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“Journey” is a key word in the vocabulary of Balay Mindanaw and Kaloy Manlupig. It is an apt title for this collection of peace building stories in Mindanao.
We can apply to peace building the aphorism that “success is not a destination, but a journey.” Especially in Mindanao, it is difficult to say when PEACE, in big capital letters, will finally be achieved through the grand highway of peace talks and peace agreements among the principal parties. But these inspiring stories of peace building tell us that there are many paths to peace, and more important, that there are more and more companions who are joining the journey.
It has been more than a decade since I first got to know Balay Mindanaw’s work. I was introduced to its “Trinitarian” vision of Kaangayan, Kalambuan, Kalinaw. Equity, Development, and Peace.
In fact, a double Trinitarian vision, since the second part is “Sa Mindanaw, sa Pilipinas, sa Kalibutan.”
Like most social activists of my generation, I could easily relate to the first two – equity (social justice) and development. Over the years I have continued to appreciate Balay Mindanaw’s pursuit of its vision, using what I consider our shared strategies – community organizing, grassroots leadership formation, alliance and advocacy – for agrarian reform, participatory local governance, community-based social enterprises, and sustainable agriculture.
These strategies and goals are part of a wholistic understanding of peace building. But the specific programs and methods for peace building took longer to take shape. Part of the reason is that the collective tradition of social movements in the Philippines does not offer as much to build on for peace, compared to the work for justice and development.
All the more reason to appreciate Balay Mindanaw’s work for Kalinaw. As I read the stories in Peace Journeys, I think back to two earlier collections of peace building stories – Soldiers for Peace and Lawig Kalinaw. In fact, I re-read them to deepen my perspective on the journey of Balay Mindanaw toward Kalinaw.
Understanding Peace as Part of a Trinity
When I thought of a gift for one of Balay Mindanaw’s anniversary, I painted three birds whose shapes and colors overlapped. Kaangayan had purple and red colors, since in my artist’s sensibility, justice is associated with struggle and sacrifice. Kalambuan had shades of green, reflecting our choice of “sustainable” as our vision of development. Shades of blue and white symbolized the colors of peace, Kalinaw.
It is easier to paint the Trinitarian relationship of justice, peace, and development than to explain it. And even more difficult to handle the different emotions they evoke.
Perhaps we can use an old formulation about the Trinity: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One is not the other, but all three are one.”
When I started as a social activist, my first involvement was on issues of justice, especially agrarian reform, and organizing small farmers to have a balance of power with the landlords and government. We tried to mobilize church people and students to support the farmers’ struggle.
If you asked us then about peace, we would have quoted a source I can’t remember any more – “Peace is the fruit of justice.”
After all those years, weighing the costs and benefits of the struggle for justice, we allow ourselves to listen to the question: “Can peace be a path to justice?” Do we have to achieve full justice before we can live in peace? Or should we not pursue peace in our struggle for justice?
In addition to analytical calculations about the prospects of peace and justice, we need to deal with the different, even conflicting emotions involved. Justice evokes what I call “righteous anger against injustice.” In the biblical tradition, it is linked to prophetic denunciations. Justice connotes partisanship, taking sides.
In contrast, peace evokes bridging divides, tolerance of differences, seeking common ground for reconciliation, including forgiveness that is not conditioned on a strict settling of accounts.
It’s so much easier to deal with issues of justice and peace separately, without trying to relate them to each other. But no matter how difficult, we must. And Balay Mindanaw has made this choice.
What about development and peace? In the papal encyclical Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI wrote that “development is the new name for peace.”
The relationship of peace and development seems easier to address, both conceptually and emotionally. For communities and families displaced by armed conflict and settled in temporary shelters, prospects for livelihoods and social services are fragile.
On the other hand, the message of the name PDC or “peace and development communities” is clear. The cessation of armed conflict is a necessary condition for creating space for sustainable development. But without sustainable development, peace will be difficult to sustain.
Successive Approximations
The peace building work of Balay Mindanaw is integrated into its Trinitarian vision of equity, development and peace. This makes it even more challenging. But in the long run, it makes it more effective and sustainable.
Beyond relating the conceptual and emotional, we also have to come to terms with the journey and the process. We have to relate the three to each other, not in their final perspective and destination. We have to find ways of relating the three in their different stages.
I want to offer the framework I find useful from my studies in philosophy, literally meaning the love of wisdom, the pursuit of wisdom. We do not hope to possess clearly and completely, once and for all, truth and wisdom. What we continue to pursue, in hope, is “successive approximations.” We get closer. We get clearer.
And also remember, the journey is not steady and straightforward. There are twists and turns, detours and setbacks.
But as these stories tell us, what matters is that we persevere, and discover different ways to move forward. And above all, recognize and appreciate the different companions and kindred spirits in our journey.
– Ed dela Torre