This is only a draft. I hope I have enough time this weekend to complete this blog.
(I am introducing my out-of-school son to Visual C++ this weekend. He stumbled on Java a week ago. But I think Visual C++ would be better since he is interested in game programming.)
My outline for this piece:
1. I have a stake in Mindanao. The first casualty in our family was an uncle who was killed (early 1950s) in Zamboanga del Norte by bandits.
2. I spent my early childhood up until my grade 1 (1958) in Zamboanga del Sur. From Grade 2 until my high school I stayed with my grandparents in Cebu.
3. For college I went back to Mindanao and studied fisheries hoping to spend the rest of my years tending to our family fishpond.
4. My father was murdered by his political opponent (a fellow Bisaya) in 1971. My mother moved the family back to Cebu. My father's kins stuck it out. A little later the "Muslim-Christian" conflict erupted. Our town was razed to the ground.
5. My uncle and his second wife and children were killed by the rebels presumably Maguindanaos. My cousin and his family were killed also by rebels.
6. I think the Maranaos and the Maguindanaos and other natives of Mindanao have plenty of reasons for feeling aggrieved.
7. Peace and progress can only be achieved if these grievances are properly resolved. Some kind of closure, of restitution, is needed because of the past injustice the natives of Mindanao suffered at the hands of those not from Mindanao.
