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ENCOUNTERS
WITH THE TAUSUGS IN SULU
Opening Springs
for Peace and a New Beginning
Sulu.
Once it was the jewel of the Archipelago, the
center of civilization, the hub of international
commerce and trade. Cebu and Manila were small,
insignificant ports by comparison. Ambassadors
from America , France , the English Court of St.
James and the Kingdom of Cathay would come to
the capital of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu located
in Maimbung and later, Indanan, Sulu. Islam came
to the Philippines from Malaysia and Borneo through
Tawi-Tawi and then Jolo in Sulu.
But
after centuries of war with the Spanish colonizers
and U.S. occupying forces, clashes between the
military and Islamic rebel groups, and bitter
infighting among rival Tausug clans, Sulu became
no man's land, synonymous with bloodshed and terror,
Kumander Robot, and Abu Sayyaf kidnappings. The
mostly Muslim Tausugs of Sulu were also feared
as a tough warrior race, known for repelling invaders
through the decades.
Operation
Blessing (OB) had been to many other areas of
conflict—Basilan, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi,
Lanao del Sur, Negros Oriental. But when OB Chief
Operating Officer Dr. Kim Pascual set her sights
on Sulu for an extended medical mission, friends
and relatives of some staff members and volunteers
grew really nervous. “Not one of my friends
or family was happy about this,” confessed
long-time volunteer “Mommy Net” Lopez.
“It was the most feared mission site.”
But
when the OB team composed of five doctors, three
dentists and other volunteers, along with a military
doctor, finally landed in Sulu last November 30,
they experienced the “peace that surpasses
all understanding” that Paul wrote of in
his epistles. The team served in six mission sites,
including Maimbung, once the historic Sultanate
capital and also the former MNLF (Moro National
Liberation Front) headquarters; Talipao and Patikul,
Abu Sayyaf strongholds during the Sipadan hostage
crisis and hideaway for kidnap victims; and Indanan,
the town where the notorious Abu Sayyaf top leader
Kumander Robot had been in hiding. OB served there
last December 6, a day before the firefight that
led to Kumander Robot's capture. Everywhere the
team turned, especially in the mountain villages,
they were warmly received with open and appreciative
hearts by people who are weary of war and poverty,
longing and hoping for peace and a new beginning.
In
every site, Mommy Net invited young and old to
bring their T-shirts for free silkscreen printing.
Hundreds of children and their mothers quickly
crowded round and got their shirts stamped with
a red heart and letters in bright rainbow colors
that said, “I love the Muslims.” When
they asked and were told what the words in English
meant, they often exclaimed in Tausug, “Oh,
we thought people hated us, are repelled by us!
So you love us?” And they left touched, and
grasping a reminder that yes, people from the
outside care. OB , for one, cared and stood and
hoped with them for restoration and revival to
come to once prosperous Sulu.
During
the six-day medical mission, the team was up by
4:00 a.m., off to the mission field by 6:00 a.m.,
and actively serving a constant stream of hundreds
of villagers beginning 8:00 a.m. through the rest
of the day. Staff and volunteers made it a point
to smile, to touch, to speak compassionately and
gently, to show beyond words that there need be
no prejudice or hatred, fear or mistrust, that
they come in peace, not to exploit, destroy, or
take, but to give freely from the heart.
“We
can see that your care comes from here,”
remarked First Lieutenant Joy Bartido, accompanying
nurse from the Philippine.Air Force, pointing
at her heart. She was one of 8 AFP doctors, dentists
and other medical personnel from Mindanao who
served with the OB team. She added that after
going on many other medical outreaches, the difference
was where OB 's motivation came from. “You
gently guide the patients around the mission site,
and even at the end of the day, though you're
all tired and lack sleep, you're still smiling
and looking happy.” Joy observed. “We
can see you believe in what you're doing. That's
why many of us in the armed forces are encouraged
to join your missions.”
But
even the compassion they felt was a surprise to
many of the OB doctors. “I had many misimpressions
about the Muslims, but I prayed that God would
give me (His love) for them. On just the first
day, all my fears and prejudices melted away,”
shared Rica de Guzman, a Physical Therapist, whose
teeth braces became a common sight as she smiled
widely, played with and giggled at the children's
antics, even hugged and pinched old women's cheeks
affectionately when they bantered with her. “My
tendency to remain aloof, the walls I had built
around my heart broke down,” added Dr. Norway
Visaya. “When they laughed and showed appreciation,
I felt I was no different, that they were just
like me. I also saw how beautiful and rich their
land really was.”
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