Philippines: Schoolchildren of different ethnic groups and religions are becoming teammates and friends – in spite of several decades of armed conflict

‘People always say we need peace here,’ says the Philippine schoolgirl Jameelah. She lives on the island of Mindanao in the south of the country. ‘But they want to achieve peace by fighting and using violence. Maybe that is something about adults that I do not understand. I want to achieve peace by doing what I am best at: playing.’

Jameelah is one of over a thousand children and young people who have taken part in the Sports for Peace workshops on Mindanao so far. Together with other schoolchildren she has played football, volleyball, basketball and baseball. The participants have also held discussions and taken part in painting and acting sessions. Although this sounds like a straightforward, enjoyable way to spend free time, it is set against a very difficult background: the children come from Christian and Muslim families or belong to ethnic minorities with their own language and religion. The fact that they are spending their free time together is something special because this is a region in which there are deep divisions between the different religious and ethnic groups.

Largely unnoticed by the global public, an armed conflict has been raging on Mindanao since the 1970s. So far it has claimed at least 120,000 lives and forced over a million people to become refugees. In the north of Mindanao the armed faction of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NPA) is fighting against the government. In the south the conflicts involve the Muslim minority, which is socially and economically disadvantaged. The armed groups demand greater autonomy, or even independence, for those areas peopled by Muslims. Terrorist attacks are a frequent occurrence; several peace treaties have failed. The native inhabitants of the island also feel marginalised and are increasingly demanding their rights.

‘Sports for Peace allows young people to form friendships across the borders,’ says Holger Zahn of GTZ Philippines. ‘They develop respect for other attitudes and ways of life, which is essential to help bring about peace.’ During the workshops they begin by discussing the background of the Mindanao conflict and developing ideas on how a culture of peace could be established. Tutors from different segments of the population help them with this. When the actual sports programme kicks off on the second day of the event, the young people have the opportunity to show what they learned the previous day. They watch all the games and decide which team has the best attitude towards both teammates and opponents.

GTZ supports Sports for Peace on behalf of BMZ and in collaboration with non-governmental organisations and various Philippine authorities. Eight Sports for Peace events have been organised to date and there are plans to hold more in Caraga in the north of Mindanao in the second half of 2010. The project will not end here however: it is intended that the schools in the region will regularly offer Sports for Peace as part of the curriculum.