Ka' Dadang Loves to Risk her Life for Others

They say that first impression lasts, but in her case, and if you'd have "that" first impression of her, look again, and very intently this time. You'd have to be proven wrong! Awfully dead wrong.

Ask any ten random people who had known her, this question: "Describe Ka' Dadang," and their answers shall crazily revolve around her being "Mataray", "Mabungis", not a friendly person, difficult to be a friend. But is it right?

Today, dear friends, I found the answer, and it is "No!" A big resounding "No!"

You, including me, must have been judging from her stern-looking face, but had you really tried to approach her and spark some friendly conversations with her (yes, remove that fidgety feeling that may arise from being close with this stern-looking woman), you would have found a whacky but determined person, who would have care less about her own life and job just to render selfless service to other people in need, especially in life-and-death situations.

We will talk about her flirting with death just to save lives, but let us first know Ka' Dadang.

Getting to know Ka' Dadang

Ka' Dadang is a single mother, a mother of two (13 and 14 years old), whom are the sources of her inspirations in life, in addition to her nurturing parents, who are still "alive and kicking" today. May Allah swt give them long happy life.

Her love story had ended four years ago, yes, but that became her stepping stone to make her life more meaningful to other people today.

Will she ever choose a different life? Will she ever want to rewind some parts of her life? She said, "No! I love the way life had mould me to be."

"Every life experience that I had," she said, "had taught me valuable lessons."

She is the kind of a woman who is "Mapagbigay," always putting herself and her happiness secondary to her loved ones'.

Thus, she left her husband in a happy note, personally working out the divorce paper herself, because her husband would not left her, and also because Ka' Dadang did not like to live being in a polygamous family.

Had she been affected with the divorce? "Yes, a lot." She said, "I avoided social life for two years and stayed with my two children to help me ease the pain."

She had not told any soul about her problem, not even her parents.

But until now, she and her husband are still in good terms with each other, separated, yes, but happy people still.

That experience, among many other bad but nurturing experiences, has made her what she is today: a very kind woman, soft spoken, frank, friendly, and have a knack at sending cold water to any person's angry heart.

Yes, she had wonderfully settled a lot of conflicts in Sulu. Should there be no Ka' Dadang, many conflicts in Sulu would have become full blown war and bloodshed and uncertainties. Her recent success was in Kalinggalan Kaluang. Just few days ago.

The two warring families were in the middle of it all, with three casualties, two wounded persons, burnt houses, destroyed coconut trees -- name it -- But Ka' Dadang had effectively negotiated a truce. Alhamdulillah, no more bloodshed for now, if both parties continuously respect the agreement Ka' Dadang provided for both sides, Inshaa Allah!

Saving a Wounded Boy "Terrorist"

Her most unforgettable memory of selfless service was when she saved the wounded 13 year old boy in Buhanginan, Patikul a year ago.

The boy, called Haiver, the son of a Barangay Councilor in Buhanginan, was wounded at the back from a Marine fire, mistaking the boy as a member of Abu Sayaff group.

Upon knowing the incident, she immediately sprang to action and asked the Red Cross to come with her and save the boy.

Her office, the Center of Humanitarian Dialogue, did not know of her decision. She did not inform her officemates.

"I threw the name of my office at the back, and worked only in my personal capacity just to help save lives," said Ka' Dadang.

Alas, since the ASG and the military were in heavy fighting that time, it was not easy to transport the boy to the Jolo town to get treated, besides the boy was considered as ASG terrorist. The boy had seemed to have already lost so much blood.

Ka' Dadang recalled that they had been stopped by at least five checkpoints along the way, but she angrily insisted that: "Even though, this person might be terrorist, but he still need treatment!"

She had successfully brought the boy to the hospital in the Jolo town despite many elegant and sly maneuverings of the military to get at the boy. The military had even offered to take the boy to the Trauma Hospital in Camp Bautista, but Ka' Dadang refused.

She instructed the Hospital to put the boy in a Private room, and instructed the boy's Patikul Police Guards not to let anyone get near the almost dying patient, except his family.

