Zamboanga siege survivors weave hope

MOVING FORWARD Three of Zamboanga City’s internally displaced persons (from left), Amdiya
Saddaran, Munay Aharajul and Sarah Minjan, weavemats and design jewelry boxes to demonstrate how they
cope with everyday life in an exhibition launch at RCBC Plaza in Makati City onWednesday. JOANBONDOC

Three years after the Zamboanga siege that happened on Sept. 9, 2013, some internally displaced persons (IDPs) are still struggling to rebuild their lives on a foundation of peace and hope.

On Wednesday, International Day of Peace, three IDPs from the Masepla transitory site in Mampang, Zamboanga City, demonstrated their skills in mat weaving in an exhibition at the Galleria Lobby of RCBC Plaza in Makati.

The three-day exhibit, “Zamboanga: Rebuilding Peace and Hope,” was initiated by the private organization Action Against Hunger Philippines and supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, European Union Humanitarian Aid, Global Affairs Canada and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

The event showed how the IDPs cope with everyday life through the creation of products such as mats, jewelry boxes, filers and laptop cases using pandan leaves, which is as much an exercise in creativity as an opportunity to earn an income. Photo and video exhibits, on the other hand, showed the training and assistance IDPs received like access to safe water, proper hygiene and sanitation and development of sustainable livelihood for a food-secure future.

Representatives from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Unicef and private sector attended the launch.

Living through weaving

It was the first time for three IDPs—Amdiya Saddaran, Munay Aharajul and Sarah Minjan—to visit Manila.

“The mats we sell in the Zamboanga city proper are usually used for Muslims’ pagduwa’a or special occasions with supplicatory prayers, weddings and floors of mosques,” Saddaran said in Filipino. “Weaving is what we really do as part of our livelihood.”

Saddaran, a 47-year-old widow, single-handedly raised her three children. Her family’s shelter in Buguk, Barangay Santa Catalina, was burned down when rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front faction led by Nur Misuari stormed Zamboanga and forced them to move to Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex or Grandstand.

“I also lost one grandchild to sickness when we were in the grandstand,” Saddaran said. “That incident still saddens me.”

Saddaran took odd jobs to move past grief, such as working for a sardine canning company or selling goods in a school canteen.

Learning the art

The oldest among the three IDPs, Aharajul, 61, is happy to note that her customers appreciate the quality of her mats.

“What I really want is to continue what I do so I can still somehow help my widowed daughter raise her children who are in grade school now,” Aharajul said in Tausug. “I also sell agar-agar (seaweed).”

Minjan, whose shelter was also destroyed during the siege, has learned the art of mat weaving—cleaning, boiling, drying and coloring pandan leaves.

“It is not a joke when you’re separated from your husband,” the 28-year-old IDP said in Filipino. “It is really my mother who helps me with my four children. I provide laundry services and I was once a security or ‘peacekeeper’ in Masepla transitory site.”

“I hope the other IDPs would be willing to learn more skills, too. They should not immediately say that they do not have skills. They really won’t learn if they have that mindset,” she said.

The camp manager of Masepla 1 and 2, Abner Mundoc, said honesty and transparency should always be present in the site.

“I tell the IDPs not to hesitate to show their skills so that we can develop them,” Mundoc said.

Inspired by patience

Javad Amoozegar, country director of the 16-year-old Action Against Hunger Philippines, said in a brief speech during the exhibition launch, “We may get inspired by the patience they put in weaving these colorful works of art and we may also be more motivated to continue our work for peace.”

Amoozegar also shared this story to the Inquirer from one of his recent visits to Masepla in Zamboanga: “I was asking about a certain baby and I found out that the mother died in giving birth. So I interviewed the grandmother who was taking care of the child. We were very saddened by that incident.”

Amoozegar said the aunt of the child, who was also a lactating mother, was the one who breast-fed the baby. Action Against Hunger, a global group founded in 1979, also advocates breast-feeding and nutrition for children.

“They were bringing the child to the day-care center. And they had a moment together with other mothers then they were able to share [child care advice] to one another,” Amoozegar said. “I was really impressed by the cooperation between them.”

Amoozegar also noted that although the Philippines’ gross domestic product has increased, the malnutrition rate has also gone up. “We have done lots of research about how to address malnutrition, especially on food choices in rural and urban areas.”

IDPs in Zamboanga, with the efforts of different organizations, keep on moving forward to this day. TVJ

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