DAY 1, MANILA, MONDAY MARCH 26, 2007

DISCLAIMER: The following blog is about my personal journey and experiences. It does not reflect the opinions or sentiments of the Consuelo Foundation.

TO COMMENT DIRECTLY TO ME, MY EMAIL IS: castillosj@aol.com


Hello and welcome to my blog (BLOG: an internet diary or journal).

It gives me great pleasure to share with you an extraordinary trip I took as a guest filmmaker -- a trip back to my past, back to my mother's homeland, and into the world of the Consuelo Foundation. I wanted to tell of my experiences but also wanted to add some personal thoughts and factual information you might find interesting. It' s the journalist in me, I have to document! And it's the filmmaker in me, I have to show you through pictures.

After I completed my trip, it took me nearly two months to complete this blog. There was so much to say, too much to remember. Though lived in time, the blog will be timeless, forever telling this story for as long as it lives here on the Internet.

Many of you have asked and wondered what I was doing traveling to Manila and Muslim Mindanao,the southernmost part of the Philippines. It was a gift, a huge gift! Thanks to the Consuelo Foundation and their Hawaii and Philippine staff and board, a new world opened to me and I was very happy to document their visit to this fascinating area known for its dangers and armed conflicts. As you will see, we traveled safely. Read on, and you will see why.

So.... look at some of my blog today, and some tomorrow, but do come back. View my photos; read my thoughts. Read a little, or read alot. Or swallow the whole whale! I invite you dear family and friends to enter my profound and inspiring journey! Enjoy!!

SUNDAY, THE DAY BEFORE. Our welcome began with a board dinner at the foundation's condo and a splendid Filipino meal by housekeeper Lina. The condo sits on the 25th floor and overlooks the business district of Makati. Surrounding Makati and its tall buildings are Manila suburbs, some very old and some very, very new. Makati is my old stomping ground. It felt good to renew my connection to where I attended high school at the Amerrican School back in the late 60s. Our family had a 4-and-a-half year stay in Manila when my Hawaii-born, Filipino American father was stationed here as a U.S. military advisor. Fasten your seat belts! We're off and RUNNING!

MONDAY:
Briefing at the Consuelo Foundation offices. President and CEO Geri is the one who invited me to travel with the board to observe the work of their non-profit partners in Mindanao.
The board members making this trip are briefed by two consultants on Mindanao's socio-economic and peace and order situation. Specifically we are given the historical and current situations in the areas of Sulu, Basilan and Zamboana City, also know as areas in the ARMM, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

ARMM HISTORY: The southern Philippines has a long history of conflict that stretches back to the arrival of Islam in the 14th century. First colonized by Spain in the 16th century, it was later colonized by the United States in the late 1890s. Followers of Islam, called Moros by the Spanish, evaded Spain's domination for 300 years. They launched their war for national liberation in 1972 calling themselves Bangsamoro, or Moro nation and declaring these lands as ancestral domains. After a failed peace agreement with the Manila government in 1976, another agreement in 1996 gave the predominant Muslim areas a degree of self-rule by setting up their region up as ARMM, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The history of AARM is long and complicated. Once dominated by Muslims, it is now dominated by Christian settlers who came south for land and opportunity. Deep-seated prejudice divide these populations. And for almost 40 years, the people of AARM have lived with armed conflict led by rebel separatists/terrorist groups, including Abu Sayyef, which held strong in Jolo and Basilan since the early 1990s. They are best known for bombings and kidnappings and links to Al-Qaida.

SOME THOUGHTS: As we read up on AARM on the flight over, I was struck by the similarities of their struggle for independence and that of Native Hawaiians. Ancestral lands. Colonizers. Settlers and migrations to Hawaii. Marginalization and displacement of the indigenous population. The big difference of course, no kidnappings, no bombings, no armed struggle in Hawaii! We should be thankful for peace in our home and the willingness of Hawaiians to find non-violence solutions! Thanks to the lasting and powerful legacy of Queen Lili'uokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch who til this day call her people to peaceful ways.




