War, calamity, tragedy and other adversarial events may damage lives
and properties but they also open doors for solidarity and compassion.
Datu Norodin Alonto Lucman, 61, traditional Meranao leader of the
Royal House of Mindanao and Sulu and former deputy governor of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, for one serves as a living
testimony on how crisis enabled him to help beyond beliefs, religion and
ethnicity as he narrated how he helped non-Muslims working on a tower
near his residence when the violence in Marawi City erupted on May 23.
“I was doing some house chores. Around the same time, some
technicians were fixing the Smart tower. At around two o’clock in the
afternoon, I heard a burst of gunfire in the vicinity of the other side
of the river,” Lucman narrated.
Lucman said he made some phone calls when he learned that the Maute group launched the attack.
Upon knowing that terrorists blocked the way going out to Iligan,
Lucman decided to let the non-Muslims take refuge in his house. He said
they were hoping that the fighting will subside the following day. He
was thinking that he can then arrange their transport back to Iligan or
Cagayan de Oro City. But it turned out that the fighting became
protracted.
“It was a 12-day ordeal for me because when other non-Muslim workers
learned of my decision to bring in people in my house for safety, they
also came for their own safety including their children, wives and some
carpenters.”
Lucman said that at first there were only 11 but it kept on adding up
until it swelled to 44 non- Muslims. Other Meranao families also came
to the house for protection. By the time they entered the fifth day of
the siege, people in his house swelled to 74.
The Meranao leader shared that he has enough food in his house which
could last for only a week. “We were only subsisting on rainwater and
some fruits taken from some trees nearby from day 8 to day 12 of the
crisis," he said.
According to him, one of the Meranao families that he was sheltering fasted since the start of the Ramadhan.
“I cannot fast because if the others see that I am weak, they might
be demoralized and I don’t want that to happen. They have to see that I
am strong, that I can make decision, and I’m on top of the situation,”
Lucman said.
Strategic location
Lucman resides in a very strategic location. It is also equipped with a generator.
“My location is elevated and it overlooked the whole city. In fact, I
witnessed five major battles in that area. I can see the terrorists
running around, the bombs that are being thrown at them too.”
The good fellow also shared that there was even a time when a general
called him so he can describe the landscape of the battles.
He narrated that there were battles taking place in areas
specifically in areas around Malimono, Lilod, Marinaut. Another battle
took place about 500 meters from his house and it was very deafening. It
was a full scale battle.
As for his survival for days with the battles taking place in the
area, Lucman said, “It’s a good thing I have a generator, I was able to
use it for three days until I ran out of gasoline."
Encounters with the terrorists
Lucman recalled that some local terrorists knocked on his
door. “They were Yakans, Maguindanaoans and Tausugs. I opened my door
and confronted them and I told them who I am. They seemed to know my
family so they showed respect. They said they are fighting for Islam and
lectured me about Islam.”
Lucman told them that there’s no need to lecture him about Islam since he studied Islamic Jurisprudence in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
“So, they stopped and asked me if they can enter my house,” Lucman narrated.
I replied ‘no’ and told them there are children and women inside the house.
I also asked them who their leader is and they said he is a Meranao. I
told them again to bring the Meranao leader so I can talk to him.
The following day, they came back with the Meranao leader who
instantly recognized me and called me Kaka, a sign of respect to an
elder.
I asked him, “Why are you doing this?”
“This is for Jihad,” the leader replied.
“Is there any way we can talk this over and do something about it?” I asked him again.
He said, “no Kaka, I will die here as a martyr.”
“If that's your decision, so be it," I told the leader.
"And then they left. From then on, they never bothered me again.” Lucman further narrated.
The terrorists never discovered that Lucman was sheltering non-Muslim civilians.
“This type of people has a very different view of Islam. They think
that by using the word Islam, it is their ticket to genocide, killing
people whether Muslims and non-Muslims like what we have witnessed in
Syria and Iraq. That is the only way they think. They believe that they
can set up their own Islamic state by eliminating large section of
non-Muslim population which is next to impossible because Islam thrives
on other civilizations. It is very tolerant on other religions,” Lucman
pointed-out.
Left with no other option
Getting close to starvation, Lucman decided to break through the hostile area.
“There is no more water and food in the house. I have 74 people with
me who might die of hunger instead of being killed by the terrorists or
by the bombs of the military.
So on June 3, Lucman and his companions’ braved bullets and marched out of the hostile areas.
“I woke up everybody at about 5:30 in the morning and told them to
prepare because we are going to break out of the house. I also got in
touch with an officer who gave me the coordinates of the army positions
nearby.”
Lucman said the only time he felt there was the danger was when they
reached the commercial center where he noticed some snipers.
“Just watch me and if there's something wrong, in front of us, let me deal with it. Don’t say anything, just Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest),” Lucman told his companions.
Lucman described the commercial area as totally devastated. “You see
dogs, cats, rats, human remains, all strewn in the streets rotten… and
the smell was overpowering.”
When they reached the mouth of the bridge, Lucman said they were
confronted by one of the local terrorists. “As I got near him, he
instantly recognized me and he called me by my name. I was relieved that
he recognized me. After that, he gestured to his teammates on the
other side of the bridge and motioned them to let us pass,” Lucman
narrated.
Lucman was elated that his non-Muslim companions, as well as the
Muslim families who were with him, were not injured or shot. “They were
hungry and tired but they are all ok,” he added.
Unity and understanding
Lucman said it is high time that Muslims and Christians should come
together and find ways to heal the past historical anomaly for the
country to move on.
“There is no way you can govern through bigotry and ignorance. The
only way we can move forward as a nation and as a people is to
understand each other, work together, even pray together,” he said.
He pointed out that it would take months to clear the rubble brought
by the armed conflict in Marawi. “We need the help of everybody and the
national community because after the smoke clears there will be an
epidemic in Lanao del Sur especially in Marawi City,” Lucman said.
According to him, there will be retribution by clans or clan wars and
the clean-up will be very enormous after the crisis is over.
“We can no longer live as a divided nation. It is not good for our
children and our children’s children,” Lucman said. (APB/PIA-10)
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