She had also asked the Mayor of Patikul to extend assistance to the patient. And it was granted.

She stayed with the boy during his operation and got blood donors for the boy, who needed continuous blood supply. The blood was almost completely drained from his body.

After being unconscious for 16 hours, the boy woke up, and looked at his angel: "Anti', di' ta kaw tuud kabayaran," said the boy crying.

The mother approached Ka' Dadang: "Magsukul, Inda', sin tiyabangan mu kami, magbuhi' balik ha anak namu," said the mother hugging Ka' Dadang.

The boy is now second year high school and already happily married to his fiancee, whom he had asked for marriage while he was laying dying at the hospital.

He said that time: "Tiyauna na kami, Ama' Ina', misan aku matay na, bang man in kami nakawin na."

The military had hit the boy at the back in the boy's own farm while he was trying to complete his dowry to his fiancee.

So you say that first impression lasts? Not all the time right?

Ka' Dadang and her Team of Selfless Civilian Warriors in Sulu.

Dance to the Dayang Dayang Song

Introducing Dos Fuertas song: Dayang Dayang!

Dos Fuertes is a new group composed of young and experimental talents. The term Dos Fuertes means two forces which best describes the group since they are only composed of two members. The Group is comprised of Mohamed Bansil, Musical Producer ,DJ and Vocals, and Clifford Ronquillo,Mohammed Bansil Lyrical Composer and Lead Vocals.

Dos Fuertes comes from the City of Zamboanga. The concept of the group is to represent their origin and culture by singing/rapping in their local dialect Chavacano and TAUSUG at the same time giving their listeners a sudden urge to stand up and dance through their hard hitting, regaeton dance oriented musical rhythms and beats.

Dos Fuertes is the solution for those in need of a "HYPER-FIX" :-)

Mohamed Bansil

Suspected Bomber Arrested in Indanan

At 10:30 am Sunday, June 1, 2014, a cockpit (pagtatakbian or Tarik) at Indanan was disturbed by the approaching arresting officers composed of policemen and soldiers.

The policemen were members of the Philippine National's Crime Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

"Dapa!" said one officer. "Isa lang ang huhulihin namin."

Did you think for a second that the "Tarik" was raided? No, no, no!

Hearing the loud order from a well-built Police Officer, most cockfight connoisseurs dropped low, but then those who could run away from the cockpit sprinted as fast as their feet could able; even some policemen who were not members of the raiding team and were frequent customers of the cockfight house bolted away, too.

Of course, some scampered hugging their priced "Manuk Tatakbi" in their chest.

One person who fled from the commotion stumbled over. The gun he was carrying was seen from her belly. He was also arrested (though he was not the objective).

The CIDG was only there to serve warrant to a suspect, Mihaji Hamjuda alias Mahang, who was found to have been hiding in the area of Ummul Qurrah in Barangay Kajatian.

The arrest warrant was issued by the presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC)-9th Judicial Region, Branch 4 in Parang town.

Even before the coming of the majority of the arresting team, two intel officers had already been flanking the suspect, limiting his ability to escape.

When the suspect was about to be stomped in the back while being handcuffed lying on the ground, a civilian shouted: "Inform him of his rights! In case you don't know, there is already Human Rights Monitoring Center in Sulu."

So, the arresting officers read the suspect the Miranda doctrine.

"Hamjuda has three standing warrants for multiple murder and frustrated murder. He is said to be responsible for the September 2009 bombing in Kagay Roadside, Jolo, Sulu that killed two American soldiers, a Filipino Marine and wounded three others in Barangay Kagay in Indanan,” Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong, director of the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said

The troops were on their way to inspect a school project when their vehicle, a Humvee, rolled over an improvised bomb.

“He was taken to Zamboanga City before he will be turned over to the court which issued the arrest warrant,” said Magalong.

Will this incident strengthen the People's trust towards law enforcers in Sulu?

Will the case filed in proper courts increase in number? Will the people now cease to put the law into their own hands?

