praying for my colleagues in the work of peacebuilding

i 'm so concerned about my fellow peacemakers who work with the christian peacemaker teams (i learned my peacebuilding skills from cpt) who have been kidnapped in iraq. they are:
:: tom fox, age 54, from clearbrook, virginia;
:: norman kember, age 74, from london, england;
:: james loney, 41, a community worker from toronto, canada; and,
:: harmeet singh sooden, 32, a canadian electrical engineer
from montreal.

please pray for their immediate release. for more information, go to the cpt site.

i joined a group of people who gathered together to pray for tom, norman, james, and harmeet. it was pretty emotional. many of them know james and harmeet personally. they are from different christian persuasions--catholic, protestant, conservative, liberal, modern, postmodern, etc. there were also some muslims and some who just want to be called spiritually-conscious people. i know most of them would not want to be categorized like this. i guess i'm just fascinated by the unity of the spirit i experienced in that prayer vigil.

our community at peace mennonite church prayed for these cpt members held in iraq. i was surprised to learn that james has an uncle and an aunt in our church. in fact, james' uncle and aunt has a son who is still serving with cpt in baghdad right now. no, this son is not part of those who were kidnapped. thank god! he is part of the group negotiating for the release of his four colleagues. now, i feel i am somehow connected with james loney.

a national leader of the mennonite church canada called his fellow church leaders to pray:
our lord, saviour and prince of peace,
who desires that all peoples experience justice, reconciliation and peace—
we confess that our country and our country's leaders
have not done as much as we might have
to avert the suffering of the people in iraq.
we pray for harmeet, james, norman and tom,
that you will sustain them and give them courage
as they have placed their faith in you;
that they may bear witness to christ's example of love for the enemy;
that in your mercy they may be delivered to freely serve your kingdom.
we pray for their captors that they will see the futility of violence.
we pray for the families and loved ones of the captives
that you will comfort them with your presence.
we pray for all iraqis who are being held captive,
that they may also be united with their loved ones.
amen.

today, wednesday, december 7th, we prayed this prayer simultaneously as a body called mennonite church canada.

various palestinian leaders—like the islamic resistance movement/hamas, palestine people's party, democratic front for the liberation of palestine, democratic union of palestine/fida, fatah, popular front for the liberation of palestine, palestinian liberation front, palestinian popular struggle front—have called for the release of harmeet, james, norman, and tom. the electronic intifada has reported that there has been a widely-supported rally in palestine to release the four cpt hostages. electronic iraq, the online voice of the iraqi anti-war movement, refers to these four cpt peaceworkers as their friends, and demands for their release. mahdi akef, the president of egypt islamic brotherhood (the world's oldest islamic movement) has condemned the kidnapping of these cpt-ers. a former guantanamo prisoner begged the kidnappers to release the hostages. cnn also reported that—

an inmate identified as osama bin laden's ambassador in europe pleaded from full sutton high security prison near york in britain for the group to let the hostages go. the message from abu qatada, jailed as a security threat since last august, was beamed to middle east satellite stations. the jordanian also has been described as bin laden's spiritual ambassador. "i urge you to release the four prisoners," qatada said. "this is a merciful act according to the principles respected by islam and allah."

i am amazed how the muslim leaders and communities around the world trust and support these men and what they represent—the peace of god.

why did gloria macapagal-arroyo go to the united states of america?

the philippine president visited the united states of america last september 09-18, 2005. the most prestigious reason was to chair the united nations security council's summit meeting.

i’m proud that a filipino president was given a chance to do this honorable job. her spokesman reported that, "for three days last week, president gloria macapagal arroyo showed to the world that she could hold her own among world leaders. the president chaired the recently-concluded united nations security council summit, achieving the distinction of becoming the first asian and first woman head of state to do so. the summit was held only for the third time in the u.n.’s 60 year history."

the other reasons for gloria's u.s. trip include bilateral meetings with china's hu jintao and malaysia's abdullah badawi and meetings with the international board of advisers, businessmen, investors, chambers of commerce, and the filipino community. i honestly believe that these meetings will have good impact on the welfare of the filipino people. for these reasons, i applaud the philippine president gloria macapagal-arroyo!

however, there is an embarrassing reason why president arroyo went to the united states—that is, to kowtow or to bow down before the current head of the global military empire, george w. bush.

