Story of a child
of war on stage
By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Posted: 6:01 AM (Manila Time) | Oct. 19, 2003
Inquirer News Service
Birth, death in Pikit
Bawat gabi, pagod na kami
Buhay ay laging balisa
Sa nararamdamang karahasan
Ng dambuhalang gyera
Nakatitig ang buwan sa aming maliit na bayan
Nagpaparamdam ng isang papalapit na digmaan ...
Hayaan nyo kaming makapagpahinga,
Makapagpahinga, makapagpahinga
Sa dambuhalang gyera makapagpahinga
Makapagpahinga, makapagpahinga
Dito sa aming maliit na bayan ...
Bawal magbukas ng eskwelahan at simbahan
Bawal magtanong, bawal magtanim, bawal umani't kumain.
Dambuhalang Gyera-----Salima
PIKIT, North Cotabato -- A child in a village in Pagalungan town, Maguindanao province once said that the deafening roars of bombs and gunfire had become music to his ears.
He, his family and all of their neighbors were displaced by the war that broke between government forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Inug-ug and other villages in Pagalungan and in Pikit town, North Cotabato province in February.
The centers that had become the evacuees' home for many months spoke of many stories of pains, anxieties, sufferings and death, like the loss of Salimura. There were also stories of joy, like the birth of Malib.
And there was Salima's, every child of war's story. At the age of 11, Salima witnessed and experienced the insanity of war. She also lost her father.
Her story, an authentic copy of every internally displaced person's life before, during, and after the war, was the subject of a musical production that was shown to evacuees in Pikit on Sept. 28.
Arnel Mardoquio, composer and librettist of the concert, explained how "Salima" originated. He said he bumped into a list of evacuees who had died in the center and saw a child's name, Salimura. Later, he said, he learned of a child named Malib who was born there.
"I fused their names and came up with Salima. Later, I learned that Salima in Maguindanaon means 'hands' and in Arabic, it means 'enlightenment,'" he said.
Inspiration
During the war, Mardoquio said, he went to Pagalungan and Pikit and lived with the evacuees. There, he said, he was inspired to write "Salima."
"Our stand is not that of the government or the rebel group, but that of the people. We can't control big forces. They just have to listen ... why bawal kumain, matulog, magbukas ng eskwelahan at simbahan, dahil sa gyera (it was forbidden to eat, sleep, open the school and church, because of the war)," he said.
Mardoquio said the concert expressed their stand, as artists, on the state-initiated war and its effects to many civilian families, like that of Salima.
"All of us want to be enlightened of what life would be for many Salimas after the war," he added.
"Salima" is a 16-song multimedia production performed by the Earth Music Foundation, Davao City's prominent theater art group.
Some of the songs were written by well-known artists Popong Landero and Gary Granada. One song, "Diwata," tells about the journey of the evacuees and how they invoked the guidance of the spirits in that journey away from their village.
Another song, "Yes, Sir!," describes how soldiers are left with no choice but to follow the command of their officers, and how they resent the war.
People's dreams
Other songs bring messages of peace, reconciliation, and dialogue, and tell about the people's dreams and aspirations.
Uztaj Abu Amin, 47, chairman of Suara Kalilintad in their village, said the performers clearly showed what the evacuees had gone through during the war.
"Nasariwa nila sa kanilang mga kanta ang mga nangyari sa amin. Parang pumutok ang puso namin kasi totoong totoo ang kanilang ipinakita hinggil sa amin (Their songs refreshed our memories of what happened. Our hearts nearly burst because what they depicted was the reality)," he said.
Fr. Roberto Layson, coordinator of the Pikit Parish Interreligious Dialogue, said the show was a good eye-opener for others who have been pro-war.
"It was a good means ... to elevate the level of consciousness of the people. It tells about the horrors of the war and it makes us realize that we better support peace than war," he said.
Granada, a multi-awarded singer and composer, put importance on getting people involved and drawing the attention of the government and the MILF.
"For them to give attention to the civilians who are helpless and have been victims of war. This is a war that was pretentiously waged in the name of the people and yet the real victims of this war are the people," Granada said.
Remaining evacuees
He said the problems that have been confronting the evacuees should be addressed as some of them have not yet returned to their homes.
"Let's be serious. Huwag nating paglaruan ang mga tao (Let's not play with people's lives). This war is a game of people with big political interests. As I can see it, this is just an orchestration of big groups, or forces," Granada pointed out.
Lindy Prieto, coordinator of the United Nations Multi-Donor Program Culture of Peace, said the "Salima" production was also a reminder that there were still evacuees in the centers.
Putti Malagidti, 11, who portrayed the role of Salima in the concert, asked both government and nongovernment organizations to help them go back to their communities as life in the evacuation centers was becoming more distressing and miserable for them.
"All we want now is to go home. My brother has long wanted to find a job, but not one employer will accept him because he is an evacuee. Please help us," Malagidti appealed.
Mardoquio, a Palanca awardee in the Bisayan short story category, said the evacuees just wanted to go home and live permanently in peace.
"The sooner we will stop this foolish intramural, the better for everybody," said Granada, who is also working for the NGO Community Resource Development Center.
"We are so used to speaking for them (evacuees) and hopefully, in our little ways, we can somehow communicate as close as possible, of the pains, burdens and sufferings of the victims of the war."
Mindanao Week of Peace
Granada said people often heard speeches in the name of national security, sovereignty and all other big things.
"Enough of big speeches. Let us instead listen to common place things like in the name of food, in the name of shelter, in the name of peaceful coexistence, in the name of education, in the name of health ... these are the names that we should be paying attention to because these are the truth," he said.
Salima will be a major feature in the Mindanao Week of Peace celebration on the last week of November and first week of December.
Prieto said the group would be performing around Mindanao, and the proceeds would be given to the evacuees.
She said the artists were also making a statement: that they want to be recognized and be in solidarity with the evacuees, especially since the production was a tribute to the evacuees.
"One way or another, this is also a gesture of welcoming the artists as stakeholders in this quest for peace," Prieto said.
