These findings, which were again verified in more recent surveys in Muslim communities, particularly in the ARMM, by the Social Weather Station, illustrate the complexity of conflicts in Mindanao.

Rido is a kind of feud and killing for revenge that often is a cycle of violence and almost ensuring mutual destruction among clans and parties involved. While it is a serious problem prone to affect Muslim communities, it is also resorted to by ethnic groups in the Philippines.

Muslims believed this problem is general caused by the inability of their communities to adjust and adapt to the fast changing socio-cultural and legal beliefs. Such disagreements contribute to various dispute in their daily lives and result into a kind of violence; always the motivation for seeking justice and security are the main reasons invoked by parties involved. Its impact to society is believed more serious that the on-going conflict between the state and Muslim rebel groups, in terms of suffering, loss of lives, destruction of properties, lost opportunities and displacement.

Surprisingly, the types of feuding documented in other parts of the world are similar to the endemic clan conflict among Muslims in the Philippines. It is a typical problem in minority and small-scale societies where family and kinship ties are the main source of authority and where there is lack of effective state control. In such societies where the state is weak, decision making and enforcement become more decentralized and the provision of security and of justice is based mainly on self-help.

Inspired with the results of these studies, for the first time civil society groups and organizations are motivated to take action. Engagement done by civil society groups always involved participation of stakeholders and systematically follows a methodology that always starts on awareness and consciousness building, which the media plays a vital role. Big events such as the Week of Peace Celebration in Mindanao offer a better opportunity to launch such engagement.

This explains why the Mindanao Week of Peace Celebration, (commemorated on November 29-December 10, 2007); in Zamboanga del Sur, spearheaded and coordinated by the Interfaith Forum for Solidarity and Peace; will attempt to gather around 100 Muslim community; traditional and religious leaders coming from all over the province, in a conference entitled ‘Forum for the Culture of Peace’, to be held at Hotel Camila in Pagadian City from December 2-3, 2007. This forum which carries the theme: “Unity and Awareness, Key Towards Prevention of Rido” will not only afford our Muslim brothers and sisters to participate in this meaningful event but also intends to tackle the issue of rido.

Last update : 17-01-2008 18:52

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