The way Anna Zenaida Alonto would describe the morning of May 23, 2017, it was like a day of reckoning.
At the Ramon Magsaysay Center on November 8, she recalled: “I saw barricades, military checkpoints and families fleeing their homes, running for their lives. It was just like in the Exodus.”
Alonto is the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent (ASDS) of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, and was a survivor of the five-month-long armed conflict between the Philippine armed forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups. Her story, along with many others like hers, sparked the inception of children’s storybooks based on experiences of survivors during the siege.
Dubbed as “iRead4Peace,” the fund-raising/book launch event, which was conceptualized by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in collaboration with publishing company The Bookmark Inc., sought to raise awareness on the present situation in the city, inspire participants through stories of hope and provide them opportunities to help by donating storybooks for the children of Marawi.
One year after the armed conflict broke out, the terror threat remains in the area and around 230,000 people are still displaced, unable to return to their homes and in need of stronger support. A total of 45,000 students lost their schools, while 1,600 teachers lost their jobs.
“PBSP partnered with us for the storybooks because they wanted to help the children of Marawi, not only to cope but to adjust to their new lives after the siege. There were a lot of news reports at the time but we didn’t want that. We felt the people had enough and that the stories were told not from their point of view but from people outside Marawi. This makes the interviews that PBSP conducted with the evacuees very important,” explained Anna Maria Tan-Delfin, general manager of The Bookmark.
Renowned authors, including the likes of Carla Pacis, translated these real-life accounts into fiction to make them more age-appropriate for children, and the stories were then brought to life by professional illustrators. The four storybooks, written in both English and Maranao, will be given to every child in the city and will also be donated to the DepEd-Marawi to serve as a tool for peace education and trauma healing.
In producing the four titles, Delfin said they had to find experienced authors who knew how to empathize, even without personally talking to the evacuees. Later, they had to look for illustrators who could provide the suitable artworks for the stories. After this, PBSP worked with its partners in Marawi to handle the translations into Maranao. It then underwent numerous rounds of rigorous reviews by academe, religious leaders and scholars, psychologists and public groups in Marawi on content, accuracy, psychological sensitivities and conformity to Islamic beliefs and traditions.
The Day the Typhoon Came, written by renowned children’s book author Carla Pacis, is a story of care and concern for others despite differences. Water Lilies for Marawi by Heidi Emily Eusebio-Abad shows that war does not choose its victims. Marawi: Land of the Brave by Melissa Salva highlights the Maranao people’s bravery and skill in battle. Finally, “Lost and Found: A Song of Marawi” is Randy Bustamante’s narrative poem about falling back on family through the kindness of strangers during the siege.
“Through these storybooks, we hope to not only build a culture of reading but also help these young survivors rebuild their lives. Moreover, we aim to use these to shape the continuing dialogue on peace and development in Mindanao,” said Reynaldo Antonio Laguda, PBSP executive director.
In closing, Alonto said that the future remains unknown, and the worst fight that the Maranao people will not be faced in the battlefield but, instead, in their hearts.
Fighting back tears, she gathered up all the courage she could muster and said: “Surely, these stories will be part of Maranao history—a source of inspiration for our school children. On May 23, 2017, a war erupted and changed the course of life of the city and its people. Maybe the pain will linger when the spirit triggers wounds that are not completely healed, but I’m sure that hope and resilience will outlast them.”
iRead4Peace is part of PBSP’s Give a Gift of Reading campaign that aims to improve the reading skills and instill in children a love for reading. Opportunities for book donation are available online through the Global Giving portal bit.ly/2zUshTJ, or visit PBSP’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pbsp.org.