20,000 fly kites in bid for peace, world record

KITES being flown in Tawi-Tawi, one of the provinces in ARMM. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

COTABATO CITY—At least 20,000 people, mostly children, flew kites in several autonomous areas on Tuesday hoping to break the world record for most kites flown that had been set in 2011 by Gaza, one of the world’s most violent places that held the kite-flying event in a vain search for lasting peace.

The kite-flying event on Tuesday, organized by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in a gesture of support for the peace pact between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was held simultaneously in the ARMM provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.

Jamal Kulayan, ARMM education secretary, said it was meant “to promote peace and harmony instead of violence and divisiveness.”

The Aquino administration wants to replace ARMM, which officials had described as a failed experiment in autonomy, with a new Bangsamoro entity outlined in its peace deal with MILF.

“Peace is coexistence,” said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who joined children in flying the kites.

He said the event was held to also beat the record for most kites flown currently being held by Gaza, a strip of land being contested by Israel and Palestine in the Middle East and where repeated efforts to bring peace had failed.

In a statement, the Dalai Lama lauded the ARMM for the kite-flying event.

Flying kites is a symbolic action for children not only in Gaza but in all other communities wracked by violence around the world, said Sarah Queblatin, a convener of the Kites for Peace. Allan Nawal and Charlie Señase, Inquirer Mindanao