two years ago, the bush administration promised the arroyo government an aid package that was to be released after malacanang complies with certain conditions set by washington. among other things, arroyo must remain to be a loyal ally of the united states and that the philippines must support u.s. foreign policies such as the war against iraq. president arroyo must have been convinced that her administration may have satisfied what washington expects. so now, she is claiming what has been promised her.

here are those promises:

1. counterterrorism equipment and training: $30 million in new grant aid for quipment and training of armed forces of the philippines targeted at capabilities for countering terrorist groups within philippines.
2. development assistance to conflict areas: $30 million in new bilateral development assistance for mindanao and support for the peace process with the milf, as appropriate.
3. establishment of combat engineering unit: $25 million in new grant assistance to train and equip a combat engineering unit and provide other military needs in the war on terror. the engineering unit will be able to do civic action and humanitarian projects in conflict zones.
4. u.s. military support to philippine counterterrorism operations: agreement to provide u.s. military support to armed forces of the philippines-led operations against the abu sayyaf group.
5. support to philippine military mobility: 20 uh-1h helicopters, as they become available and funding for refurbishment and transport is secured; an additional 10 uh-1h helicopters to be provided to ensure sufficient spare parts.
6. comprehensive security review: launching of a comprehensive review of philippine security needs and how the united states can best support philippine military modernization and reform.
7. u.s. defense goods and services: up to $10 million in presidential drawdown authority for equipment, spare parts and maintenance.
8. major non-nato ally status: commitment to designate the philippines a major non-nato ally (mnna) to allow u.s. and philippines to work together on military research and development and give philippines greater access to american defense equipment and supplies.
9. reciprocal presidential visit: acceptance by president bush of president arroyo's invitation to visit manila in october 2003.
10. remittance facilitation initiative: launching of an initiative to facilitate and reduce transaction fees on remittances from overseas filipinos, which could save filipino workers as much as an estimated $300 million annually.
11. generalized system of preferences benefits: agreement for tariff-free, gsp benefits to 8 specific products requested by the philippines.
12. veterans benefits: commitment to support legislation extending new benefits to veterans lawfully residing in the united states, including: full rate service connected disability compensation; eligibility for burial at national cemeteries and burial benefits for new scouts; full rate dependence and indemnity compensation (dic) to the survivors of new scouts, commonwealth army veterans and guerrillas; and comprehensive health care eligibility to commonwealth army veterans and new scouts. commitment to support reauthorization for the regional veterans affairs office in manila. $500,000 in medical equipment to the veterans memorial medical center in quezon city to improve medical care for filipino veterans in the philippines.

out of the twelve items in this list of goodies from america, only two will directly benefit the people—items number 10 and 11. the rest are about building a strong american military subsidiary in southeast asia using the philippines as a hub. this has been the historical dynamics of the relationship between the united states of america and the republic of the philippines for the past 100 years.

the power elite of the philippines—where gloria macapagal-arroyo belongs—will, no doubt, continue to maintain this empire-tributary relationship. this will strengthen her political clout among the political-economic elite in the philippines. meanwhile, the pentagon will have a stronger influence, if not control, of the armed forces of the philippines. the u.s. will continue to have dominance over the natural resources of the philippines and the american people will always support their government's militaristic policies because it protects their "great american dream". because of these dynamics in the history of rp-us relations (a chronic illness!), the common people in the philippines will continue to suffer. the efforts of the various civil society movements who are teaching our people to embrace a culture of peace will experience more hardships in peacebuilding. the philippine society will continue to have a gun-oriented sense of security, an aspect of the culture of violence effectively exported by america to the rest of the world. along with many impoverished people throughout the globe who are similarly exploited by the american empire, many filipinos will die through the barrel of the gun.

while i am proud that the philippine president was recognized in the open halls of the united nations, i am embarrassed that she kowtowed to the head of the american empire behind closed doors.

our "peace goats" are beginning to multiply!

ibrahim balono—my fellow worker in sultan kudarat, maguindanao—emailed me about our “peace goats” project:

good news! mr. & mrs. hassan’s female goat gave birth last week. 2 kids, male and female. also ustadz esmael abas’ goat gave birth but only single male kid. sooner or later other female entrusted goats will give birth.

