Swapping guns for ballpoint pens in the Philippines – Global issues

A former fighter fighting for the rights of her people on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines has told how she traded her combat gear for jilbabs (outerwear) and her life in the jungle for a more peaceful rural community.

Suraida “Sur” Amil joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB) as an 18-year-old with the goal of achieving autonomy for the predominantly Muslim regions of Mindanao.

After an agreement was signed to end the insurgency and provide greater autonomy and self-governance for the people of Bangsamoro, she participated in a reconciliation program supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to reintegrate and rehabilitate former combatants.

“Growing up in Bangsamoro at a young age, I saw how difficult life was for my parents. They faced various forms of discrimination and witnessed the brutality of the nine-year martial law declared in 1972, which deeply affected many communities in Mindanao, including the Muslim population.

My parents had a hard life, lived in poverty and could not achieve their dreams. This has affected my life and the lives of my nine other siblings. I had hoped to become a teacher, but that never worked out because I dropped out of school due to a lack of financial support.

At eighteen, I realized that I had to fight for the rights of our people and for our self-determination, not only for my generation but also for future generations.

A friend of mine was a member of BIWAB and as soon as I heard about its goals, it reminded me of the suffering my parents had experienced and what I could do to improve the situation for our community.

If you ask me whether I would choose war or peace, of course I would never choose war over peace, but for that peace we had to fight.

I operated in the jungles as a warrior for a while. It was a harsh environment living among the wild animals in the mountains, without the comforts of home.

But women are very strong; they have the ability to become fighters and provide for their families at the same time.

Ballpoint pens, no guns, jilbabs, no military uniforms

In 2014, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) was signed and little by little we are transforming ourselves into citizens. I have traded in my combat boots for lipstick, I wear ballpoint pens to write instead of a gun to shoot, I wear a jilbab and not a military uniform and I have moved out of the jungle and back to my community.

I have become a peace mediator and work with people around me on issues such as gender-based violence and the prevention of violent extremism.

Islam teaches us to be kind to each other and not to harm other people. We have a saying in Islam that if we save one life, it is as if we have saved humanity.

I value and take pride in my role as an advocate for peace in my community.

As part of the workshop discussion on modern forms of communication that I participated in, I learned how to promote awareness and prevention of violent extremism on social media.

I now live a life of peace, but my message to my young daughter has always been to always fight for her rights.

When you fight for a noble cause, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose something, because it is the cause itself that really matters.”