Monthly Archives: February 2015

Ramblings on Religion and Conflict II: They Actually Believe This Stuff

Despite famous examples such as Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King, the idea that religion can be a force for the transformation of conflict and for peace is definitely out of fashion. Religion is blamed for all sorts of reprehensible behavior, but violence most especially. Easy enough critique to launch, really, since all the world’s religions contain irrational assertions, from impossible origin stories to absurd prohibitions that make little sense outside the contexts of their historical origins.  Fundamentalist interpretations of revered texts and traditions can freeze in place socially repressive culturally- contingent structures from the time and place they emerged from (especially where the roles of women are concerned, or most issues associated with sex) posited as ideals or divine law. Radical monotheism, I think, may have supported the emergence of modern totalitarianism; any kind of intellectual absolutism is potentially dehumanizing. But nowhere has the questioning and condemnation of religion become more common and more controversial than with political Islam or “Islamist” movements, especially those that do or have employed terrorist tactics.

Irrespective of local conflict context or actual demands, many critiques of Islam in Mindanao or elsewhere will assert that the armed violence or the terrorist tactics of any Muslim group is inextricably and causally linked to their religion and are inherent in the religion itself, never mind the research that demonstrates that many converts to Islamist movements typically lack strong religious backgrounds. Martyrdom, jihad, the promise of multiple virgins (inevitably this is the one I hear the most about from Islam’s western male progressive critics, who not infrequently have their own issues where women and sexual fantasy are concerned and don’t need divine cosmology for justification, their own egos suffice), all of these are regularly trotted out as explanation, followed by the marveling statement, “These guys really believe this stuff.” And maybe they really do. Maybe. But we’re talking about human beings. Human psychology. In my experience people do not always really believe what they profess to believe, consciously or unconsciously.

But even further, even when they actually do “really believe this stuff,” the link between belief and behavior is often tentative. Belief is typically the rationale given for the behavior, a critical structuring layer, but rarely the underlying motivation. Human beings are terrible hypocrites, we all are, and we are constantly doing things that are inconsistent with our stated belief systems and finding ways to adjust and reinterpret those systems to justify and explain the things we are actually doing. So even if religious justification is explicitly given as a primary reason for any range of behaviors, a simple causal one­-to­-one relationship analysis is less than inadequate and might actually be worse than meaningless­- fatally misleading. So in my view, a better source of analysis is to look deeply at why people in different contexts will be most compelled by different interpretations of a given creed, identity, or religion, why a violent interpretation will sound more “true” and will be “believed” to certain people at a given place and time.

Ramblings on Religion and Conflict I: It’s Not About Religion.

I’ve been thinking about religion and conflict a great deal since our return from Mindanao, where we were assured again and again that the conflict was not a religious conflict. And indeed I am convinced that is the case. And yet who was telling us this? Generally Catholics and Muslims, working through the mediums of their faiths as the basis for peacebuilding, more than one of whom told us they did not think they would be able to do the work they were doing without the support of their faith.

We finally asked our hosts at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in our debrief with them before leaving Mindanao, if indeed this conflict is not a religious conflict, why then do so many of the peacebuilding solutions emphasize or are based in religion? Unfortunately we asked this question near the end of our visit and our CRS host had little time to respond, but what he did say was that it was about bringing spirituality into the process. For some this statement was an instant clarification, but as I left the office I realized I had no idea what that actually meant.

Can we separate spirituality out from religion, in the context of an otherwise entrenched religious creed? And what actually is spirituality, in and of itself? Perhaps it is related to mysticism. But mysticism is often about dissolving identities and merging with God, (or in modern versions, “the Universe”) and the associated feelings of oneness, infinite love, ecstasy or occasionally a kind of corrosive delicious dread, as described by Rudolf Otto’s term “numinous.” Mysticism, which speaks more to the interior and individual experience and relationship to the divine, is also a vehicle of rebellion against traditional religious authorities, which may be why mystical schools have generally been regarded as heretical.

