Never forget: Priest gives account on Zamboanga crisis

A bullet was found in the bed of his confrere the morning that the Zamboanga siege started. It’s good that his confrere was not harmed when the bullet did not hit him while he was asleep.

Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ recounted the events that happened during the duration of the Zamboanga siege when the faction of Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) declared a truce when they attempted to raise the flag of self-proclaimed Bangsamoro Republik in Zamboanga City Hall.

Hundreds were taken as human shields of the armed group while thousands were displaced from their homes in fear of being hit in the crossfire between the soldiers and rebels.

Fr. Alejo said there is something wrong with how the situation were handled by officials, saying it is not clear who is really in command that time as to who will handle the negotiations, etc..

According to a report presented by Fr. Alejo last November 29 at the Ateneo de Davao University, there are 9,722 houses burned and more than P 200 million damaged properties in Zamboanga City.

He also said that those taken hostage are all Christians while 90% of those who lost their houses are Muslims, adding that nobody benefited in the said stand-off that erupted last September 9, 2013 causing paralysis in economic activities in the City.

Aside from the economic issues, Fr. Alejo said he fears that Zamboanga will become a source of human trafficking as there are more than a hundred thousand internally displaced persons and there’s no assurance that they can find source of income after the incident. Human traffickers are also in the hunt for victims, taking advantage of the plight of the internally displaced persons.

As to the healing of the social wounds brought by the crisis, Fr. Alejo suggested a culture-based healing. He said the kind of healing that the Government is using is ‘too clinical’.

He cited an event that a scheduled wedding of Muslim couple who are part of the IDPs still pushed through despite their situation in the evacuation area. He also mentioned about his role in the repainting of a mosque in Zamboanga together with the Ustadz or Muslim religious leader.

Fr. Alejo added the Zamboanga crisis is also a peace process issue saying that aside from the dialogue of the Government and MILF, there should also be a dialogue between the MNLF and MILF.

Fr. Alejo is the speaker of the forum dubbed as “Post-Zamboanga Siege: Reflections and Lessons Learned Toward a Hopeful Future” organized by the Arrupe Office of Social Formation in AdDU, and is part of the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace last year.