IBON documented a total of 195 armed confrontations in these eight communities, resulting to the death of 50 civilians.
Researchers spent at least two weeks in each area and applied a scientific approach to the very personal stories of the women and children.
In her review of the book, Dr. Herminia Ugay, Ph. D., the director of the Little Lambs School of Davao, said that reading the stories will make people feel the pain, hunger, fear, and uncertainty that those caught in the web of conflict experience.
Aside from the direct physical harm to children, armed conflict and the consequent violence and drastic change in routine and environment to families and communities results in psychosocial trauma. These vary from nervousness, sleeplessness, absent-mindedness and lack of appetite to recurring nightmares, depressions, mood swings to attempted suicide and more severe stress related illnesses and symptoms.
Ishak, a Moro from North Cotabato, was 12 years old when an explosion threw him in the air as his family was fleeing their village. Upon reaching the evacuation center, he acquired a high fever and had convulsions. Since then, for several years now, he has succumbed to occasional fits of epileptic seizures.
Tonina, 14, of Maguindanao whose younger brother was killed in one of the encounters between the AFP and the MILF, expressed open hostility against the soldiers. “I want them all to die in the next war, if there is one, I want all those soldiers to be finished off and killed,” she said.
Chabeng who is in his early teens and living in Capiz said he wanted to join the NPA when he grows up because he wanted to get even with government soldiers and to help the poor.
As a reactor during the book launching, Ugay observed that members of the community seemed to be more comfortable with rebel groups. She said that it was food for thought that women and children in the communities felt “more victimized by the military than by the rebels.”
Lawyer Antoinette Principe, who represented the Davao chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), urged the proper authorities to check and see the extent of the abuses committed by the military. “Why would (the respondents) make up stories?” said the young lawyer, who also works for the Integrated Gender & Development Division (IGDD).
Education Department Regional Chief Dr. Susana Estigoy suggested that a research should also be made on the experiences of government soldiers in the field.