LUNCH WITH THE CONSUELO FOUNDATION STAFF.
In this Manila office, there are some 30 staff here. During my two-week stay in the Philippines, I interacted with almost all of them on some level. Some were on the advance teams setting up our arrangements for when we arrived at certain destinations, others were program officers traveling with us to introduce us to partners funded by Consuelo.




And then we were off to the airport and an hour and a half flight to Zamboanga City. The consultant who briefed us on the Sulu province came with us.




Here is our Sulu consultant Vic with friend Haji standing near the Sulu sea at our Lantaka hotel. Haji was with us throughout our trip, as were other local escorts.

That night, a dinner meeting with the mayor and vice mayor of Zamboanga city at the Hai-san Seafood Restaurant. The night ended with karaoke performances by the mayor and some of the Consuelo staff.


SOME THOUGHTS: I always thought of Zamboanga City as a city I would want to visit one day. I am sure my first impressions are fairly meaningless and a longer stay would be needed to truly appreciate this city. But for now, on this first night, one strong memory are the tuk tuks (motor bikes with side cars) driving around at night with no lights (saving their batteries) and somehow safely and skillfully maneuvering the streets like a ballet in darkness. By day, the city is alive, and these days being election time the streets are littered with "vote for" signs.

DAY 2 in SUBA, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007

SULU
PROVINCE
Once a sultanate state that existed for 5 centuries (1450 to 1915), Sulu was the only native power that survived the onslaught of Spanish colonialism. Its sultan gave up his power to American colonial rule (late 1890s), and later Sulu became part of the Philippines republic in 1946,

The Sulu province and archipelago stretches south toward Malaysia and consists of more than 157 islands and islets. It has 18 municipalities, 10 of which are on the main island of Jolo; the other 8 are other islands in the province. About a third of the region's population is composed of ethnic people.

These groups, usually erroneously classified under the general heading of Muslims, are actually distinct from each other in culture. The three dominant cultural groups are 85% Tausugs, 8% Sama and 3% Badjao.

Like other areas in the AARM, Sulu is a conflict area and one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.

Consuelo Foudation and its non-profit partners in Sulu have targeted the people of this region, especially the Badjaos, who are the most marginalized, for assistance. Often referred to as the Philippine "sea gypsies", the Badjaos, until recently, spent their lives on their small boats which frequented the waters surrounding the numerous islands of the Sulu Archipelago. There are approximately 10,000 families in the area. The primary means of livelihood is fishing; many now engage in seaweed farming.

Lantaka Hotel, Zamboanga City 4am wake up call. Breakfast at 5am.

See the shell sellers below my balcony. The area is known for its beautiful and somewhat rare shells.

ZAMBOANGO FACTS:
Calling itself Asia's Latin City, this coastal town boasts a multi-cultural heritage -- Malay, Spanish and American. Spain's three-century rule left its mark here more than any other area of the Philippine archipelago. It's native language is its own -- Chabacano, a mix of Spanish and native words. As far back as the 13th century, this was a vibrant and colorful trading center. Buenos dias is still the common greeting of the day.

TO READ MORE ON THE ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA AND SULU, CLICK HERE.

OFF TO JOLO

615am, we board SeaAir for Jolo Island in Sulu province. The humidity is so thick at this early morning, you can see the hovering wetness. Arrive Jolo Island at 730am.

Complimentary security was provided by local governments throughout our days of travel in Sulu province.

Today Philippine Marines greet us, and our party loads onto three vans. Though there is mostly peace down here, it is still dangerous ground, especially for Americans and other foreigners.

SUBA ISLAND
Proceed to Jolo Pier. Board a kumpit (boat) owned by the governor of Jolo to Suba Island, and the municipality of Panglima, Tahil where we will visit an early childhood education center and school donated by Consuelo Foundation in 1996 and which has since been turned over to the Dept. of Education.

A security escort boat accompanied us.

SUBA ISLAND in the
Hadji Panglima Tahil area, which is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, this island municipality has a population of 5,314 people in 807 households.
As of 2000, is was the poorest municipality in the Philippines with a poverty incidence estimate of 89.7%. (Wikipedia)

A photographer's dream, the small island of Suba presents a portrait of quaint beauty and charm. The shallow blue waters are crystal clear; beds of seagrass or seaweed sit in peace, awaiting their harvest.




