Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts

Issue No. 32                       September 23-29,  2001                    Quezon City, Philippines

The women of Basilan*:
Silent courage

If newspapers are to be believed, almost all Basileños are armalite-wielding bearded terrorists. Basilan, thanks to the Abu Sayyaf, has become synonymous to terrorism. But beyond the screaming headlines are the heart-rending stories of real men and women whose lives have been turned upside down by both the Abu Sayyaf bandits and military. Especially absorbing are the stories of Muslim women who have been toughened by poverty and strengthened by their staunch faith in Allah. Bulatlat.com profiles four Basilan women whose silent courage help them and their families survive.

BY ROWENA CARRANZA
Bulatlat.com

Nurhidaya Hasan, from Christian nun to Muslim wife

Nur, as other human rights workers in Mindanao call her, was not born in Basilan or any part of Mindanao. She was in fact a former Assumption nun, born in Laguna and raised in Manila. In 1983, she went to Davao with other nuns to dare start a formation that would be more responsive to the current situation. Nur left seven years later, frustrated by the unwillingness of the bishop to recognize their group.

In 1990, just a few months after she gave up her vocation, she was at the Lung Center accompanying her father who had a stroke when she met Hadji Villamin Hasan or Hadji Vin. Hadji Vin convinced Nur not only to marry him but to accept as well his faith. Nur thus left everything behind, even her religion, to live not just anywhere in Basilan but in Tapiantana, its remotest barangay. To get there from Zamboanga, one has to get a one-and-a-half-hour boat ride to Isabela, the Basilan capital, travel for almost three hours by jeep or dump truck over dirt roads to Sumisip town and then get another boat ride to Tapiantana islands.

This arduous journey is almost symbolic of Nur's conversion from Christian nun to Muslim wife. Her quick defense of the Muslim traditions and warm description of her family life illustrate the completeness of her transformation.

Nur and Vin now have two children. Nur works with the Zamboanga-based Moro Human Rights Center and is a quiet voice of strength beside her more high-profile husband. She is also now addressed as Hadji Nur, having completed her pilgrimage to Mecca a few years ago.

"Ngayon kinuha nila ang kaldero mo, okay lang sa iyo dahil iniisip mo may kawali ka pa. Sa susunod kukunin naman ang kawali mo, okay pa rin dahil may kalan ka pa. Pag sumunod kinuha ang kalan mo, at pagkatapos ang anak, ang asawa mo, ano na ang gagawin mo? (They stole your pot but you believe it’s okay because you still have your pan. Next time they will take away your pan and it will still be alright for you because you still have your stove. But what if next time, they take away your stove, then your child, your husband. What will you do then?)" This was the former nun's quiet question to evacuees of Sitio Irreley, Sumisip town when they initially refused to talk to human rights workers who visited their evacuation site.

"Hindi pwede ang ganito na nabubuhay sa takot ang mga tao (The people must not live in fear)," said Nur later, crying softly for the land and people she has embraced as her own.

Hilda Dano Mallaji, widowed by military violence

At ten o'clock in the morning of Sept. 7, Hilda's husband Ibno bade her goodbye for the last time. He told her he would feed the carabao, and then go to the mosque to pray. The next time she saw him, it was at three p.m. He was being carried by their barriomates, his body burned beyond recognition.

Ibno, Hilda and their two children were residents of Sitio Irreley, Brgy. Guiong, Sumisip town but were temporarily staying in Upper Guiong after all the Irreley residents were ordered to evacuate the area in August. Ibno had stopped by the store before proceeding to the mosque when ten members of the paramilitary Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and almost a hundred Marine soldiers descended on their village.

The soldiers took him with them after a photo of an armed rebel was allegedly found in his wallet when he was frisked by a CAFGU. Hilda later vehemently denied this. Where would Ibno, a poor coconut farmer, get any photo? she asked. Besides, she herself put some money in his wallet before he left and there was no picture inside.

Witnesses testified that Ibno was dragged into an abandoned house, which was partially burned when CAFGUs set it on fire during an earlier operation. Accused of being a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), he was tied against a large stone and hit repeatedly in the head and torso by the soldiers with their rifles. Before they finished, they nailed large bamboo shafts on each of his thighs and hacked his shoulder with a bolo. Then he was reportedly made to lie down facing east and shot dead in the middle of his forehead. They then placed coconut husks and leaves over his body and set him on fire.

The entire village heard the shot at around 1:00 p.m.  "Nang kinuha ang bangkay, di na mahawakan," said Hilda in Yakan. "Wala na ang mga kamay, paa at ibang mga parte niya -- ilong, mata, tenga. Hindi na mahawakan, sumasama na ang laman. (It was difficult to handle the body. He no longer had arms, legs and other parts, like nose, eyes and ears. His flesh came off when touched.)"

Before the interview started, Hilda kept wiping her eyes, willing the tears to stop falling. When she did start to speak, her voice was clear, there were fewer tears, almost as if the person whose violent death she was describing was not her husband's.

Hilda is only 20 years old. Her younger son is barely two years old while the older one is around five. With her husband gone, she has no means of support. She said she would ask the permission of her husband's family if she could live with them in their house in Irreley, where they lived before the evacuation.

Hilda also related how that morning, just before the interview, heavy rain poured. Her five-year old son suddenly spoke, extremely worried that his father will get wet. The children have yet to fully realize their father's death.

Meanwhile, Hilda, widow of two weeks and herself barely out of childhood, is also finding it hard to accept what happened. But then, how can anyone ever understand, much less accept, such brutality?

