When we utter the word "peace", a multitude of ideas enters our mind as to what it means or represents. For some, it is having peace of mind, or having peace with oneself. For others, it is living harmoniously with fellows, or having a high level of mutual acceptance with them. For some, it is interpreted as the benevolent conduct of oneself while interacting with others in society, where restraint and patience and the appreciation of others' "uniqueness" in personality are of vital importance. And for others still, peace is the absence of conflict, whether within one's self or with others.

Particularly, in the present situation on the island of Mindanao, how its inhabitants perceive peace is in itself ambiguous a term at the least. To those who are not as of yet informed, Mindanao is inhabited by more than 14.5 million people. 2.6 million of whom are MORO and 1.4 million of whom are LUMAD. The rest are SETTLERS who belong to the majority from the Visayas and Luzon and, for some generations now, have made Mindanao their home. These three sectors of society have as of late been collectively called the TRI-PEOPLE of Mindanao. And these three sectors are now feeling the brunt of ignorance, conflict, and violence.

At present, what are evident in this resource-rich island are the cultures of poverty, illiteracy, ignorance (not education-related), conflict, and violence. But for now, let us deal with the cultures of ignorance, conflict and violence, since these issues are more urgent and more critical. For how could we find means to eat if, for all we know, we could get killed tomorrow in the hands of terrorists, vigilante groups, or maligned members of the Tri-People? For how could we peaceably go to school if, in an instant, our lives are threatened by misguided individuals who are, in a way, victims too of the harshness of the system which we live in? For how could we think of our stomachs, our pockets and our future if we are dead?

Conflict is a sustained disagreement between two or more parties having dissimilar points of view. Conflict arises from a difference in perception on how to look at things, because perception also differs from one sector to another. Conflict is PART OF NATURE and is HEALTHY, as long as it does not devolve into violence or acts of aggression. As an example of unhealthy conflict, the government is at war with our revolutionary brothers because they do not agree with ideology. Meanwhile, the government is also at war with our secessionist brothers because our secessionist brothers believe that their identity and existence as the Bangsa Moro people is threatened by some powerful groups within the government, as influenced by international entities which still wage crusades towards the extermination of Islam worldwide. As a whole, the Philippine society experiences so much conflict because of the structural loopholes found in the system of government which allow interest-groups and individuals with nefarious motives to rampantly thrive.

Conflict can also be found among the Tri-People of Mindanao. One point of contention is that the Settlers believe they are superior to the Moro and/or the Lumad because they are "civilized", they are more educated, they are Christians (Catholic), they wear trendy clothes, they live in the urban areas, they are more hygienic, etc. The Moro believe that they are superior to the Settlers and the Lumad because they also think they are more civilized, their system of education is superior, their religion (Islam) is perfect, they are more hygienic than what is commonly known, the sultanate system and having royal blood came from them, they are braver (as proof of their resistance to colonization), etc. The Lumad believe that they are superior because they too think that they are more civilized than their weakling lowland brothers, since they are more resistant to the "brainwashing" of eastern and western foreign influences, ways of life, and religions, they are more attuned to nature and are therefore the true stewards of this land, and they have preserved what is originally Filipino in their culture, tradition and practices and are, therefore, more representative of what a true Filipino is. From among these perceptions and centuries-old infighting influenced by foreign powers arose a culture of ignorance, where polarized conflicts like inter-tribal prejudices and religious animosity occur.

Who between the three perceptions is correct? If you happen to choose only one of the three, then you are ignorant. All three are correct and true. If you do not believe me, then I think it is time for you to learn more about the other two sectors and their ways of life. Open your eyes. Do not look from what your eyes can see alone, for it is based on your upbringing, the influences of your environment, and the people around you. Look also from the eyes of your brothers in the Tri-People and how they see the situation. Perception is illusory. For all we know, though both of us are looking at the same picture, you cannot see what I see and I cannot see what you see. Because others do things differently from us, we think that they are below us, that they should not be trusted, that they should even be punished. But what we do not realize is that what may be correct for us may be wrong for them and vice versa. It is very sad indeed to see that we hate the things that reflect what we truly are. Let us first have peace of mind, before we can properly share peace with others.