But I think what is generally meant by “spirituality,” while similar, is probably something less radical. Human beings seem to have an inbuilt need for transcendence, for systematizing and integrating and legitimizing our activities and experiences, to give them meaning. If “religion” acts as a profoundly powerful organizing system, which among other organizational functions, taps into that human hunger for the experience, construction and/or imposition of meaning (and determines the contexts and hierarchies that structure or “deploy” meaning), maybe referring to faith-based action as “spirituality” is an attempt to extract the transcendent, universal aspect from the more divisive socio-political organizational aspects of religion, a delocalization that emphasizes connection over division, and compassion over competition, the more harmonious propensities of our innate primate ethics (referring to the work of Frans de Waal) writ large, across “tribes.” I saw so many examples of this “spiritual” side of religion in Mindanao. Arguably, while the conflict itself is not caused by religion, religion- or spirituality- does seem to be playing a meaningful role in finding the best solutions for peace; at least one writer, Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S., has even referred to a theology of peace building in Mindanao.

Reverse culture traffic bumps

In the couple of weeks since coming back to the US, it’s been quite an adjustment back to my regular routine of classes, work, and my reflections have evolved dramatically from what I was thinking and was feeling while I was in the field.  Even the basic parts of my day, including my appetite, sleeping patterns, and ability to focus on my classwork, were a struggle to reclaim, lacking the intensity of our jam-packed days in Mindanao that kept me on my toes the entire time I was there. I’ve multiple times found myself walking in downtown Monterey or sitting at home, and I will lose myself thinking about a particular meeting or person I spoke with, to the point that I forget what I’m doing or where I’m going.  I think mentally I didn’t process everything that we had seen and heard in terms of the conflict, nor had I even processed all of the daily cultural differences between the Philippines and the US.

The first example that comes to mind is about the bananas. On a daily basis, I ate at least one or two bananas of various types—big, little, green, yellow, boiled, candied— and coming back to the US I’ve had a pretty strong aversion to the fruit that was previously one of my favorites.

Bananas for sale at a local market in a village outside Cagayan de Oro.

Bananas for sale at a local market in a village outside Cagayan de Oro.

Also, after spending two and a half straight weeks in 95°F weather sweating half my body weight, I came back to Monterey where the average temperature has wavered between 45°F and 60°F, and I spent the first two weeks here wearing at least two more layers than everybody else.  Lastly, in the Philippines, the terms “sir” and “ma’am” are used in almost epidemic quantities. On maybe my third or fourth day there, I started to pick up the convention in my attempts to be polite, and then I accidentally brought the habit home.  The word “sir” was no big deal, but I was definitely received with raised eyebrows upon calling a couple of women “ma’am” when I was clearly not trying to be facetious.

All of these are such small details but they overwhelmed me as I was trying to fit back into my life of classes, work and California. There are some parts I miss, others I don’t, but either way I certainly felt the impact of traveling halfway around the world and back in a matter of three weeks, and I’m feeling relieved in having passed through the transition phrase without too many bumps.

Evolution of Group Bonding

20150107_231302287_iOS[January 8, 2015]

Blog 4

Reflecting back to day one before takeoff, before the trip was even reality, the question in my mind was how the group was going to evolve throughout this course.  We all come from different backgrounds and we all have completely different personalities. The pre-departure meetings broke the ice quite a bit, but there were still so many unknowns not only within the group but within myself.

Landing in Mindanao the first night I was nervous, curious and excited. My nervousness was more because we had been on time with every flight except our last flight, which made us late for the first Mindanao group dinner. Upon our arrival at the hotel we were warmly greeted by Dr. Iyer, who had walked quite a ways to retrieve us and bring us back to the restaurant.  Once at the restaurant the initial feeling when walking into the room felt like the first day of kindergarten; not only the fear of not knowing if you’ll fit in, but even more having an awareness of how quickly that fear dissolves. The room already was filled with laughter and everyone was extremely gracious, even though they were all done with their meals.  It was the absolute best release sharing all of our stories of the challenges with flights, sleeping on benches and now laughing at swollen ankles. The best part of telling my stories was knowing that the discomfort was stuck in the past and I did not see the possibility of it reoccurring – our laughter soothed me.

