When
Dreams Die Young
Abdulsalam
Gunda, a five-year-old boy from a village in Maguindanao, had an entrepreneurial
spirit that made his parents, relatives and friends proud. He had a warm smile
ready even for strangers. Then on April 17, bullets shattered his fragile body.
By BAI
MALEIHA B. CANDAO
With his voice cracked in
fear and eyes flowing with tears, Abdulsalam Guinda pleaded for his life. He
begged his murderer to spare his life but to no avail. A few seconds after, his
fragile body was shattered by bullets, lying lifeless beside the road.
He was one of the
victims of the Barangay Baka massacre
on April 17, 2001. His mother, Bainot Gunda, was also killed by the coldblooded
criminal-politicians in Maguindanao whose military connections are helping them
get away with their crimes.
Young Dreams Killed
At five, Abdulsalam had
entrepreneurial spirit. He would wake up early in the morning to harvest papaya
and other fruits and display them at their makeshift nipa stall standing beside
the Isulan-Maguindanao Highway. Motorists frequently passed by to buy vegetables
and fruits from him.
One of Abdulsalam's constant
buyers who is a friend of mine told me that he was fond of the little boy's kind
and lively ways, whose description of Abdulsalam was the boy who "used to
race with his older brother to get the money from their buyers and
reciprocate them with a sincere smile."
Industry instilled into the
mind of a five-year-old like Abdulsalam depicted the kind of parental rearing he
had. Perhaps it was indeed a pride for Abdulsalam's mother to have had a son
like him. But Bainot is no longer physically around to share her motherly pride
for a son like Abdulsalam; she was declared dead on arrival at the Cotabato
Regional Medical Center on the day of the massacre.
My relative told me that he
used to advice Abdulsalam to study hard; he was at that time enrolled at
Barangay Baka Elementary School. The boy assured my kin that he would, as he had
the best dreams for himself and his family.
But his young dreams were
killed by politician-murderers.
One eyewitness told the New
Mindanao Kris that when Abdul and his brother heard gunfires on April 17,2001,
he told his brother to take cover. They were at the open lawn of an eyewitness's
house, as the victim was accustomed to waking up early to prepare for their
small business. Abdul and his brother were not hiding behind long grasses so it
was easy to see them. That was why
an eyewitness saw everything -- how Abdul pleaded for his life and how the
murderer savagely sprayed bullets on his fragile body.
I learned about the incident
few minutes after it occurred in Barangay Baka, Datu Odin Sinsuat town,
Maguindanao. At first I did not suspect that the little boy with great dreams
was one of the massacred victims. Then I opened the radio and
heard NDBC-dxMS report on the exact details of the incident. Suddenly I
felt my heart throbbed loudly when a boy of five was identified as one of the
victims killed on the spot.
My eyes got misty. A
motherly reaction. I suddenly thought of the boy's mother, then learned that she
was also killed by the perpetrators. I could not help my tears overflowing while
I felt deep sadness for the victims. It also reminded me of the fact that there
are monstrous politicians in Maguindanao who are coldblooded murderers and will
do all forms of inhuman crimes to wrest power.
However, I prayed hard that
the truth will come out. I waited
for the official report of the 6th Infantry Division to expose the real and
truthful account of the massacre. But
I was wrong. The report did not even include the truthful accounts of
eyewitnesses.
Unfortunately, the ANC and
an early morning television program, all of ABS-CBN, aired the news that it was
an ambush attempt on Andal Ampatuan and not a massacre. News reports in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer published the same context from their official source:
the 6th ID.
Some writers write with
bias. Even a detailed account on the testimonies of the victims was omitted on
purpose. Not one of the writers went out of their way to interview the
eyewitnesses. For them the 6th ID report was as good as the Bible. And yet they
professed balanced journalism. Frustrating!
