often imitate what elders do, adopting and practicing the culture of bias and discrimination. We think that’s just the way it is.

I remember one day when I was in class, there had been a bombing incident in General Santos City.  The majority of my classmates were Christians.  While I believe that I have a fairly good relationship with my non-Muslim classmates, I still heard them say that the bombers were Muslims, unmindful that there are five Muslims, myself included, in our class.

Another incident of this culture of bias and prejudice against Muslims was when me and my friends went out to eat in a restaurant in the city. One of my friends jokingly predicted that the restaurant would be spared from bombing because “there is a Muslim around,” apparently referring to me.

Often, we are insensitive with our comments and ideas in relating to one another, thinking that it is normal… it is ok.

Now, I know better.

However different we seem to be, we all deserve to be respected and regarded for who we are. We do not have to fight or look down on each other just to prove that we are different.

Peacebuilder

The children in ADP Saranggani, both sponsored and not, have identified the culture of bias and discrimination as a barrier to peace. 

We know that we cannot solve the complex problems in Mindanao, but we know that we can do something to bridge relationships among ourselves.

I can say that the children in ADP Saranggani have really been helping with the peace process in our community, influencing not only children like ourselves but adults as well.

I was invited to speak on peacebuilding and children during the CIVICUS World Assembly last May. I talked about our initiatives, how we recognise our differences but respect them. We want to end the culture of bias and discrimination! We want to eliminate the wrong perceptions we have of one another.

Erasing the stains of biases and discrimination in our culture is not going to be easy. There are families who refuse to allow their children to join our activities. There are children who have adopted these attitudes so much that they won’t listen. Personally, we have to consciously balance our time spent with the activities in the ADP, our studies, and our obligation to our families.

But then, there are so many things to be thankful for. Promoting the culture of peace in our community has helped bring out the best in me and of the other children in our community. We have learned so many things about peace, love and respect of one another.

Peace does not come with age.  That is why we as children should not demand it, but instead work out what we can do help achieve it.

* * * * *

World Vision peacebuilding activities in Saranggani include:

• House to house visits to families of the youth and children so the families will understand the need why their children should be allowed to participate in community activities and let them understand the rights of their children
• Children’s Congress where children are able to look into their situation, identify issues affecting them and taking the responsibility for bringing them to the government 
• Peace Camps where children learn to interact and play with other children from different religious groups or tribes and allowing us to understand our differences that will help us build good relationships
• Theater and arts where we integrate the promotion of peace through creative arts such as acting, dancing, singing, writing poems, and painting

More about World Vision in the Philippines