Youngblood
All the same
By Manuel Jeffrey Ordaniel Sistoso
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:13:00 08/14/2008
Filed Under: Youth, Minority groups
Having been raised in a devout Catholic family, I had no idea how I would deal with Muslims. But the Young Leaders Program (YLP 2008) of the Australian Embassy and the National Defense College of the Philippines last June 17 to 24 gave me a unique opportunity to know and establish friendships with young Muslims as well as visit Mindanao for the first time.
YLP 2008 was a national gathering of 30 young leaders, Christian, Muslim and Indigenous People. I was lucky to have been chosen as one of the participants in the program this year.
My adventure started when the organizers emailed to me the names of the other participants, including their brief resumés—where they’re from, their religion, affiliations, ethnicity and contact details. Twelve were Muslims.
In the same email, we were given the names of our roommates during the first leg of the program which was being held in Quezon City. My Mom was terribly worried when she found out that I would be sharing a room with a Muslim. But I couldn’t really blame her for feeling that way for to most people in our hometown, Islam and Muslims have become associated—unfairly, I have to say—with violence, terrorism and the selling of pirated DVDs. When I heard my Mom’s reaction, I knew I was going out on a mission.
On June 17, the program officially started at a posh hotel in the Ortigas business district in Mandaluyong City. The first among the 30 participants to approach me was Abul, a young Muslim leader from the southern city of Marawi. He was friendly, jolly, witty and talkative. We hit it off very well from our first conversation that morning. And right off I realized that religion is no barrier to friendship. Indeed, we never even talked about religious labels in our first conversation or even later ones.
At the opening ceremony, we introduced ourselves to each other and tried to get to know as much as we could about the other participants. That exercise was a good example of how Muslims and Christians could begin to understand each other and establish lasting friendships.
There I met Chuy, who was going to be my roommate. He is the president of the Student Government of the Mindanao State University in Marawi. He has a thin mustache, but he does not look like someone mothers should be hysterical about. Actually, he looks better than many college students in Manila and he can sing really well. Like any student leader, he resists tuition increases, wants to put a stop to campus crimes and seeks to raise the level of student politics.
One after the other I also got to know Rock, the MSU student regent; Matz, a volunteer of the Manila-based human rights agency Balay; Sham, the mayor of Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao; Almoney Abubacar, president of the Lanao Youth Consultancy; Naomeh a Bantay Ceasefire volunteer; Chix Lao, an alumna of MSU; Huzzein, a government employee; Camal, who is connected with the MSU Center for Islamic Studies; Doy, who is with the Panday Kalinaw Peace Builder; and Zaid, a young teacher. All of them are idealistic young Filipino leaders in the south. All of them are Muslims, and I feel honored to call them my friends.
We spent the first four days of our program in Metro Manila. During that time, we had discussions on national security and the peace process in Southern Philippines, the indigenous peoples’ rights, the economy, the educational system and youth empowerment. It struck me that we were actually talking about the future of the Philippines.
During breaks, we talked about anything under the sun. We exchanged ideas on many subjects, some as complex as peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberations, others as simple as the best nightspots where we could have fun together.
When we went to Mindanao, the first place we visited was the headquarters of the Fourth Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in Cagayan de Oro City. Then we proceeded to Marawi where we spent four days talking about such things as interfaith dialogue and the contributions of the Philippines to the global economy and world peace. We also had workshops on how to enhance national security.
All of us, but especially those who came from Manila, were impressed by the beauty and the wonders of Marawi, which is billed as the Islamic capital of the country. The city faces the majestic Lake Lanao, the deepest in the archipelago. It seemed like the perfect venue for us to talk about the future of Mindanao and think about what we could contribute to nation-building. Our last session was highlighted by expressions of commitment to the nation and to peace as young leaders through the presentation of our respective projects.
On our last night together, we all agreed that we did not want the program to come to a close. I myself had come to love the Muslims and Mindanao.
Everything was like a dream. For eight days, we were laughing, thinking, expressing and committing together, regardless of where we came from and our religion.
We were impressed by the different resource speakers and their ideas. We were enlightened about the realities of the conflicts in Mindanao. We appreciated each other’s unique characteristics and our diversity. We made a commitment to build a great Philippines together.
To a certain extent, I believe I have fulfilled my mission. Through the program, I learned that all human beings are the same at the core, regardless of their different cultures, religions and upbringing. I have also learned that the key to peace and friendship is mutual respect and open-mindedness. And I know that whether Christian and Muslim, the similarities among Filipinos far outnumber our differences.
Manuel Jeffrey Ordaniel Sistoso, 20, has a bachelor’s degree in communications. He is now in South Korea as an exchange student.
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