Community-Building in Mindanao
 Indigenous women from Dawing village in Mindanao, Philippines. |
In the mountain village of Dawing, on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, there is a small patch of peanuts planted among the fruit trees. These peanuts do not belong to one person, or to a family, but are communally owned, grown by and for the women of the village. While the peanut patch may not look very significant, it is symbolic of a new way of life for the people of Dawing.
Dawing, like all the other villages where our counterpart Tricom works, is a Lumad, meaning indigenous, community. Historically, Lumads were nomadic hunters and gatherers; however, in recent times, pressure on their lands has forced Lumads to move into smaller and smaller areas, creating permanent settlements. Tricom works with Lumads to ensure that this land will be protected for future generations. Using oral history, folklore, chronicles of social relationships, and investigations into the use of wild plants available only in local areas, Tricom staff have helped Lumads produce the documentation required to prove their ancestors have been on the land in question "since time immemorial". This documentation, along with land surveys, forms the basis of an Ancestral Domain Claim, which, if successful, will grant full land rights to Lumad communities.
One of the key elements of successful Ancestral Domain Claims is the elaboration of a Sustainable Development Plan. Developed by the Lumad communities with assistance from Tricom, this plan is a community development blueprint for the village, covering everything from agriculture to watershed management, from primary health care to early child development and the role of women in society. Plans are developed in collaboration with local community and government officials, who commit to assisting various aspects of the plan's implementation as it evolves. For instance, the Department of Agriculture may contribute mango trees to the village reforestation and agriculture program, or the Ministry of Education may offer functional literacy training to community representatives who then commit to leading weekly classes in their own villages.
The Lumad communities come together regularly to make decisions for the future, drawing on a wide variety of internal and external resources, such as communal agricultural projects. For example, the women of Dawing use income from the sale of their peanuts to fund the participation of representatives from the local Women and Children Program at training sessions they feel will benefit their community as a whole. Recently, they sent one young woman to a pre-school training course; she now runs an early childhood development program based on curricula developed by the villagers.
In this way, the people of Dawing are acting together on their common goals for the future.
Shattering Silences
Ethnic women have come together to speak out about their experience of the war in Burma. In 2002, the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation published "Licence to Rape," a report documenting the systematic rape of Shan women by the Burmese military. In April 2004, the Karen Women's Organization (KWO) released "Shattering Silences" documenting military rape of women in Burma's Karen State. Both reports demonstrate how rape is being used as a tactic of war by the Burmese military to terrorize women and their families and to destroy the social fabric of their communities.
These reports provide grim evidence of what is happening to women living in Burma's ethnic states. At the same time, the reports are testament to the courage of women speaking out about the crimes that have been committed against them. Despite the trauma, the social stigma, and the danger, these women have decided to document their experiences and to speak out publicly as a way of putting an end to the violence.
In doing so, Shan and Karen women have created a community of support to overcome the silence related to these crimes and to challenge the impunity of the soldiers involved. It is Inter Pares' privilege to accompany these women and support them in this work.
The "Licence to Rape" and the "Shattering Silences" reports can be found on the following Web sites:
- "Licence to Rape", Shan Women's Action Network - 
http://www.shanwomen.org
- "Shattering Silences", Karen Women's Organization - http://www.karenwomen.org
| Reviewed September 21, 2006 |  |
Publishing Policies |
