PEACEBUILDERS COMMUNITY

UPDATE: JANUARY-MARCH 2006

WE HIKED THE BUD DAHU ON A PEACE PILGRIMAGE
By L. Daniel Pantoja

Gordon Janzen (Asia Partnership Facilitator, Mennonite Church Canada), Jon Rudy (Asia Peace Resource Director, Mennonite Central Committee), and I (Peacebuilders Community Director) were invited by the Mindanao Peaceweavers to join the Tausug people in commemorating the Bud Dahu Centennial. Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW) is a convergence of major coalition and networks of peace advocates in Mindanao. It currently represents the broadest network of peace constituency in the island, cutting across NGOs, academe, religious, human rights groups, people's organizations and grassroots communities advancing the peaceful resolution of conflict in Mindanao.

I, Gordon Janzen and Jon Rudy
express our excitement as we join
the Mindanao peacebuilding community
in commemorating the Bud Dahu
Centennial, March 5-8, 2006, in
Jolo, Sulu.

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The Bud Dahu Centennial was an important event for me and Gordon, as representatives from Mennonite Church Canada, to join hands with the peace movements in Mindanao. This was a very appropriate time to share the pain of the people here as they seek healing from the wounds of colonial oppression and exploitation: "A hundred years ago, a landmark in the history of the Bangsamoro struggle unfolded when up to 1,600 Tausug men, women and children died during the infamous Bud Dahu Battle (Battle of Mount Dahu) in Jolo, Sulu in Mindanao. The month of March 2006 marked the centenary of the martyrs of Bud Dahu, including the women and children who were massacred at the crater of Mt. Dahu by American colonial forces... Tausugs of today express the need to remember the past, not to rekindle hatred among them who defied American rule, but to collectively pay tribute to all martyrs and descendants; a noble act that was due them, a hundred years after. This is a long time of waiting for affirmation and rendering a respectable closure of this painful chapter of Mindanao history." [From the official brochure of the Bud Dahu Centennial Committee]

Personally, I felt embraced by the Tausug people as they allowed me to cry with them, to laugh with them, to remember with them, to celebrate with them, to hope for justice with them, and to dream for a lasting peace with them. I will never forget these three days of peace in Jolo. A multi-faceted commemorative event, it mobilized broad support mainly to pay tribute to the victims, survivors and descendants of Bud Dahu massacre. In agreement with the intention of the organizers, I hope that "this event would also render solidarity support for Jolo to be back on its development track once again."

Central to the festivity was the Peace Pilgrimage—a hike to Bud Dahu, 2000+ feet above sea level. Jon Rudy was interviewed by media representatives, including ABS-CBN, the largest network in the Philippines. He passionately expressed his prayer and his desire: "May this massacre never happen again. Never again." All the people around us were quiet as Jon was speaking; they were nodding their head in agreement. It was like a peace covenant that sealed the climb at the summit of Bud Dahu.

It was a sacred time on a sacred ground.