Mamasapano woman

IDID not reach the now infamous bridge of Mamasapano. Not that I intended to, but on television and newspapers, it looked somewhat dejected and pitiful. Did anyone see the message in those wooden stilts used by the community to carry themselves and their belongings across the quiet and still Pulangi river? Or did anyone care at all to look closely at the makeshift structure that was probably built by the residents themselves after they were ignored by their government?

But I did reach the core of Mamasapano. It lies in the hearts of the town's mothers who continue to languish in utter hardships, especially after they were driven away from their abode because of the bungled police operation that claimed so many lives, including several members of the Mamasapano community, the operatives and members of the armed groups in the area. In a "Listening Mission" of an all-women team organized by some members of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) led by Mindanao Peace Weavers (MPW) and supported by Oxfam, the mothers of Mamasapano had another chance to speak their hearts out.

"This will be the last interview that I would grant," declared Warda Dagadas, 32, a mother of one. She lamented that media people interviewed them no end but they have not heard about these being aired on television or on the radio. She said she had told her story over and over but it seemed she was just wasting her time and effort.

Dagadas's family lived in the vicinity of the clash site where several people were felled by bullets: 44 Special Action Force (SAF) operatives, 18 from the side of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and several civilians per unconfirmed reports. This includes five young men who were "massacred," as the women described it, by SAF operatives who chanced upon them resting in a mosque in the community.

She identified the dead as Omar Dagadas, Ali Esmael, Munib Kasim, a certain Rasul, and another one whose name she momentarily forgot. They said the blood of these young people were splattered on the ground at the mosque and have been left there untouched long after the bodies were buried, following Muslim's burial practices of immediately burying the dead.

Dagadas said she could not understand why they are being blamed for what had happened when they were actually the ones affected, having been displaced from their abode and afraid of what might happen to them now. The family is now staying in a relative's house at the center of Mamasapano together with another family. They have decided not to go back yet to their blood-drenched community.

Her story echoed that of the other women and mothers in her community who are living a life of uncertainty that is not of their own making, yet they could not do anything about it.

Warda would like to tell the government and the Filipino people that they want to be left in peace, and that it can only be done if normalcy is restored and the peace process is pursued like it should and not stalled by war-mongering politicians and other interest groups.-- From Sun.Star Davao