migrants of Mindanao-their past and present perils, debacles and recoveries

MIGRANTS OF MINDANAO-THEIR PAST AND PRESENT PERILS ,DEBACLES AND RECOVERY

By FAINA C. ABAYA-ULINDANG,Ph.D

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY-MARAWI

ABSTRACT

      This paper explores into the lives of second generation Mindanaoan settlers, particularly those whose parents were supported by government resettlement projects during the Commonwealth and Magsaysay administrations in the Cotabato provinces and Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur. Sporadic  interviews also from the migrants themselves as well as written both primary and secondary sources are the main bases for this study .

      Three periods are specifically identified-perils(the pioneering period),debacles(challenges and reactions to their settlement) and recovery (prospects of sustainable future for these migrants). PERILS would refer to the period of the American agricultural colonies,the National Land Settlement period during the Commonwealth and the EDCOR Era of Magsaysay; DEBACLES would refer to the period of Martial Law era when focus of the Marcos Administration was given to the secessionist insurgencies of Mindanao affecting the migrants; including the recent 2008 MOA-AD debacle when their lives and properties were destroyed due to internecine wars between the rebels and the government; and  finally, the period of  RECOVERY during the present period when peacebuilding measures between the government and the rebels spell hope for the rehabilitation and recovery for the victims of these internecine wars, particularly the migrants.

                Finally, drawing from the three periods offered as the historical overview of migration and resettlement of Mindanao, this paper concludes with the hope that it may help to fill in a gap in the tri-people history writing of Mindanao ,i.e Moro, Lumad and Christian settlers that has decidedly relegated the story of the latter as no more than a work-in-progress that is yet to be written.