We are now in day three of meetings and the group dynamics are continuously evolving.  This is our first day in the van and we will definitely be quickly getting to know one another.  Getting on the road early the next morning was definitely a challenge, but my excitement to see what else was out there overcame my exhaustion. I am beginning to understand what makes Mindanao’s land so desirable.   Meeting to meeting we hear about the resource rich land that sparked the struggle and conflicts; all are starting to make sense.

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So much to process from the first few days but for me we have gone from a research group to a research team. Every day the team adjusts a little and in part we are becoming more open with one another. In interview settings you can see our interconnection and focus that makes our research more efficient and meaningful.   At the end of each day we all have different ways of responding to what we have heard and seen. For me sometimes I just want to sit and be quiet and dwell on all that has happened.   Other times the most refreshing part is laughter.  The few minutes of escape to play twenty questions that turns into fifty-five or to just tell off-the-wall stories turns into therapy- not to erase or forget the issues and problems surrounding the local people,  but to release a little of my own tension.  Serious contemplation and laughter – both are necessary and it is nice to know that within this group we have a balance of both.

Good things come to those who wait

I am experiencing doubt about the topic I originally wanted to research, which is trauma healing. There is so much I want to know but more specifically I would like to know how Filipinos have worked through the psychological and emotional effects of violence, especially when there have been so many incidents of violent conflicts, battles and displacement of citizens. Strangely enough, I have not heard much about the topic with the exception of a couple of buzzwords like social healing, psychosocial healing etc. The times I have tired to inquire about the methods being used I get many of the same responses. One particular person the group visited and spoke with made mention to social healing and how to heal the “psychological wounds of war and conflict”. This person talked about the need to heal the heart and the mind before someone can find peace, but that basic needs must first be met before this process can happen. Sounds like common sense and the natural stages of healing but when I tried to solicit more information about specific practices, I was given a vague answer. It is still the beginning of the trip so I have to remain hopeful despite hearing so little on the matter.

Ask, listen, regroup, repeat. Reflections on research process and methodology

Written 1/12/15

“Process is as important as content,” Father Bert reminded us yesterday. To say that this fieldwork program is unique is to force extraction of the full meaning of the word – rare, distinct, specific, containing differentiated features from anything else, anywhere – from any other academic trip in any location. I want to write about our research process here because now is such an incredibly unique time to be experiencing and investigating peacebuilding in Mindanao.

Our research process quickly reached a rhythm within two or three days in the field. Professor Iyer initiates the visit with introductions, our interest and purpose in Mindanao: to investigate and understand the local approaches and challenges to peacebuilding in the context of the conflict in Mindanao. We are her fifth cohort – previously she has facilitated student fieldwork in Cambodia, Nepal, India, and Sierra Leone – to study peacebuilding, development, and conflict resolution in areas recovering from violent war. Our hosts – whether grassroots NGOs, development agencies, peacebuilding advocates, political or religious leaders – provide a general overview of their mission and activities, followed by an open forum for questions.

First meeting in Davao City

First meeting in Davao City

Meeting with NGO Coalition leaders

Meeting with NGO Coalition leaders

 

Father Bert

Father Bert

Having the space and private attention to ask our questions is truly a privilege. This feeling is encouraged by our generous and unfailing Filipino hospitality. We are served cold water, juice, coffee, fresh fruit, or snacks as our thoughts fly, questions stream along, and answers are passed around the room. Even under the discomfort of a tense question, people do their best to give us a satisfactory response. To the community organizers at the development coalition center, “What are your greatest challenges to gaining participation in your programs?” I ask. They reply that it is difficult. When there is a newly funded livelihood project promising an income and opportunity, people will come and attend the trainings. But regular attendance and participation can be costly, and the pressures of poverty do not allow some people to get involved.

 

Our first community meeting

First community visit in Tulunan

Discussing family life in the community

Discussing family life in the community

As the days go on, our radar becomes more attuned to nonverbal communication, to the power dynamics in the room and how the perspectives are incentivized and shaped by the political forces of development. Professor Iyer provides key insights into unwinding these complex connections. The group learning process is endlessly fascinating – with each passing hour, we absorb new details, our minds our changed, and new themes become our priority. As though we are under a waterfall of puzzle pieces, scrambling to collect and make sense of them together.

