Church and civil society groups based in the United States will hold an online forum livestream and webinar to show solidarity with the more than 1,300 Talaingod Manobos who have evacuated their homes in Talaingod, Davao del Norte since April 2.
Around a week ago, when the reports of the Talaingod Manobo exodus first began trickling in, I happened to glance at a copy of a Mindanao regional daily at a local cafe. The front page proudly bannered that two battalions had been brought in from Luzon to add to counter-insurgency operations here in the Davao region. In my gut, I knew that this happy headline had something to do with the misery of my friends and many others in Talaingod.
Lumad Manobo evacuees squatted around a projection screen, some kids clung to a mango tree to get a better vantage point while women held their tots tight as they intently watched the boxing fight.
Manobo tribal children flew kites on Friday in a symbolic message to government to pull out Army troops currently doing counterinsurgency rounds in their hometown in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
Talaingod Manobo children at the UCCP compound in Davao fly kites with calls to stop military operations in their villages written on the kites. The activity was dubbed as "Tabanog sa Kalinaw" and organized by groups supporting the 1,300 Manobos who fled from their militarized villages in Davao del Norte.