Greeting us are the children and teachers and parents of Suba.

In Suba, the houses are linked by pathways of wooden boards. At low tide, the poles upon which the houses are built are exposed and waters lap gently. There is no fresh water here; water is brought in by boat and sold at 10 pesos (25 cents) for a two-gallons can.

Here you can see the seaweed growing beneath this platform where the harvested seaweed is drying.

You can see a small boat. No hummers here.

At the Suba Elementary School, the children perform dances and songs for Consuelo's board and staff. Notice the bamboo slats that make up their school house floor. With such a large assembly, it felt precarious to even walk across the floor to get my shots.

Kits of school supplies were handed to the teachers and children. Three dedicated and enthusiastic young teachers receive them with big smiles of gratitude. The principal is a Christian Tausug sympathetic to the Badjaos' situation.

Some board members visit the medical center, while others do home visits.

As we get ready to depart, I notice this sign and take a closer look.

It says that the US and Philippine governments jointly fund a seaweed solor-drying project.

It is one of "dances of hope" in this Mindanao island region to aid and bring development to communities as a way to address problems of population pressures, poverty, poor infrastucture and to bring opportunities for more economic growth. All this to help manage Mindanao's conflicts over the years.

The active peace movement in Sulu and throughout Mindanao reflects the strength of the commitment by civil governments, non-profits and citizens to forge a sustainable peace.

SOME THOUGHTS: In this idyllic village, I commented to someone how blue and clear the waters are. How deceptive! I was told that in these waters of seaweed beds, and with no septic sytem for sewage, human waste mingles with the seaweed. Once harvested and "cleaned" in some kind of process, it is sold to buyers who then fill the demand for seaweed food products beyond Philippine shores. Hmmm.

DAY 2 -- TAKUT-TAKUT, MARCH 27, 2007

HEAT, THAT HEAT THAT HEAT

Pat me on the back. I never complained about the heat. You just don't, it doesn't get you any cooler! The hat helped, the sunscreen too, though there were times I lit up red in the face.

My saving grace was a little battery-operated fan that I brought with me that I hung around my neck like a big IPOD on a cord; it blew air up from its top to my neck and face. On airplanes and inside ferries and vans with faulty air-conditioners, it was my salvation. That and Gatorade and ice water, always available in coolers packed by Consuelo staff. Cotton clothes and cotton underwear helped too.

A friend in Wash DC who grew up in the Philippines calls his former homeland "the armpit of the world." Just don't think about the HEAT, keep going and ignore it; it won't go away, so let go, give in, be enveloped. It's that heat, that heat that heat that heat.


Above, that's Ernestino behind me in the other hat, one of our local escorts. He was like this silent friend watching out for us, for me. That's why I took his picture here.




TAKUT-TAKUT on Jolo Island



After out kumpit ride back to Jolo, we traveled by vans to a small village just behind this mosque in an area called Takut-Takut.
Like Suba, it too is built on stilts, but very close quarters for the hundreds who live here. Water is brought in by small black hoses that run along with sides of the main street. Children are everywhere. Little sari sari (food) stores are on every corner. And below trash floats mixing with waste andwater from the sea. Like Suba, its waste water is a playground for the kids. :-( On this hot day, kids were splashing away.

Walking to the school, we had to walk carefully on wooden slats, the village pathway. These were boards laid down side by side, sometimes nailed down, sometimes not. Below us was the water.

We visted Takut-Takut Early Childhood Education Center where the children entertained us. Crowded in with us in a small class room were teachers and town officials. The kids were very grateful for our visit and the small gifts of supplies that board members presented to the teachers. The children, dressed in native Muslim costumes, danced for us as board members placed pesos on the children's clothes -- a Filipino tradition!

Board members also made home visists and went to the health center. Supported by Consuelo, the education center was turned over to the Social Welfare Dept. and the local government.

