Muslim Christian dialogue

Last February 19, 2004, at around 7:00 o’clock in the morning, Racheal Ann L. Gujit was riding a pedicab on her way to school at Notre Dame of Asturias in Jolo, Sulu. While nearing the gate of the school, unidentified armed men suddenly blocked the pedicab and tried to snatch the girl.

Salip Iston Abubakar, the 40 year old pedicab driver, tried to hold on to the girl to protect her. That may have been the greatest mistake of his life. One of the kidnappers turned to him, instead, and shot him in the head. He died on the spot. The kidnappers, riding in a yellow Tamaraw, sped away carrying the girl.

On March 9, combined elements of the military, police and local officials rescued Racheal Ann from the hands of her captors. The girls survived. But Salip left a widow and 10 children, many of whom are still young.

Mutual help

This is the reason why I sometimes resent any presentation of the Mindanao Problem as a conflict between Christians and Muslims.

The truth is there are many stories of how Muslims and Christians tried to help one another. During World War II, the Christians in the poblacion of Pikit sought refuge in the interior of Liguasan Marsh, the site of frequent encounters between government troops and MILF forces, to escape Japanese atrocities.

In his writing, the late Judge Samuel Ferenal wrote,

“We make makeshift tent made of cogon grass then Muslims came to visit us, they are asking when will this conflict end. Sometimes they bring chicken and rice and give it to those who do not have food”. The Christians were the evacuees.

Instant home

In February last year, it’s the people in the interior of Liguasan Marsh that sought refuge in the poblacion. The parish became an instant home to hundreds of Muslim evacuees who fled the war in Buliok. The church took care of them. Many of them were teary-eyed when they were bidding the parish volunteers goodbye.

I also learned that some Muslim evacuees left some of their valued belongings to their Christian friends for safekeeping and later retrieved them back when they returned home to their places of origin.

The lives of Christians, Muslims and Lumads in Mindanao are interconnected. Whether they like it or not, this is the reality of Mindanao. Perhaps, only when the people begin to look at each other as real brothers and sisters can Mindanao know peace.

As for Salip Iston, it may not have been a mistake after all. A Muslim, he died to save the life of a Christian girl.<WM