Decades of struggle and violence have plagued the lives of Mindanaoans on varying scales and intensities. At one time, the Indigenous People were the victims of war and oppression, in another, the Moros, the Christians or the settlers. There is the feeling that all have suffered in this conflict. Most acknowledge that “others” (those of different clans, ethnicities, or religious identities) have also suffered unnecessarily in the long conflict in Mindanao, and deserve a say in the peace process. Many times there is no clear line between who are the victims and who are the perpetrators.

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Now, the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law is on the horizon. Long arduous months of negotiation between the Philippine National Government and the MILF – along with intensive community advocacy, inter and intra-faith dialogue, and public consultations – is culminating this year. The culture and rhetoric of conflict and peacebuilding is built into the culture in a way that is potent and persistent. Implementation is unclear yet hopes are high.

We leave when it is time, with many, many thank yous and handshakes. We have been connected for this brief time with people and their communities by the hard work, communication and logistics of the contacts of Professor Iyer and Catholic Relief Services. We have shared and gained great insights from them, another session amid countless other discussions of conflict and peacebuilding that have taken place all over the country. Romanticism aside, I hope that our group’s interests and line of questioning have brought new perspectives to light, and that our meeting has awakened new ideas in our hosts as well. Ideally it has been a mutual learning experience. We leave with a promise to share this rich information with wider audiences within our own networks and through MIIS, to tell their story, confront misinformation, and widen support for their goals and lasting peace.

It amazes me how our learning is progressing with geography. Days from Davao, the perspective from each community meeting have painted a different picture of what is peacebuilding. This approach is the building blocks of our research methodology. At this point in fieldwork, listening and recording are the most important skills. Upon reaching our last urban destination in Central Mindanao, we are somewhat familiar with the key actors, desires, history and struggles of the central stakeholders in the conflict. Parenthetically, we are as knowledgeable as much as possible after merely 7 days in the field. Though by no means familiar, we feel acquainted with the complex roots of the conflict. But there are still so many more questions to ask.

Hi Fives and Smiles are a Universal Language

If there is one thing that is a universal sign of joy, it is the good will that is established by exchanging the high five with another person.  There is little ambiguity with ones intention when you smile, slap hands with another individual and celebrate the joy of being alive.  This, I am pleased to say, was a constant throughout our travels.  Be it in the most affluent areas, to the poorest regions of the country, a smile and a high five are welcome and legal tender currency.  The most fantastic high five story of the trip would be when we were on our way home and in Guangzhou China.  I was  really hungry for some food I could recognize and we happened upon a 7/11.  It was in that store as I was purchasing some chips and a soda when this local guy came up to me an asked me where I was from.  I told him I was from California and his face lit up.  He started singing, ” On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair”, I immediately recognized the song and joined in with “Warm smell of colitas, rising up from the air” and we sang!  Here we were two knuckleheads, standing together in the middle of the night singing the Eagles Hotel California, and I will never forget it.  The smile and high five we exchanged after singing that impromptu rendition in the 7/11 is something I will carry with me forever. Joy has a contagious effect..Screen shot 2015-03-31 at 9.52.53 PM   This picture is from the Bual School of Peace

The lack of Comfort in the Comfort Rooms

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Comfort Room

I would be remiss in my blogging duty, pun intended, if I did not speak about the personal adventures of traveling about Mindanao while dealing with diarrhea.  The first reality check came when I realized that rural areas of Mindanao are “non toilet paper” regions.  In fact, most are simply toilet commodes and a are usually lacking a seat, so squatting is not an option it is an absolute.  The floors are all wet and that is because dousing oneself with water from a plastic pail that is floating in a near by bucket is the common way one cleanses oneself after using the facilities.  But, this local cleansing remedy, I realized to my chagrin, was personally not going to be sufficient, due the volume and velocity of the diarrhea caused by my abrupt change in diet.  However, I learned very early to never go any where without a pack of handy wipes in my pocket.  This would serve to be a golden rule.  Second, never take your shoes off and go to the comfort room.  Trust me, did it once very early on, because the comfort room was inside a home, but regretted it with soggy socks the rest of the day which I had to toss in the trash.   Third piece of advice is to buy bottled water at every stop, hydration is a key component to happiness.

