BARMM VOICES

What’s the importance of youth in a region that’s burdened with histories of conflict? They become the epitome of survivors and changemakers. They carry generations of violence, displacement, and marginalization, but more importantly, they carry the potential to rewrite the narrative. BARMM is not just a region that is considered to be always afflicted with conflicts, but it is also a region that is considered to be a survivor as throughout the conflicts, they still remain standing and progressing. In a place like Bangsamoro, where peace is fragile and justice is still a work in progress, the youth should not be seen as just passive recipients of reform.

They are the core of progress. Progress is catered towards by them and most of the time progress happens because the youth start it for the region. The youth push for progress because they become volunteers, organizers, story tellers, and students where through their experience in the region, it fuels recovery. Once the region invests properly in youth, it means the region is investing in sustainable peace. Ignoring their silent struggles and denying that it is a struggle risk repeating the very cycles of loss that BARMM seeks to avoid.

These struggles of the youth are due to historical conflicts, poverty, lack of quality education, and resources. However, amid the struggles, the youth of the region are not simply victims, they are moving through these challenges with resilience. Most students go through their academic life despite poverty and frequent displacement, while others become active in youth grassroot organizations to promote peace, education, and even mental health. In areas like Marawi and Maguindanao, young volunteers lead and organize projects where they tutor children in shelters, distribute learning materials and in-kind donations, and hold proper forums and seminars on youth empowerment. These are not huge gestures on improvement, but it shows that through the struggles of the youth, there is still a fine line between hope and despair.

A respected jurist in Notre Dame once defined nation-building as a process in which the communities that compromise the region makes commitment to enhancing it. In where the region, they forego the choices and opportunities on behalf of the best interest of the region. But what happens when one of those communities feels that those guarantees were never truly offered?

This is where the youth become the agents of progress and pillars of hope. They are the generation that becomes the core for progress because they can push for national narrative that includes Bangsamoro not as an afterthought, but as an essential voice that carries impact for the nation. But to do so, the Bangsamoro has to also invest in the youth for the youth to invest back, their silent struggles need to be heard, not just to address their pain, but to ensure that peace in BARMM is not just through the documents and institutions but it must be felt in the lived experience of the people in their daily lives.

In the end, the progress for peace in Bangsamoro is not just found in the government through political discourse or administrative processes. It is also about those in the ground especially for the youth because without them, there is no future for the region. Progress for peace lies in giving the youth a reason to stay, to thrive, and to believe that their cultural identity and their history as people of BARMM are not just something to be ignored but to be embraced and celebrated. The moment the region chooses to invest in them rather than just to ignore what the youth are going through and what they need. Through investing in them whether it be economically, emotionally, and politically, hope can be finally more than just a distant possibility.

References:

Joan B. Kroc (2007) Personal Reflections on the Bangsamoro Struggle. https://www.beyondintractability.org/reflection/baddiri-personal