SOME THOUGHTS: Seeing the children playing in waste water where I knew there was more than just tossed trash really hit me. I was told the problem of proper sewage disposal here has been a municipality problem for decades. For the poorest of the poor, they are last to be rescued, it seems! As I reflected on this problem here in Takut-Takut and in Suba, I reminded myself that tragically there are thousands of towns and villages around the world just like this -- kids playing in sewage and waste. What's worse is that it's ok with the world. Hello Bill and Melinda Gates!!!!! Hello world!!!

A lunch stop: Sanyang Multi-Purpose Cooperative, lunch with officers, members and beneficiaries. Sorry no photos. Formed in 1995 with Consuelo help and also help from UNICEF and Notre Dame of Jolo College Community Extension Service (several other funders came on board as well), the program is now self-reliant. Income from its credit and production services is enough to cover operational expenses. It has helped 2,000 Badjao families in 13 Badjao communities. It has 600 members, mostly Badjao, who have helped improve living and economic conditions with effective economic development.

A JOLO OF AN IMPRESSION:

Jolo is the center of operation of a number of Islamic insurgent groups and where decades of war between the Philippine goverment and separatist movements have kept this area the poorest in the Philippines. 10,000 Philippine troops are deployed here. They are everywhere indeed! In 1902, America sent troops here to attempt to quell a brewing rebellion. It took the US almost 15 years to "pacify" Muslim trouble spots in Jolo and other parts of Mindanao. This campaign became known as the Moro-American war.

NEWS FLASH (am writing this blog today, April 14, and just got this email from our Sulu consultant. How eerie since we were just in Jolo and I am just writing about the military presence!):

<<Very extensive fighting has broken out in Jolo between the MNLF and the military. We are still trying to assess the extent of the displacement on the civilian population. I am currently in Manila but will be leaving for Jolo on Tuesday.>> (News report said 2 Philippine Marines died and 1 child.)

On the road again.
Next stop: Bato-Bato -- Abu Sayyef once??? ruled here.

Day 2 -- BATO-BATO, MARCH 27, 2007

BATO-BATO, a collection of shacks on stilts and some concrete houses set between the sea and banana plantations, coconut palms and bamboo forests. A bastion of Islamic rebels. That's how a recent Reuter's article discribed this little coastal hamlet.

This area has experienced recurring armed conflict involving Muslim separatist groups and terrorists, like the Abu Sayaf who engage in battles with the Philippine military. Entire communities have been uprooted, some taking refuge in Bato-Bato, Indanan. Extensive damage to intrastructure and to the social life of this area resulted as these armed groups established camps in the jungles.

A few weeks before we arrived, a joint humanitarian effort by US forces and Philippine forces took place in Bato-Bato. Here is an edited account:

American troops rout terrorists in southern Philippines with love and stealth
The Associated Press, Published: March 4, 2007. Edited here for this blog.
INDANAN, Philippines:
Forbidden from local combat by the Philippine constitution, U.S. troops embarked on humanitarian work to wean villagers from terrorism and trained its high-tech surveillance equipment to track militants.
The combination has been lethal for the Abu Sayyaf, a small but brutal group that has launched deadly terror attacks across the country.
Philippine troops killed Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani last September and his presumed successor Abu Sulaiman in January in Jolo partly helped by America's technical backup, according to the two security officials, who had knowledge of the operations. A closing ceremony for a two-week humanitarian mission by hundreds of U.S. and Filipino troops Saturday in Jolo's poor Bato-Bato coastal village in Indanan town showcased the extent of the Americans' rapport with villagers.
Villagers waved at and cheered on soldiers in a U.S. military convoy like they were movie stars. "Hey Joe, OK Joe," they yelled. Hundreds of grade school students waved small U.S. and Philippine flags as U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Filipino officials arrived.
Mortar rounds exploded and gunshots crackled in Indanan's hinterlands about two weeks ago in what appeared to be a clash between Abu Sayyaf gunmen and Filipino troops.
Indanan's jungle mountains have been a sanctuary to the Abu Sayyaf and other gunmen for years. They often ambush troops and others on a hillside road, dubbed the "highway of death," officials say. Nowadays, the gunmen rarely bother Indanan, a town of about 50,000 on Jolo island in Sulu province.
The fight against the Abu Sayyaf and the appalling poverty that breeds it is far from over, according to officials. A lack of water, lack of electricity, crushing poverty, widespread sentiments of being a minority and high illiteracy rate foster armed conflicts on Jolo. These debilitating conditions are the worst in the Philippines.

