Photo by Ben Piven

I am moved to tears by a comment in Manuel L. Quezon III's article "The March of Folly in Mindanao" in his and John Nery's column "CURRENT" in Inquirer.net Blog.

The commenter, known only as "lumad" had this to say:

lumad Says:
August 7th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Bilang isang lumad ng mindanao, matuloy man ang kasunduang GRP-MILF o hindi, magkaruon man ng digmaang sibil o hindi or magkaroon man ng hiwalay na istado ang muslim at kristyano sa mindanao ang talo sa lahat ang mga lumad. Nananatilli sa kabundukan, nanatiling walang pinag aralan, nanatiling walang boses o representasyon sa ano mang larangan, nanatiling walang lakas o pagdepensa sa sarili sa anu mang digmaang magaganap. Ang lahat ay malinaw at kahit sa anong panig sa gobyerno, krisyanong mindanao o moro ang lumad ng mindanao ay baliwala sa lahat.

I don't know if that comment caught me in a gloomy mood today -- thus the sudden emotion, or maybe it's just that the comment felt so real, so sincere and so melancholic all at the same time. I believe, however, that the latter is true. Such is the sadness that it etched in my heart the first time I read it that I had no other thought in mind but to write about it this instant. Continue reading →

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