When I was in high school, my family lived just across
the street from the mosque.
MARAWI CITY
Lake Lanao is the second-largest lake in the Philippines, with a surface area of 340 square kilometers. At 2,300 ft., it is the
second-highest lake in Asia, after Dal Lake in Srinagar, India, Kashmir. It is
listed among the 15 ancient lakes of the world.
I always remember my hometown, the City of Marawi, as
a haven of peace. Life was fun and simple. The lake was like a giant pool,
serene and crystal. Whether swimming or drifting in your
canoe-like boat, you can lose track of the time. It was a time when one could bask in the moonlight to the wee hours of the morning without fear of being
molested. Its misty dawns, virgin forests, cool and chilly climate, abundant
rainfall, and afternoon drizzles are natural wonders that the Maranaw
people are blessed with.
Non-Muslim migrants from the north were lured into the City
with enchanted tales like “if you toss out the seed of a fruit, you will
find it sprouting the following day.” Better believe it…!
It was formerly known as Dansalan City, which was later renamed
Marawi City. I always remember it as just one big town among many that dot the shores of Lake Lanao. Comparatively, Marawi City has always been poor. Government basic services are minimal, with poor electricity and water services, as well as other apparent signs of government neglect. However, if you don’t know what you are missing, you may find it acceptable. Kerosene lamps lighted my entire education until I left Marawi for college, and I remember it with nostalgic memories.
With the violence of martial law in the 1970s, the natural wonder went puff like a paradise forever lost in the mist of time. Life was never the same again, and with the 2nd Martial Law of May 2017, almost half a century hence, the destruction is sadly near total. It will need divine intervention to fly again like a phoenix if Marawi City is ever to rise
again from the ashes of its ruins.
THE MARANAW
I prefer using the word Maranaw as a noun to refer to a person of the Ranao tribe, although most people prefer using Meranaw, meaning a person from the lake. Maranaws don’t live in the lake – they live around it, which brings
to mind the Badjaos of the Sulu provinces. They live in their boats floating in
the seas, and in times of storms, they simply row their houseboats to the other
side of an island to weather the storm.
Due to the economic hardships in the Lanao highlands, the Maranaos have created the country’s largest ethnic diaspora. I surmised, although I have no statistics to back it up, that 40-50% of the Maranaw tribe have mainly migrated to the adjoining provinces, such as Lanao del Norte, CDO, the Zamboangas, the Cotabatos, and elsewhere in the country. They are in every nook and cranny of the archipelago. It is a survival migration, and they
did.
They are people who take life less seriously. They laugh
easily, even at the dire circumstances of their own lives. When the smoke of battle
has settled in Marawi, the people will remember more the funny things that
happened on their way to escape the onslaught of terror. They will laugh at it, and it will be retold for generations.
The Maranaws are adventurous and fiercely competitive people.
They see life as a stage set for the battle of wits, and they stop at nothing to
win. If you visit your local school and check if a Maranaw is among the students, you will likely find them on the honor roll and probably the president of
the class. If you put a Maranaw in a group, given time, he will end up being
the leader of the group. He is fearless. It is in the Maranaw character to
lead. President Duterte is a Maranaw.
The Maranaw tribe is among the country's three big Muslim groups. The Maranaws are better described as businessmen and merchants. They sell everything from nail cutters on the sidewalks to pearls and diamonds in the country’s malls. They are vendors, peddlers, and, of course…professionals. Their competitiveness has brought them to high positions in
government and private enterprises.
When Armstrong landed on the moon, he was shocked to find Maranaws peddling their wares. This is just to highlight how Maranaws make a laugh of themselves. They enjoy life no matter what the circumstances. If you have bought a pirated CD, you probably bought it from a Maranaw. They turned CD piracy into a multi-million industry, and sadly, so
are illegal drugs.
THE GLOBALIZATION OF TERROR
My initial reaction upon seeing it in the news was one of disbelief.
The Iran-Iraq war was coming to a close when I came to Saudi
Arabia (1980). Then came the Gulf War of 1991, the Afghan War, the Gulf War of 2003, and then Libya, Syria, and Yemen, not to mention the endless war in Palestine.
Those are just news to me, where towns, villages, and cities are destroyed. I
have friends whom I have worked with for more than 20 years, including those from the West Bank, Palestine, and Aleppo, Syria. I feel happy whenever I see their posts on social media, an assurance that they are okay. Then, it is almost surreal in the blink of an eye
– the news becomes me. My friends' and relatives’ homes, places I frequented,
barangays where my family lived, streets I walked growing up, and schools I
attended – all reduced to rubble.
It is all so unreal - Terrorists/ISIS…? Are you joking? Most
Filipinos don’t even know where Marawi City is, and yeah, the ISIS/ISIL/IS is in
the Middle East. How did it come to my Highlander city halfway around the
world?
Terror has likewise globalized. It can happen to anyone, anyplace, anywhere. The masterminds of 9/11 – the Big Bang that globalized terror succeeded beyond their dreams, and most of them live to see it come true.