One might wonder why there was apparent decrease in crimes at the Pondohan in Sitangkai. It is because of the ever-present Philippine Navy patrolling the area.

If you have to do something bad, you shall immediately be corralled in the center of the sea, with no where to run to.

Unlike in Sulu where the land area is a little bit wider, some of those areas are even treacherous forests, Pondohan in Sitangkai has few hiding places.

But even so, alias Mahang was not able to hide forever in the hinterland of Sulu from the rule of law. He was arrested. In a cockpit near Ummul Qurra Village, Kajatian, Indanan, Sulu.

Image sources:
1) http://www.backpackingmatt.com/experiencing-a-bali-cockfight/
2) http://www.answers.com/topic/cockfight

The Cure for Identity Crisis and Cognitive Dissonance

Rene Descartes

The question "Who am I?" is a difficult question to answer, especially if you are not yet sure of what "identity" you really belong.

Are you a Tausug, a Bangsamoro, or A Filipino?

The why's of existence

Even our existence is really difficult to prove, unless we rely on the age-old wisdom accumulated thru the years. 

The philosopher Rene Descartes had had numerous nightmares, too, trying to figure out the answer to the conundrum "Who am I?" Until finally one day, he did find it!

"Cogito ergo sum!" he exclaimed. "I think, therefore I am!"

Faced with the difficulty of finding the solution to the existence conundrum, many people have learned to sought refuge on religion to have peace of mind, to have one less problem to bear.

Peaceful State of Mind

It is in this state of peace that life becomes auto-pilot, like doing routinary task, walking or washing plates, for instance. Just imagine if you have to think where to step on every step that you have to take. It should take hours, nay days, before you will arrive to the opposite side of the room!

We learn to simplify things to help us cope up with life easily. It is in these stages of life that we learn to put everything in a database-like compartments deep within the recesses of our minds. Those database are filled with hard-to-change schema.

"In psychology and cognitive science, a schema (plural schemata or schemas) describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them." (Wikipedia)

"It can also be described as a mental structure of preconceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information." (Wikipedia)

People who can't have well-organized schema, however, tends to hold two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time. This is called in psychology as cognitive dissonance, a very discomforting experience.

"This stress and discomfort may also arise within an individual who holds a belief and performs a contradictory action or reaction." (Wikipedia)

We have really that problem, that mental stress, my friends.

Cognitive dissonance in Sulu

The Muslims, the predominant people in Sulu, need to live their lives in accordance with the Muslims' way of life. It is difficult to do that, however, inside the Philippine colonialistic and centric government.

The Philippine government strongly advocated the separation of the Church and the State, but the Muslims' ideals are founded on the idea that Islam is a way of life. Therefore, Islam encompasses all, including governance. So it is ideal that Shariah be made the ultimate justice system in the Muslim's system of governance.

Alright, the MNLF-GPH agreement had attained milestone in that, some portions of the Shariah were respected and institutionalized, but most of the Muslims demand for more. Thus, the Muslims seem not to respect the existence of local government units because they looked at them as the extension of "kuffar" Philippine government.

Are we going to accept part of the Shariah and then neglect the other parts?

The effect of the mental stress

Some people have really cope up with this problem successfully. But the majority have been having dire consequences of side-effects and withdrawal symptoms!

People with these symptoms are exhibiting violent behaviors and harboring sinister ideas. To these people, there is only one reason of existence: "to kill, kill, and kill!" until the Islamic governance finally succeed in its entirety.

The so-called "ASG", the revolutionaries, the other rebel groups and their supporters are included in these type of mentality.

They will do everything, by hook or by crook, for the Muslim governance to finally install itself in this troubled South.

Justifications
United Nation's General Assembly Resolution No. 1514, December 14, 1960, states that: "All people have the Right to Self-Determination, Decolonization and Independence. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status, or freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development."

And, Tausug people are people of the Tausug Nation.

What is Nation?

A people, or aggregation of men, existing in the form of an organized jural society, inhabiting a distinct portion of the earth, speaking the same language, using the same customs, possessing historic continuity, and distinguished from other like groups by their racial origin and characteristics, and generally, but not necessarily, living under the same government and sovereignty. 