this is sooo cool because the project seems to be working. you may be wondering what these “peace goats” are all about?

officially, it’s known as family livelihood partnership program. it is a livelihood development partnership between families in canada and rural families in sultan kudarat, maguindanao.

there are about 100,000 internally displaced people (idp) among muslim civilians in mindanao due to war between the government of the republic of the philippines and the moro islamic liberation front. many of them are temporarily settled around the municipality of sultan kudarat, province of maguindanao, philippines.

our team has identified several families who are ready to settle down and start a new life in a small, rented piece of land. for a one time investment of c$600 or c$50 a month for one year, a canadian family can sponsor one of these idp families start a livelihood project for themselves—like raising goats and other farm animals.

what we're up to with regards to this project:

1. family livelihood partnership (flp) intends to develop positive cross-cultural and economic relationships between families in canada and rural indigent families in sultan kudarat. the heart of the program is two-fold: (a) to help a canadian family enrich their lives cross-culturally by getting involved in the lives of the people in sultan kudarat, maguindanao; and, (b) to help an indigent family in sultan kudarat start a long-term livelihood project through micro-loans in kind.

2. it is very important to understand, right at the beginning, that it is not the purpose of flp to lend or give cash to participating families in sultan kudarat. all micro-loans will be delivered in kind (like goats, chickens, ducks, and other kinds of livelihood resources).

3. each family in sultan kudarat will be partnered with a sponsoring canadian family or individual.

4. the canadian partner is expected to:
:: commit to relate with an indigent family in mindanao through correspondence. a local maguindanaon field assistant will help facilitate the translation.
:: entrust c$600 or c$50 a month for one year to help an indigent family start their own livelihood project; 85% of this entrusted money will be directly used for a micro loan in kind while the 15% will be used for administration of the program.
:: explore the possibility of visiting their partner family in sultan kudarat, maguindanao, philippines.

5. the sultan kudarat partner is expected to:
:: commit to relate with a family in canada through correspondence. a local maguindanaon field assistant will help facilitate written communication.
:: manage the entrusted livelihood resources (elrs--like goats, chickens, ducks, and other kinds of livelihood resources) as the concrete expression of partnership and cross-cultural relationship with a canadian family.
:: pay back the entrusted livelihood resources in kind within 1 year. for example, those who will be entrusted with 50 chickens will have to return 50 chicks within 12 months.

6. the elrs will be monitored monthly by a local maguindanaon field assistant and reports will be submitted to the canadian partner and the sultan kudarat mayor’s office.

we're excited to see this humble project grow to impact the lives of many families who are seeking for a peaceful life in the midst of a war-torn country.

the u.s. “war on terror” in mindanao and our national sovereignty

my friend sent me a report from his recent peacebuilding mission trip. here are the highlights of his experience:

:: the armed forces of the philippines (afp) operations to flush out the abu sayyaf group (asg), begun in late july, have displaced 1500 people in the gindalungan area of maguindanao province in central mindanao. this displacement comes at a particularly unfortunate time when crops in the area are ripe and ready for harvest. a call was issued by the bantay ceasefire group to investigate the situation and assist with crop harvest as a show of solidarity with the people there. i have been on many bantay ceasefire missions which investigate how the 2001 signed agreement between the moro islamic liberation front (milf) and the government of the republic of the philippines (grp) is holding up. this mission was particularly challenging because it was going, not into an area where the principled milf was operating,
but where the outlaw asg is allegedly hiding. the asg is known for their kidnapping, beheading and terrorizing of local populations.

:: since the asg is on the u.s. terror list, it was not surprising that signs of an american military presence were also evident. a p-3 orion reconnaissance plane circled at about 20,000 feet all morning over this area. we found an abandon military bivouac encampment and discarded u.s. issued mre (meals ready to eat) packs. residents report seeing big foreign soldiers among the filipino troops giving rise to suspicions that direct u.s. military help is being given to this military operation. if u.s. troops are directly involved in this combat operation, then this would contravene the philippine constitution.

this u.s. “war on terror” seems to be terrorizing the people it intends to protect? i also wonder if the so-called “national sovereignty of the philippines” is real in these times when the americans impose their power on small nations like ours? or, are we merely an outpost of the united states empire in southeast asia?