Saida, mujahidat

Sahid is the Muslim term for martyr or one who died for the cause of Allah. Many of Saida's relatives are sahid, killed by government troops during counter-insurgency operations. The latest to become one was her very own father who was killed on June 8, 2000 during former President Joseph Estrada's all-out war against the MILF. To become a mujahidat or woman warrior was then the most natural thing to do for the 20-year old Basilan girl.

Unlike others in the MILF, the mujahidat in Basilan do not carry firearms. Saida and other mujahidats perform support functions needed by the mujahideens or holy warriors.

"Ang mga mujahidat tumutulong sa mga mujahideen. Halimbawa, kung may nasahid, humahanap ng paraan mailabas ang katawan. Kung may natamaan, tumutulong sa paggamot, (The mujahidats help the mujahideens. For example, when someone is martyred, the mujahidats find ways to retrieve the body. When someone is hit, the mujahidats help treat him)" said Saida in a mixture of the local Yakan dialect and Tagalog.

She explained how mujahidats compose the various subcommittees under the Social Welfare Committee (SWC), which in turn is under the chairman of MILF's Basilan Jurisdiction, the MILF's equivalent to governor.

Mujahidats handle among others the committees on orphans and widows, health, economy and education.

The soft-spoken Saida was wearing a gray abaya, the typical Muslim dress for women, during the interview with Bulatlat.com. Abayas have high necklines and long sleeves, usually mid-leg in length and worn over matching pants or slacks. Her turong (a Muslim woman's head cover) showed only her eyes that crinkled at the ends when she laughed at herself as she struggled with the language to make herself and the jihad (holy war) understood.

Obviously educated, Saida refused to answer personal questions. The only personal information she gave was that she went to Cotabato last year to attend training for mujahidats.

Instead, she explained about the five prayers that a Muslim must do every day, the concept of Madrasa (a community school that teaches Islam and Arabic and not recognized by the Department of Education), why Muslim women must wear a turong and abaya and the various tasks of a mujahidat.

Born to warrior parents, raised in a community bombed every six months by the AFP and witness to the continuous destruction of her province, for Saida, becoming a mujahidat was not a matter of choice. It was for her a fate decreed by religion, tradition and family.

Surainan Andihad, dedicated teacher

Surainan, 31, was the only teacher present in Irreley Elementary School last August 22 when the soldiers arrived. The others were all in Isabela for a consultation. All residents were ordered to immediately evacuate Sitio Irreley, which is part of Sumisip municipality, historically one of the MILF strongholds in Basilan. One by one, parents of her students came to take their children even before class dismissal at 11:30 am.

At 12:30 p.m., they heard gunfire and mortar shelling. Surainan and her parents only had time to grab a few items before they rushed to Upper Guiong. Others only had the clothes on their backs.

According to Surainan, the continuous gunfire lasted for only 15 minutes but mortar shelling was heard until around 1:30 p.m. The fighting itself was several kilometers away from her village but fear of being hit by mortar shells drove them out.

"Nangyari na ang ganito noong bandang 1996, nang magkaroon ng encounter sa may ibaba ng Irelley pero hindi katulad nito na umalis talaga kami ng bahay at mahigit nang 20 days hindi pa nakakauwi.Noon pagkatapos ng putukan nakabalik kami agad (Something like this also happened in 1996. But as soon as the fighting stopped, we were able to get back home. But now, it’s been more than 20 days.)," lamented Surainan.

Many of her barrio mates sought shelter in relatives' homes in Guiong, thinking they would be able to return as soon the military operation ends. But it was six days before they were allowed to go back -- and only for one hour, escorted by CAFGUs and soldiers.

What they saw devastated them: "Bukas na ang pinto, nakakalat ang mga gamit, namatay ang isang baka dahil nahulugan ng mortar at yung isa missing… Yung mga nasa loob ng maleta nasa labas na. Pati mga gamit sa kusina kinuha… Mahigit isang lata ng bigas na malaki ang nawala rin… Maraming bakas ng military boots sa loob ng bahay….(The door was open, our belongings were in disarray, a cow was felled by mortar shell and another one was missing… Things that should have been inside the suitcase were out of the suitcase… A big can of rice was stolen… There were many traces of military boot prints inside the house…)"

When asked who could have looted the houses, Surainan and her barriomates only had one answer: government soldiers.

"Hindi namin maintindihan bakit yung mga bahay sa Irelley pinasok… Yung encounter hindi naman doon. Malayo naman. (We don’t understand why the houses in Irelley were ransacked… The encounter happened far from our area.)"

The displacement of the residents also meant the dislocation of Surainan's students. The more than 200 students of Irelley Elementary School got dispersed and only a few were able to get into other public schools. Of her 35 grade V students, only six continued their studies in Guiong Elementary School. Of her 21 grade VI pupils, only 12 continued.

Surainan is specially worried because the graduating students will not be able to score well or not take at all the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT), for which they should already be preparing for.

Surainan studied in Claret College in Isabela and became a full-fledged teacher in October 1992. She was immediately assigned to teach in Irelley Elementary School and had never left the school since.

"Sayang na sayang ako. Mahalaga sa akin ang mga estudyante ko, mahalaga sa akin na makapag-aral sila (It was such a shame. My students are very important to me, that they be able to continue their studies)," said Surainan. "Sana mabigyan kami ng katarungan, maging peaceful uli ang aming bayan (We want justice, we want our land to be peaceful again)." Bulatlat.com

* Basilan is an island province located in Western Mindanao. It is said to be one of the bases of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf (ASG) which is currently holding several foreign and Filipino hostages. The Arroyo government last May ordered a military offensive against the ASG resulting in the deployment of at least 11 army and marine battalions in the small island. Residents have condemned the militarization which has not only failed to subdue the terrorists but has instead resulted in massive human rights violations.

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