If There Is Much In The Window There Should Be More In The Room

Sunday, January 10, 2010

A Cleft in the Earth Under One Sky




The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre (after the town where the mass graves were found), occurred on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. 

The victims were about to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town. Mangudadatu was challenging part of the  national elections in 2010. Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr, son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr, in the forthcoming Maguindanao gubernatorial election.  

The 57 people killed included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy - Wikipedia

The killings on the road leading to Shariff Aguak town have been condemned loudly and vehemently. Not only because of the cruelty and vileness involved, but also because they were carried out with apparent planning and cold-blooded cunning.- Philippine Daily Inquirer




Directed and edited by Kiri Dalena. Written and produced by Patricia Evangelista. Voiced by Cheche Lazaro. Aired over ANC.November 23, 2009. This is a story about death in a place they call the Promised Land, where a crescent moon rises with a Christian sun, over a road where 57 men and women were murdered in cold blood.



Under One Sky (Part 1 of 3)



Under One Sky (Part 2 of 3)




Under One Sky (Part 3 of 3)






Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacreUnder One Sky: Patricia Evangelista Kiri DalenaCheche LazaroLaurence Bernabe Rina Jimenez David





4 comments:

  1. Man's cruelty and inhumanity to man never ceases to shock me. Amazingly, I don't recall hearing or reading anything about this horrific crime. I'm pleased to find out that the mentally-ill and cowardly culprits were arrested and charged according. I hope justice prevails. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. For all of history's
    humbling lessons,
    amid fear and a determination
    never again to cause
    the demise of values, morals,
    never again be practitioners
    of hate and indifference -
    there repeats a time when
    we are wont to ask ourselves:
    What kind of animals are those
    that perpetrated this surreal
    and all too real inhumanity
    by man towards each other?

    However all the advances in technology,
    all progress towards a bright future,
    there still remain places that may
    as well be trapped in a time,
    when local lords and their political enemies
    slug it out, play Gods amongst
    themselves, exceeding lust for power,
    and avarice to the detriment of their people.

    Violence is always a blot on a
    nation’s democratic history.
    What unequaled ignominy in
    the manner by which these
    attacks were carried out!
    Women and reporters were among the dead;
    some of them were raped and mutilated,
    all in broad daylight!
    This is an outraged nation
    demanding justice and expecting
    it to come swiftly from the national leadership,
    who has sworn to implement
    the law without fear or favor.....

    You're welcome, Markus.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just did some research into this horrific event. It sounds as if this thing was still being investigated/adjudicated, at least as of April. Do you know where it is at this time? May justice prevail.

    --M

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  4. Yes, thankfully, a few make
    that next step
    to understand and comprehend.
    You are one.

    One wonders how unfathomable madness
    and moral corruption can still exist
    in this day and age....

    You might like to be updated
    regarding this case:
    http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=610379&publicationSubCategoryId=63

    ReplyDelete