At the beginning of the year 2000, the United Nations proclaimed a ten-year initiative of ” Dialogue among Civilizations”. Unfortunately, the September 11 bombing and the new time of history of violence became more visible. Since the beginning of all these sad events has been challenged to do more in the spirit of dialogue and peace.
Unfortunately on September 2013 in Zamboanga City, the place where Silsilah started in 1984 was affected by a terrible siege that killed innocent lives and displaced thousands of people. In that occasion, we in Silsilah did our best to be close to all, trying to rebuild hope and good relations between Muslims and Christians in the city.
The list of acts of violence in Mindanao and other parts of the world is still alarming.
What should we do?
When the president of the Philippines declared the total war in Mindanao in 2000, we in Silsilah understood that that was not the solution. Among the efforts of peace that we did, we started to promote the HARMONY PRAYER as the ‘arm of prayer’ that then was spread in the country and around the world.
Another initiative that we encouraged since the beginning was the World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) that started in 2010 by the United Nations based on the ‘Love of God and the Love of Neighbor and the Love for the common good’ among people of different religions and cultures. We saw the wisdom and the importance of this initiative. We started the WIHW in Zamboanga and spread the initiative around the country together with the Harmony prayer and the Harmony Post (for more information, www.harmonylink.info).
In preparation for the tenth anniversary of the Zamboanga siege , Silsilah will launch the initiative to gather reflections related to that terrible event of September 2013. We encourage all to continue to rebuild the city, not only the buildings, but also to unite all as part of the same “Human Fraternity”.
Starting this January, 2023, we will publish in our Oasis News some of the reflections that we will receive. We will make a collection called, SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER AFTER TEN YEARS.
As part of this ongoing program that we are restarting after the COVID19 time the “BUKAS PUSO” program (Open Heart), a feeding for the Children in Martha Drive (Sta. Catalina in Zamboanga City) where the Padayon Center of Emmaus and Silsilah is located.
It was during the Zamboanga siege that Padayon Center became the place of the rebels and later the military. Until this time there are still visible signs of the siege in the center.
TO REMEMBER the siege in Padayon center, we placed a message, “Why Violence? Why not Peace? We are Brothers and Sisters.”
Our mission in Silsilah is to always remember not to renew divisions, but to internalize and appreciate the importance of dialogue and peace. Our special mission is especially to help many to understand that peace is possible if we start together a journey of dialogue and a spirituality of life-in-dialogue, each one starting from the faith that he/she professes.
Thus, we prepare this remembrance of the siege by starting to reflect and pray to make the coming memory of the ten years of the Zamboanga siege. It is an occasion to REBUILD friendship among all and encourage the government and agencies in-charge to continue to rebuild the house and the structures that still needs to be improved after the siege.
You may send your reflection to us via email at silsilahdialogue@gmail.com or message our FB page, https://www.facebook.com/silsilahdialogue.
– Silsilah Dialogue Movement