Basilan kids join Festival of Love and Peace

MANILA, Philippines — More than 500 children in the coastal community of Mohammad Ajul, Basilan were treated to a memorable and fun-filled day to escape violence that had affected their villages and have suffered from armed conflict for decades, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said over the weekend.

Mohammad Ajul Mayor Ibrahim Ballaho said the event “is a symbol that our town is gradually achieving peace.”

“The fate of our country lies in the hands of our children,” Ballaho said.

Themed “Nurturing the Missing Piece of Peace,” the day-long peace festival was organized by the Save the Children of War (Basilan) Association Inc. in partnership with the municipal government of Hadji Mohammad Ajul, 4th Special Forces Battalion and the OPAPP. 

The activity is the culmination of the healing process for 547 psychologically pre-assessed children of war coming from the different barangays of Hadji Mohammad Adjul. 

The participants are children of Moro National Liberation Front, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf former combatants who underwent the Program Against Violent Extremism (PAVE.) 

OPAPP said that for the first time, the children did not run away and seek refuge in their homes when they saw several Huey helicopters hovering over their town. 

Over the years, the town has been the site of clashes between government forces and armed groups, including followers of extremist organizations which have been responsible for some of the most violent attacks in Mindanao.

“The armed conflict here was so intense that children, as well as the adults, [are afraid upon hearing] the sound of helicopter,” recalled Arlyn Jawad Jumao-as, president of Save the Children of War (Basilan) Association Inc.

Over the years, the Basilan-based nongovernment organization has been providing social healing interventions to child victims of war in the island-province.

“It literally rained with assorted candies and stuffed toys. Now, children will no longer fear the sound of a helicopter,” Jumao-as said.

Jumao-as said the Save the Children of War Association’s interventions are designed to help the children recover from a dark chapter in their town’s history and give them back the childhood they lost during the war.