Mindanao Conflict Research Articles

Integrating mental health into primary care for displaced populations: the experience of Mindanao, Philippines

BackgroundFor more than forty years, episodes of violence in the Mindanao conflict have recurrently led to civilian displacement. In 2008, Medecins Sans Frontieres set up a mental health program integrated into primary health care in Mindanao Region. In this article, we describe a model of mental health care and the characteristics and outcomes of patients attending mental health services.MethodsPsychologists working in mobile clinics assessed patients referred by trained clinicians located at primary level. They provided psychological first aid, brief psychotherapy and referral for severe patients. Patient characteristics and outcomes in terms of Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ20) and Global Assessment of Functioning score (GAF) are described.ResultsAmong the 463 adult patients diagnosed with a common mental disorder with at least two visits, median SRQ20 score diminished from 7 to 3 (p < 0.001) and median GAF score increased from 60 to 70 (p < 0.001). Baseline score and score at last assessment were different for both discharged patients and defaulters (p < 0.001).ConclusionsBrief psychotherapy sessions provided at primary level during emergencies can potentially improve patients' symptoms of distress.

Effects of Social Position on Societal Attributions of an Asymmetric Conflict

Traditionally, the study of peace and conflict has employed macro explanations such as social structure and state conditions. This article extends the discourse on peace and conflict by considering psychological conditions during a heated social conflict. The focus is on societal attribution, a cognitive process involving shared beliefs about the causes of societal events. The present study examines the effects of social positions on causal attributions in an asymmetric conflict that is taking place in the Philippines on the war-torn island of Mindanao. It was expected that causal attributions of the Mindanao war would differ between Christians and Muslims. Four hundred and thirty Muslims and Christians at Mindanao State University-Marawi stated their degree of agreement on belief statements about perceived intergroup inequality and ranked the three most important causes of the conflict in Mindanao. Results indicated that power inequality between groups is perceived only by the disadvantaged Muslim group, while members in the dominant social position were not sensitized to systemic issues. Findings also indicated intergroup disagreements about the causes of the war. The marginalized Muslims believed that structural problems, namely, displaced and landless Bangsa Moro (Muslim Nation) and loss of rights to self-determination were important origins of the conflict. On the other hand, the dominant Christian group attributed the Mindanao conflict to person-related causes like corruption of the mind and moral fiber, as well as sociocultural discrimination. Implications for attribution theory and the practice of peacemaking in asymmetric conflicts are discussed.

War or Peace Journalism? Asian Newspaper Coverage of Conflicts

This study examines the extent to which four Asian regional conflicts involving India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines are framed as war journalism or peace journalism based on Johan Galtung's classification. A content analysis of 1,338 stories from 10 newspapers suggests that, overall, the news coverage of these conflicts is dominated by a war journalism frame. The Indian and Pakistani coverage of the Kashmir issue shows the strongest war journalism framing whereas the coverage of the Tamil Tiger movement and the Mindanao conflict by the Sri Lankan and the Philippine newspapers reveals a more promising peace journalism framing. The three most salient indicators of peace journalism are the avoidance of demonizing language, a nonpartisan approach, and a multiparty orientation. The war journalism frame is supported by a focus on the here and now, an elite orientation, and a dichotomy of good and bad.

Religious Identity, Political Autonomy and National Integrity: Implications for educational policy from MuslimChristian conflict in the Southern Philippines

Since 1900 successive American and Filipino governments have deployed educational policy as a tool to mitigate Muslim-Christian conflict on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. This essay analyzes the evolution of educational policy from a focus on integration to one of autonomy within the historical context of the Mindanao conflict. Both policies are found wanting. The policy of integration has proved problematic as many Filipino Muslims have resisted it as cultural assimilation, while the more recent policy of autonomy may exacerbate centrifugal tensions in the region. The essay concludes with an argument for a de-centered, multicultural approach to educational policy and practice that could offer a more hopeful approach to mitigating Muslim-Christian conflict in Mindanao through education.