In Basilan, children in former Abu Sayyaf lair ‘ecstatic’ about going back to school
TIPO-TIPO, BASILAN—Two days before classes reopened on July 29, hundreds of children and teens in the villages of Limbo-Upas and Macalang of Basilan’s town of Tipo-Tipo trooped to Limbo-Upas Elementary School to receive school supplies as aid from a nongovernment organization.
Ahadi Sausi, who at 19 years old is a Grade 9 student, was overjoyed upon getting a new school bag stuffed with notebooks, ball pens and pad papers.“It feels good to go to school with everything that you need. We will continue making brooms so we can earn for our daily allowance,” said Sausi, referring to the Walis Para sa Kinabukasan (Brooms for a Future) project of Save the Children from War in Basilan.
During the school break last April, Sausi and his family began making brooms out of midribs of coconut leaves, which were then bought by the nongovernment group and sold at P500 for a bundle of three.
“Every time someone buys three brooms, he or she helps in sending a kid to school, especially in the remote areas of Basilan,” said Dr. Arlyn Jumao-as, executive director of Save the Children from War.
The group also handed out to the children umbrellas, raincoats and stuffed toys that were given by various donors during the July 27 distribution event.
Once he graduates from senior high school, he plans to take up either a degree in criminology or education, Sausi said.
Once danger zones
Jumao-as, too, was ecstatic about the radical shift in the outlook of people in the two villages, which were considered danger zones 15 years ago.
“This place was labeled as Abu Sayyaf lair in the past. Children can’t go to school, and residents here abandoned their homes to stay in nearby safer areas. Now, the community is peaceful, the children are all excited to go to school and learn,” Jumao-as noted.
She cited Limbo Upas village chief Nurhassan Jamiri as one example of that transformation. Once an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, Jamiri now works with Jumao-as’ group, the local government and the military in ensuring that children in his community are afforded opportunities for learning.
Change of heart
Forced to become a Moro guerrilla at 11, Jamiri said he strayed into the bandit group but later abandoned it “because its activities are not in line with the Bangsamoro cause.”
He surrendered in 2018, along with 12 followers, to then Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Mindanao Command.
“When I was in the mountains, my children were afraid to go to school in Lamitan. I feared for their safety. When they got sick, I was not around,” Jamiri recalled, speaking in Filipino.
Jamiri’s change of heart began when he met Jumao-as “who treated my kids (well) despite the image I earned in Basilan.”
“That is the reason why I opened up and welcomed Save the Children to our communities. We are also active in every project Save the Children introduces to us,” said Jamiri, now 43.
Two of Jamiri’s six children are currently in college. “They are my pride and joy and I regretted whatever I did in my younger days. I am proud to say there is life and hope in making brooms than carrying guns hiding in the mountains,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, admitted it was quite surreal to stand alongside Jamiri who was once the target of their operations.
“This is the return on investment in bridging peace and allowing combatants to return to the folds of the government. Seeing these children excited to go to school is priceless. I can see the best for Basilan in the coming years,” Luzon said. INQ