through these questions, my position to resist the use of violence at all cost—as i seek to get involved in resolving conflicts—is strengthened.

praying in pain for my country and for the world

creator of all that exist, god of all nations, author of history, my intimate heavenly parent—i worship you for who you are, i thank you for this new day of hope, and i appreciate you for this privilege of talking to you.

today, my heart is bleeding for the political and economic crises happening in the philippines while the world’s most powerful men decided to respond very slowly to the urgent cry of the world for justice and for making poverty history.

at this very moment:
:: 30 thousand children will die of hunger and easily curable diseases just because we, the rest of the human family, do not really care enough;
:: around 50 people have been killed and 700 people injured in london, england for the cowardly act of terrorists who falsely claim that their violence is for and in behalf of the oppressed;
:: many politicians, many business people, and some military leaders who have selfish and evil motives are using the current instability of the corrupt gloria macapagal-arroyo’s administration to impose their vulture-like hunger for power and wealth;
:: a vast majority of the filipino people are suffering from hunger and injustice while the rich and the powerful are plundering the scarce resources of my beloved nation;
:: the imperialist attitude of the united states is still hovering over the philippine political dynamics, continuing to intervene in our internal affairs as a nation;
:: hundreds of thousands of thinking and conscientious filipinos feel unheard and powerless while doing the best they can in moving our people and our land towards progress, despite the overwhelming odds;
:: i am here in canada, feeling paralyzed by baggage that slows me down from doing what is urgent and important;
:: i do not want to wait any longer but i have to wait for your timing, my god and my master, so i can work effectively in advancing your rule of justice and peace.

here i am, helpless and powerless on my own. i open my whole being so you can feel me with hope, spiritual energy, heavenly wisdom, peaceful activism, and communal motivation, so we can respond to the challenges facing us.

amen.

political corruption, economic crisis, social instability, and hope

jephraim p. gundzik’s analysis of the philippine economy—published in asia times—is alarming:

by all accounts, the public sector debt burden of the philippines is unsustainable. the fiscal deficit, as measured by the all-inclusive public sector borrowing requirement (psbr), has averaged 5.7% of gross national product (gnp) over the last four years. during the same period, the average annual rate of real gnp growth has been a modest 4.6%. so economic growth has not been strong enough to offset the growth of psbr. as a result, the public sector debt stock has increased from 123% of gnp in 2001 to an estimated 143% of gnp at the end of 2004.

interest and principal payments on the public sector debt have increased from 39% of total national government expenditure in 2001 to 68% of total national government expenditure in 2004. the growing burden of public sector debt service has led to sharply lower public sector investment and severe cuts in social expenditure. contracting investment and social expenditure has weighed on economic growth, helping to push the debt stock higher.

the foreign debt of the public sector is equivalent to about 60% of the total public sector debt. about half this foreign debt is dollar-denominated, while the rest is primarily yen- and euro-denominated. the weakness of the peso against the dollar, yen and euro over the past several years has pushed both the foreign debt stock and foreign debt service payments higher. similarly, an increase in the annual average interest rate for 91-day philippine t-bills from 5.43% in 2002 to 7.34% in 2004 has increased the cost of domestic public sector debt service.

he presents a direct correlation between the philippines’ ailing economy and the allegedly-corrupt administration of gloria macapagal-arroyo:

this year, social instability has been attenuated by the arroyo government's fiscal policy and the continued rise of energy prices. at the same time, accusations of corruption leveled against arroyo's family members have become persistent. ironically, identical accusations of corruption, centered around jueteng (underground lottery) payoffs, brought down arroyo's predecessor joseph estrada.

finally, last year's charges of electoral fraud have come home to roost again. if president arroyo survives, which appears increasingly improbable, her ability to govern the philippines will be severely limited. the result will be further deterioration in public finances. if popular revolt drives the collapse of the arroyo government, as happened to ferdinand marcos in 1986 and joseph estrada in 2001, first aid for the philippines' public finances is by no means guaranteed. economic growth only accelerated modestly in 1987 and 2002.

gundzik mentioned about the possibility of default as an option:

more interestingly, arroyo's political opposition has toyed with the idea of default as a means to boost economic growth and social welfare. this idea has gained momentum in the philippines following argentina's successful debt restructuring that reduced that country's external debt burden by about 70% and boosted economic growth.

