We had been navigating the highway out of Marawi City, passing by fertile fields for almost a couple of hours, when we turned onto a narrow road leading to a small town. An eerie silence reigned over our group as our van rolled to a stop in front of a mosque riddled with bullets. "We’re almost here," I heard someone exclaim. I looked out the window and immediately saw a group of teachers amiably welcoming us.
Teaching Peace in Butig | #ForMindanao
They quickly let us inside the grounds of the public school, where I instantly noticed an unnerving juxtaposing reality. Near the gates sat a block of newly built classrooms, while on the other end stood a couple of roofless classrooms pierced heavily by rifle bullets.
A hundred meters away, an open field led my sight to a gymnasium where dozens of schoolchildren were participating in a poster-making competition centered on the theme of "Peace," seemingly unmindful of the remnants of war right inside their school.
After suffering the effects of the five-month-long Marawi Siege—which resulted in mass human displacement and the tragic loss of lives and properties—the word "peace" now centers on everyone’s desires. Despite being situated more than fifty kilometers away from the main battleground, the town of Butig in Lanao Del Sur wasn’t shielded from the fighting.
It was here where the Armed Forces of the Philippines hunted down the remaining members of the dreaded Maute Group. The ensuing pockets of battles left a wound in the town so deeply punctured that it will take the entire community to cure it.
The Old Narrative of Butig
The town of Butig, Lanao Del Sur, was infamously feared because it was once the stronghold of the Maute-ISIS group. It was also here where the local terror group indoctrinated and recruited youths into extremism.
During the all-out war against the MILF in 2001, Butig was also the site of one of the fiercest battles fought between the government and the MILF. A few kilometers from the school was where a former camp of the MILF was located. It was the most heavily bombed target next to Camp Abubakar.
"From our houses atop the surrounding hill, we could see the battle raging between the army and the MILF," one of the current school teachers narrated to us. "It was at that former camp where the Maute trained and brainwashed youths into extremism," she added.
Enter #ForMindanao’s SPELL Peace Program
The SPELL Peace program, which stands for "Strengthen, Promote, and Encourage Love and Loyalty for Peace in Butig," is an initiative of #ForMindanao funded by the US Embassy and Naawan HELPS Communities.
"The SPELL Peace Project addresses this decade-long issue with the hope of strengthening peace education in a war-torn community. The project consists of a series of activities that encourage community participation to become active agents of peace. A total of two hundred twenty PTA representatives from twenty-two schools in Butig shall be trained in a seminar-workshop on peace education. Local government units, education, and public security sectors are partnered to ensure a swift-moving activity," explained John Badawi, Grants Manager of ForMindanao.
Promoting and Teaching Peace in Butig Today
Today, Butig is an active community partner of ForMindanao. The first batch, comprising more than twenty PTA members, successfully completed the modules to become certified peace educators. They now play a vital role in ensuring that the corruption of the youth into extremism shall NEVER happen again.
Envisioning to shed the town's notoriety, these educators hope to mold students into making Butig the hometown of future innovators, physicians, social entrepreneurs, and leaders. Because in peacetime development and community empowerment, anything is possible.
"Challenges do not stop us from carrying out the project and bringing hope to the place. I believe that by promoting love and loyalty for peace among parents and students in Butig, by capacitating them and uniting them to work for peace, we will contribute to developing a better Mindanao," said Johailah Balt, Project Head of SPELL Peace in Butig.
In the past, the town of Butig was described in a myriad of grim ways: "hometown of the Maute brothers," "birthplace of modern-day extremism," and "a very dangerous place." Fortunately, these storylines are now in the rearview mirror.
Today, the entire community looks into the future with visions of a lasting peace. By guiding the younger generation toward the rightful path, the wounds of the past will soon be forgotten and shall be replaced with achieved dreams of a harmonious existence.
This article first appeared on the front page of the September 23, 2018 issue of The Daily Tribune.
