(Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
“BAKWIT”: The inauspicious consequence of martial law in Mindanao
Surviving a difficult life situation in temporary shelters and commune. This is the status quo that members of the Manobo tribe from Talaingod, Davao del Norte will struggle in an evacuation site.
Months of military operations in the hinterlands of Davao del Norte have forced them to abandon their communities. The military offensives were intensified with the continuing imposition of martial law in Mindanao under the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte.
This writer visited their evacuation site during the first week of July this year and witnessed their sufferings as they long of going back to their abodes and communities. In the evacuation site, I saw their agonies, especially the children and the elderlies.
In photos, I share their sufferings and ventilate their calls for justice – justice because they were discriminatorily driven away from their ancestral lands.
Temporary houses made out of scraps will shelter lumad families in this evacuation site in undetermined time. Uncomfortable and unsafe, they will need to endure the unforgiving effects of military interventions that drove them away from their homes and sources for a living. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
Lumad children are the most vulnerable during evacuations as their health, safety and schooling are directly affected and disturbed. A makeshift was also utilized as a classroom for this dedicated teacher whose passion to serve the lumad children remains unperturbed despite the difficult situation that lingers inside the evacuation site. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
A canal that passes through a portion of the evacuation site and provides water to a banana plantation now serves as a temporary playground for these lumad children as they reminisce the days when they joyfully rushed and plunged into the cool and fresh waters of the river systems in communities they left behind. Exposure to this water canal has endangered the health of these lumad children and some of them have already suffered skin diseases. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
Lumad children take dinner on a bamboo floor that also serves as their family’s dining table. Children’s right to a good quality of life is deeply compromised during evacuations. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
Despite the complications and the uncertainties they encounter at the evacuation site, the Manobo evacuees continue to uphold and defend their identity as a tribe. Photo shows Lora Mansumuy-at, with an indigenous instrument and Datu Bunlay, the tribe’s Babaylan making preparations for a sacred ritual called “Panubadtubad”. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
During the “Panubadtubad”, Datu Bunlay paid respect to the tribe’s Supreme Being and their ancestors and asked them to guide every member of the tribe to survive the life-threatening situation they are facing. He also prayed for peace to reign in the country, most especially in their villages. Datu Bunlay also implored for the resumption of the peace talks and allow them to return to their homes and communities. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
Following the “Panubadtubad” is a presentation of an ethnic dance called “Tagudturan” performed by Datu Duluman Daosay and Lora Mansumuy-at. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
The visit to this evacuation site is not only aimed for immersion to the real situation of indigenous people driven away from their lands but also to render voluntary service to answer their pressing needs. In this photo, the author is taking part in a medical service to the lumad evacuees in Talaingod, Davao del Norte. (Photo by Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
(Mark Joy G. Basallajes)
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