i wish i'm already back in mindanao with joji so we can contribute, even in our small ways, to the alleviation of poverty of my people. but this burden is beyond my human capabilities. i must go back to the ultimate reference point of my justice-advocacy and peace-activism.

god of all nations and of history, send us a spirit-anointed leader who would really serve you by seeking the salam of our people and our land in these times of crises. please give the filipino people wisdom to choose a leader whom you would use to really liberate us from our bondage to graft and corruption. i pray that you would liberate us from our addiction to deceive ourselves, to deceive others, and to destroy our land. i submit this longing of my heart to you in the name of isa al-masih, who entered our history, who suffered with us, and who overcame death—the ultimate corruption—to liberate us from our own corruption.

amen.

basilan island—i experienced god’s peace among the people there

remember basilan island? sometime between 2001 and 2002 you’ll recall that two american missionaries, martin and gracia burnham, were held captive here by their abu sayyaf kidnappers. except for some catholic priests, most western missionaries abandoned central and southwestern mindanao after the burnham kidnapping.

since ferdinand marcos’ martial law regime between 1972 and 1984, basilan has been a battle ground between the armed forces of the philippines and the moro national liberation front (mnlf) rebels. the armed conflict here continued when a breakaway group, the moro islamic liberation front (milf), continued their struggle for an independent islamic state. then there's the abu sayyaf group, made popular by the philippine and u.s. media. the local people in this island are puzzled why the abu sayyaf terrorist group was able to operate in basilan for years despite the large government military presence here.

the american “war against terrorism” further fueled the armed conflict here by supplying the philippine military with thousands of new m16 rifles. these american-made automatic weapons, however, mysteriously end up in the hands of powerful politicians and criminal elements. just two days ago, u.s. embassy charge d' affaires joseph mussomeli visited this island with his military escorts in full battle gear. mussomeli insisted that there are still terrorists in muslim mindanao, including basilan, and that the philippine government must remain vigilant (read—you need the presence of the u.s. military in this country).

well, there are many positive and pleasant news about basilan. i had the privilege of meeting teams of muslims and christians working together building peace in many communities in the island. they are full of joy! their sense of belonging extend from their own religious communities—muslims caring for christians and christians caring for muslims.

here in basilan, a local organization is literally transforming war trash into works of art! in his journal about the nagdilaab foundation, jon rudy writes: “the war trash project… is designed to provide healing for communities while providing some income from the refuse of war. by training youth in metallurgical skills while providing employment and marketing skills, this poorest of the philippine islands is given a chance for economic enhancement.”

i also met a military general who claims to seek peace for basilan by teaching his troops the culture of peace through his own example and influence. he expressed his righteous anger against some men in uniform who merely serve their own interests by serving as bodyguards of corrupt politicians: “i make sure that my men are not used by the politicians and powerful business people in protecting their illegal logging operations or smuggling.” in my initial impression, this man acts and behaves more like an ngo worker than a military general. but deep within me, i doubted the words of the general. is this part of military propaganda in this area?

i also talked to a corporal—he didn't know i was talking to his general an hour earlier—who proudly expressed that he does not drink nor gamble. this is so significant for his sense of being: “when i used to drink and gamble, i tend to use my authority for my self-interest. corruption, you know?” this soldier has a clear sense of mission: “i believe god somehow chose me to be a part of this battalion to help my superiors serve the basilan people… we do not like terrorists here… we do not like foreign military presence here… we just want to be peaceful here... this armalite? i do not wish to use it again except when we have to defend ourselves while we serve the people coming in and out of basilan.” his duty was to protect and to serve the passengers of the supercat ferry between zamboanga and basilan.

i think i have to adjust my perception about the words of the general. may god forgive my suspicious attitude.

there’s hope for peace in basilan! not through the militaristic approach of the philippine military and the u.s. armed forces. beyond the big guns of the military empire, god is at work in the hearts and minds of the people in basilan. since god is at work in basilan, perhaps it is appropriate for all those who claim to be working for god's kingdom, whether filipino or western christian workers, to go back to central and southwestern mindanao? your life insurance will be void here, for sure. it is time for us to evaluate our bases of peace and security in this world.
i’m going to visit basilan again, inshallah.