When we arrived, curious villagers gathered in what felt like the town's center, a dirt courtyard near to the building where we would be meeting the young people involved in the Make A Connection project funded in part by Consuelo. The purpose of the project is to nurture future leaders.

Idealistic and idle young Tausugs in this area are particularly vulnerable to the influence of the armed separatists and terrorists groups. Here they share with the Consuelo board their progress, frustrations and needs.

Some 38 Tausug youth are part of the Phil. Indigenous Youth Leadership Training Program.

Oversight is by Fr. Jose Ante, director of the Social Action Center in Jolo, who is known for promoting socio-economic development programs such as this one.

The project asserts that improved life skills would help the youth to better connect with their community and give them a better understanding and appreciation of their community and their Muslim culture.

They engage in livelihood projects of their own choosing, such as goat and chicken raising, and from this are able to earn at least the equivalent of the local minimum wage.

SOME THOUGHTS: This is the battle line, I thought. Getting and keeping these kids of Bato Bato and other Indanan hamlets out of the hands of the likes of Abu Sayef. Raising

goats and chickens might give them a taste of the better future they are longing for; but hope is like a receding tide when progress is slow and the promises of economic well-being are but a thin thread at times because of a backyard war. In the lives of kids like these, funding to help them succeed is a desperate need if the effort to keep them out of war is to be effective. Pray for the youth of Bato-Bato if you think of them. May the humanitarian efforts of fixing this broken town and its life continue to help.

REFUGEE CENTER

Before leaving Bato-Bato, the Board walks over to a nearby school where a small group of refugees are staying after fleeing an armed conflict near their farms.

This farmer returns to his farm by day, not sure when it is safe to bring his family back home.

Uprooted but smiling, refugees talk to board members about the care given to them here. Food, bedding and safety inside these walls are about all they have as they wait it out.

CHICKS AND CHICKENS
We stopped to look at the livelihood project involving growing and selling chickens by the Bato-Bato youth. The coops with hundreds of chicks growing under lights is behind this building.

TECH TRAINING

Then it was on to the nearby Provincial Training and Livelihood Center where we observed out-of-school youth learning trade/industry skills. The project, supported by Consuelo, offers courses in welding, electricity, electronics, small engine repair and other mechanical repairs. Fr. Ante and the Social Action Center of Jolo were responsible for getting it up and running.


DUSK

After a very long and packed-filled DAY 2 that started at 4am, a cold shower and a nap were a welcomed salve on my tired body. Lodging us was Fr. Ante at his Bishop's Notre Dame Compound near Jolo airport and the Notre Dame community college.

Dinner that night was under the stars and featured seafood delicacies such as Sulu crab. The night was kind. It was cool and the fan in my room added to the relief from the long day's heat. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

WHAT'S THAT?????

Our wake up call was 6:30am. Sleeping soundly, my roomate Amy and I were awakened by a sound that at first I did not recognize. It's hard to describe something if you've never heard it live before. I'd heard it in movies and on TV, but I have never heard this sound live. I lay there for a few seconds, both waking up and trying to figure out what I was hearing. Then I remembered where we were -- Muslim country! "Amy, are you awake???" "Yes, what is that sound?" "Amy, it's the call to prayer, the 5 am call to prayer from a nearby mosque." "Oh", she said. The call to prayer, probably a recording that was being played over a loud LOUD speaker, continued as we lay there listening. Then a thought came to me. "Amy, let's get up. Let's get up and pray. Let's use this time to pray also." She agreed, and I moved to sit at the side of her bed, and we took this time to hear our stories of how God had reached into our lives, and we prayed for our day, for more safety and protection and for blessings as we traveled. The call of prayer had called us too!!