OVER 30 Moro youth leaders gathered on this island for the Moro Youth Peace Camp organized by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (ARMM) Office on Bangsamoro Youth Affairs (OBYA) on March 17-18. The youth camp is in line with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Jabidah Massacre, which is considered a critical point in the Bangsamoro struggle. The activity is also part of the region’s Bangsamoro Week of Peace that started on March 12. “We have gathered youth leaders across the region in one place to learn about one important part of the history of the struggle,” said Nizam Pabil, executive director of OBYA. “For you to appreciate, embrace and support the plight of the Moro leaders today — may it be BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law), may it be addressing discrimination — it is important to look back and understand where it is coming from,” he said. The camp was held in Corregidor Island where the Jabidah Massacre that resulted in the killing of Moro soldier-recruits occurred in March 1968. “You have to understand something for you to appreciate something. The best avenue to learn is to go to the place,” said the youth affairs director.

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