By Thelma Gecolea
AMERICAN newspaper legend Philip Leslie Graham once said that journalists have the inescapably impossible task of providing the first rough draft of history.
Here in the Philippines, with the country potentially set to rewrite its volatile history in the south, the European Union (EU) recognized the role of journalists in coming out with inspiring stories of individuals living in Mindanao.
The first EU Peace Journalism Awards gave nod to journalists in various mediums, including online, photo essay and print media, who pushed for peace in the region.
“Journalists promote peace not just by singing its praises or supporting peace initiatives. Perhaps, their most important role is to clarify and present the facts in an easily digestible way that allows regular citizens to make up their own minds,” EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux said.
For his part, Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chairman Mohagher Iqbal said the involvement of journalists is key toward peace in Mindanao.
“Peace advocacy is not an easy theme. You cannot just simply fake it. You cannot claim to be for peace if you are selective of its application. As a peace advocate, one has to be personally and fully committed to peace and wholeheartedly believe that everybody should give peace a chance,” Iqbal said.
Iqbal, an author of several books himself, said it is difficult to convey the message of peace understandable in an informative and conflict-sensitive way.
“We all have our parts to play during these tough and trying times. Let me reiterate that it is very comforting to know that we have you, dear journalists, to capture, write, and talk about peace and its overarching benefits to the Philippines,” Iqbal said.
Davao City-based online editor and journalist Jeffrey Tupas received the grand prize from the EU for the article he did on the plight of teachers in Rajah Muda, a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stronghold in North Cotabato.
In his article, entitled “The Teachers of Rajah Muda,” Tupas told the story of teachers who had MILF children as their students.
“I have always been enchanted by the stories of teachers of Mindanao—both told and untold—especially those in conflict areas,” Tupas said.
Tupas was inspired by his aunt, who taught in a school in Maguindanao, and stories on how they put their lives on the line every time they are in school and during elections.
The young journalist recalled that, when he went to Rajah Muda to cover the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskuwela, he knew right away that he had a special story to share because of the presence of the children along with their MILF parents. “I wanted to put the teachers of Rajah Muda in the middle of discourse about peace and war, knowing pretty well about their roles in the community. Their’s are the voices that are only heard inside the four walls of the rooms. Their stories are worth my time, my effort. They demanded to be told,” Tupas said.
For Tupas, it is important that the teachers are given the attention in the context of the peace process.
Tupas grew up in the town of Kabacan in North Cotabato and spent a couple of years in his mother’s hometown in Kapalong, Davao del Norte. Growing up in Mindanao, Tupas knew by heart the stories and the struggles, with his own mother coming from the indigenous Ata-Manobo tribe.
“My background has helped me understand the need for journalists to always listen to the people and pursue the stories of the indigenous peoples, the displaced farmers, the landless, women and children,” Tupas said.
Tupas graduated with a degree in Development Communication from the University of Southern Mindanao, but his own personal realities about the conflicts in Mindanao had an even bigger impact on his life. One time, when passing through an old funeral parlor aboard a slow-moving tricycle, Tupas saw dozens of dead soldiers sprawled on the ground, with some naked, bloated and disfigured. Tupas described this unforgettable scene as a ghastly picture in varying degrees of disrespect and gore.
“The stench of death under the sun out in the open air was sickening. It was extremely repulsive. Thinking about it today, I could only hope it was unreal. This is a graphic recollection. Looking back, it reminds me, and it should tell us all, that war is tragic, graphic, violent and dehumanizing,” Tupas said.
The first EU Peace Journalism Awards was in collaboration with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Upon the invitation from the EU Delegation-Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, it received support from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Mindanao State University, Iligan Institute of Technology, Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism, Ateneo de Manila University, The Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines, and Center for Community Journalism and Development.
It also received support from the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas and the Philippine Press Institute.