PAMAAS

 

This was an informative trip. On January 9 we traveled to Magpet, Cotobato where we met with a NGO group named after a sacred ritual of conciliation called PAMAAS. This is the group that is representing the indigenous peoples in the area of Mindanao as they struggle for dwindling areas and resources. The briefing given by representatives from PAMAAS was very moving. They spoke of the IPRA, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act passed in 1997 that provided legal recognition for the ancestral land rights of the indigenous people.   However, as well the measure was intended, they further mentioned its marginal effectiveness to help down at the individual farmer level. Traditional customs and rituals of land ownership are being still being challenged by outsiders in courts.  Also, there are still conflicts over the land boundaries and especially about the resources that lay within it. Looking at the slides and doing the math in my head in appeared that rarely do sacred homelands and indigenous peoples rights win out over modernity and the opportunity for businesses to turn a profit.

PAMAAS

PAMAAS

PAMAAS

PAMAAS

 

However, PAMAAS is giving a collective voice to the people at the municipal level. There is now mandatory representation by two indigenous people from the area at council levels of local governments and this is was not present in the years before.   Furthermore, the group promotes a uniquely relational approach to stopping the violence in the area. Respect is the key to dialogue as to a PAMAAS promotes a “3B” Binding, Bonding and Bridging approach to the combatants in the land conflict in the area. This was fascinating stuff

Beginning the Transition Back

Blog Entry #7

1/22/14

We’ve all dispersed to the four corners of Monterey (by way of very long flights spanning the globe), or at least we’re all currently in transit. I’ve stopped in Cebu for the night. Reverse culture is a problem, I would say, of the privileged and those that have the ability to leave and travel as easily as MIIS students do. Oddly enough, my culture shock began before I left the Philippines.

Cebu city is an entirely different world and although we’re an hour flight from Mindanao – of the handful of people I’ve spoken to while here, three are from Mindanao. Often times, when I get very excited to hear there from Mindanao – they’re confused as to why I went there in the first place. “Are you a journalist?” They ask. More often than not I’m vague in that response… students… interviews… community meetings…

Peace petals, a part of a school's peace education curriculum.

Peace petals, a part of a school’s peace education curriculum.

Sunset over Cotabato City

Sunset over Cotabato City

Most left Mindanao in the early 90s and haven’t been back in sometime and whenever I ask them more about their thoughts on the insecurity or the BBL, I don’t elicit much of a reaction. I wonder if its because I’m a foreigner asking prying questions or because even Mindanao transplants aren’t fully aware of the goings-on of the BBL and other Mindanao news. I have a small sample size, I will fully recognize that.

The man that drove me to the airport was my most favorite conversation and I found myself back into the groove of asking him open questions in order to understand more of his life. He’s originally from Cagayan de Oro so I told him that we were also there and visited a community in the hills, “Wow” he responded “Didn’t you feel unsafe? The NPA are in that community”. I didn’t know exactly what to say. I continued to ask him questions: he didn’t know much about the BBL, but his father was a news anchor in Cagayan and had received many threats from politicians and other groups over the year. He had been in Cebu since 1993, beforehand he even tried his luck auditioning in Manila to travel to Japan and be a magician and entertainer. I asked him how he learned magic and he say “oh, my friend taught me”.

These details seem stupid and I know I’m asking these questions, trying to uncover something elusive, because that’s the most we’ve all been in during the past two weeks. I also think I’m trying very hard to grasp on to my last interactions here. Trying to maintain a connection with the Philippines, to etch it into my brain before I fly very far away. I’ve been here almost a month, but the impact of this trip will extend very far into the future.

What do you think of Cebu? I asked. “It has a lot more opportunities” he replied, “tourism, call centers. If you stay in Mindanao you have a much simpler life. And that’s good if you want a simple life.” I said goodbye to him at the airport, thanked him for his stories and headed into security. Trying not to romanticize, I felt it was apt to have him be the last story I hear. It’s a midway point from those we met in Mindanao to the people we’ll speak with about the Mindanao situation, violence and peace-building challenges back in Monterey. Now, it’s on to my 24 hour flight.