Since the first day my
father assumed as elected governor of Maguindanao, he had never used guns and
goons to oppress civilians and his political contenders. As a peaceful leader,
he uses diplomacy and tact, not violence to outsmart nor exploit situations to
his advantage. Almighty Allah
separates the sinner from the faultless. By Allah's will, evildoers hurt
themselves but not the righteous.
A concrete example is the
recent Barangay Baka massacre.
The perpetrators wanted it
to look like a real ambush incident to put the blame on my father. However,
their myopia failed to consider the presence of eyewitnesses and the lifeless
bodies of innocent civilians. In their alleged 20-minute shootout, no one was
slain from the side of the ambushers who allegedly retreated to the swampy area
after 6th ID elements joined the firefight.
The military and the
politicians involved admitted that
there was a firefight but could not explain how the civilians got hit. Their
lame excuse was that those killed were caught in crossfire.
Eyewitnesses said that they
have not seen armed groups withdrawing to the marsh. Meaning, there was no armed
group in the area as alleged.
The people of Maguindanao
are not stupid. They know the track record of the politicians crying
ambush to stir publicity. They know how Gov. Candao performed as a
peacemaker. And most importantly, when the massacre happened, eyewitnesses were
at the very spot during the tragic incident happened. They could prove the
truth. But sadly, military authorities turned the other way to cover-up for the
perpetrators.
To this day, the painful
incident of April 17 at Barangay Baka still haunts me in my sleep. Could the
murderers still manage to sleep soundly at night? Where is their conscience?
Perhaps, I told myself,
killers like them have become calloused by their repeated criminalities.
Perhaps, they are already wont to the sight of blood and lifeless bodies before
their very eyes. No repentance. No remorse. It is simply a thirst for blood by a
beast.
Then it is understood that
they are godless people. Godless, for they have no respect for human and divine
laws. If indeed what they demonstrate is an
atheistic practice, then how can they govern the province of Maguindanao
when they see themselves over and above all forms of law?
How could they manage to
handle the inevitable intricacies of human nature when they do not believe in
arguments, beliefs and philosophies in conflict with their interest? When
differences of ideas and opinions are resolvable through the barrel of a
gun.
Let me remind you that the
murdered Abdulsama was apolitical but he died in the hands of politicians who
have no regard for human life. Murderers who find happiness by killing the
helpless and hapless.
And to those of you who
think that Abdulsalam's case is over because he is just a plain Muslim boy of a
poor family without influence to pursue justice, I am here as a community
publisher who will commit every page of my paper to expose the truth and help
bring the justice to the poor victims.
In fact, It is my personal
crusade. I will be watching closely all the moves of government
authorities on this case and expose the identities of officials who will
cover-up for the perpetrators.
Allahu Akbar!
Editor’s Note:
The author is the publisher and editor-in-chief of the New Mindanao Kris. In an
email to friends, she said:
“I am sending this
article to expose the real incident that happened on April 17, 2001. National
dailies published an ambush version of the incident based on the report of the
6th ID of the Philippine Army. But the real and truthful account of the incident
was omitted on purpose. The perpetrators are using their connection to hide the
truth. Perhaps some of you will suspect my motive to be political, since the
people behind the massacre are allied with the political contender of my father.
But please look at the issue with the need to bare the truth. If I keep silent
on this matter, then who will give justice to the innocent victims. Who will
dare come up with the truth? It is just incidental that I am the governor's
daughter. The truth is, I am a soft-hearted woman who happens to know the real
truth.
“For those who want to
know the truth, come to
Maguindanao and please ask the eyewitnesses. For if your rely on partisan
investigation agencies, you will only get the version that they want to reveal.
“There is also a sudden
change of the statement of the military convoy commander of the 37th IB who said
recently that they did not in fact see an exchange of gunfire between the
politicians group and their alleged
ambushers.
“This was a sudden
change from the previous statement in which the 6th ID stated categorically that
there was an ambush, and that the military convoy even exchanged gunfire with
the ambushers.
“I am
the only one exposing this. If you are afraid to help me, please just
send this to your friends so that the victims of injustice will not die in
vain.”