As conflict continues to occur through time, a small portion of the contending groups loose patience and become disgruntled or discouraged and begin to think wrongly that conflict cannot anymore be resolved through dialogue or negotiation and so start to use extreme measures of violence. That is how war and terrorism started. To site a real-life example of violence, let us talk about terrorism, not only in a local level, but also in a global scale. Terrorism is evil. It kills people, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim. Loved ones are lost unnecessarily; damage is done not only to property, but also to life. Disrespect for human dignity and in the religion of others and, most of all, the desecration of holy places is rampant. It is very traumatic. We definitely do not want terrorism. But terrorism is only one of the emanations or offshoots of conflict. Terrorism is not even the root cause. It is not even the issue.

Terrorism, like conflict, is part of nature. If you think that you can eradicate terrorism on the face of this earth by using force, you are wrong. Terrorism has been existing since the beginning of time. People like King Solomon, Julius Caesar; Alexander the Great, Kublai Khan, King Richard III and many other great leaders of the past have repeatedly stamped it out using brute force. But terrorism only reappears sooner than expected in a different form or shape. It becomes a very tiresome thing to do and we slowly begin to think that it is a hopeless case. And as we stamp terrorism out again and again, it shall revive itself again and again, as long as we choose to close our eyes, remain stubborn, and continue to ignore the root cause.

The Philippines has been battered and bruised for so many years that the people of this land, without knowing it, have unconsciously acquired a culture of violence in their search for that elusive peace. Whether they are government, revolutionary or secessionist, they have mistakenly assumed that peace can only be achieved by stamping out the opposition through brute force or through the barrel of a gun, or through bombs and lies. And without realizing it, the very people they were stamping out are their own brothers, for are we not of one color, one race, one blood, and one past. And because of their adversarial stance in getting peace by means of force, they seemed to have forgotten that the majority, or the innocent civilian masses, for which they are trying to provide peace, have for a long time been the very victims of their actions.

Terrorism, therefore, is just an END PRODUCT of conflict. Conflict is the issue, but it is NOT the root cause. IGNORANCE is one of the causes of conflict in Mindanao, but it is not the root cause of all conflict in the Philippines. The problem is STRUCTURAL in nature; the system by which we govern ourselves and are governed by the people we elect to office. That is the root cause. In spite of the riches endowed to us by Divine Providence through this soil, 13 of the 20 poorest provinces in the Philippines, and 70% of those below the poverty line, are found in Mindanao. But of course, how can the Tri-People have peace of mind, or even be at peace with their fellows if even the most basic needs could not be equitably distributed between Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The problem of today is not the problem of the youth because they did not start this. However, since the youth are the inheritors of the future, they would not want to inherit a land, a society and a nation that is in strife. But that is another story to be told in another article.

Peace among the Tri-People of Mindanao cannot be achieved through superiority of arms, but through the eradication of ignorance, through awareness, then acceptance, and then respect for others and for what they are. By doing so, we will have gained a fighting chance for a better future. Through this, we can combine our strengths and push for changes in the structure of our system, which eventually would specifically redound to the benefit of the Tri-People. So what if you are a Lumad, or a Moro, or a Settler? We are three people belonging to one race. Look around you. Do you see Americans? Do you see Arabs? Do you see Africans? Do you see Spaniards? Let us look at the time before Ferdinand Magellan, before Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, before Sharif Makhdum, before Sharif Abu-Bakr.

You are my brother. I give you my trust, because only then can you give me your trust too. I will promise to learn more about the ways of your people and respect them, and in return, promise me too that you will learn more about the ways of my people and respect them, so that neither one of us shall remain ignorant and shall be called ignorant. Because of the difference of our beliefs and practices, we should at least respect each other's views and practices in order to live in harmony. Let us have DIALOGUE. I know that you are different from me, but it is okay. I know that you are different from me but I like it, because your being different from me does not diminish me but is a source of my enrichment. I know that you are different from me but I love you.

We do not need to force our ways on other people, because they do not force their ways on us. Believe that sustainable peace can be achieved, whether in this city, on this island, or in this country. Believe that, to attain peace, the desire to have peace must come from the heart of each one of us, whether Settler, Moro, or Lumad. A culture of peace, not a culture of ignorance, not a culture of violence, should be embraced and advanced, not only among the youth but also by our elders in the different sectors of our society. So let us all have a common vision; that we will do everything in our power to establish a society where we are all free. Free from lies and deception, free from oppression and suppression, free from ignorance, regardless of race, creed, religion, heritage, and cultural beliefs, and most importantly, free to live in peace together as one people - the Tri-People of Mindanao. Bugtaw na Mindanaw.

Courtesy of BAGWIS, The official student publication of Mindanao State University-General Santos City, Vol XXVI, No.2