OK, Quo Vadis?

"No matter what type the government we have," said a fruit vendor in KM2 in Tausug, "as long as I can still freely sell my fruits, I do not really care."

That is exactly how the majority of the Tausug people feel. As long as unity between every Tausug is elusive, we can only but dream of a brighter tomorrow, but dream we should not stop doing. Allah is still here, listening to us all.

The cure for the mental stress
Earlier, we established that the majority of the Tausug could be suffering from "cognitive dissonance" and we also described the level of recovery of each Tausug from the mental stress. But what really is the practical cure of the mental stress?

The radical way that could be a little less stressful is to go sailing on our separate ways together, to accept our differences, rejoice from it, and learn from it. For who knows, despite of our travelling on different waters, we shall still meet at the same destination someday, somehow.

It is just a matter of understanding each and every positions we have, their differences and their commonalities. Then work together, instead of being so antagonistic with each other. Everyone is dreaming for the same objective however disparate her means of achieving it.

Simply, tell the other person your thesis or intellectual proposition. Let her react to it. Then finally, solves the conflict between them by reconciling the common truths between your differing ideas and forming a new thesis that should be acceptable to both of you. If not, repeat the process until there would be smile on your faces, meaning you finally find an amicable settlement.

Life is too short to be filled with all the negative things -- rancor, hate, envy, jealousy, name it!

Let's join hands, therefore, and strengthen our love, friendship, and understanding within the sphere of our Tausugness. The Tausug are tough but lovable and fun-loving race in the world.

So wear that beautiful smile in your face all the time!

Masterful Endgame ehem!

An endgame magic comes about of a superior pieces' placement in the opening.

Seaweeds Rising in the Land Below the Wind

Sitangkai Seaweeds Export Co.: Seaweeds Rising in the Land Below the Wind

In this waterworld where there is more sea and reef than land, Tausug and Sama seaweed farmers smell the wind to determine seasons of harvest and rest. For them, there are only three seasons that matter; these are times when seaweeds are abundant. May to October is forgettable, a time of hunger and want.

Sitangkai, one of the municipalities of Tawi-Tawi, produces about half of the Philippine seaweed industry’s total output. It is the world’s biggest producer of seaweeds in one contained location, and recognized as the “Seaweed Capital of the Philippines” with most (80 percent) residents dependent on seaweed farming for livelihood.

The contrast jars in that despite Sitangkai’s contribution of an equivalent PhP2 billion annually to the country’s net dollar inflow; and in spite of the 3,000 metric tons of monthly harvest and the extremely hard work of around 20,000 farmers, the measly take-home is only around PhP1,750 per month.

The fact is, for all the titles, the seaweed farmers are still dirt poor. Potable water is imported from Sibutu, another island. Electricity is supplied by small generator sets for those who can afford these; for most, kerosene lamps are used for lighting with fuel brought from other islands. Tawi- Tawi islands are, thankfully, “below the wind,” or the people of Sitangkai, having very little arable land, would have starved if they failed to get food from the Sitangkai mainland and another island, Tandu Banak.

PRIME and organizing the seaweed farmers

In 2005, PDAP conducted community organizing in the area to prepare the seaweed farmers for its PRIME (Promoting Rural Industries and Market Enhancement) program. A “sunrise industry,” the potential for seaweed farming was huge then as it still is today For lack of capital and because of old or traditional farming practices, only about 10,000 hectares of the 60,000-hectare shallow reefs of Sitangkai have been farmed for three varieties of seaweeds, and the demand is still rising.

“The seaweeds industry is different,” says Grace Santos, PDAP Policy and Program Analysis Officer, “Big players control and monopolize the industry.”

Lacking in capital, small seaweed farmers, who cultivate an average of ¼ hectare each, are tied to traders who provide them with inputs and cultivars. “The wild seedlings that they have to cultivate in 35 to 45 days are expensive,” says Vangie Faburada, PDAP Project Officer, who helps organize the farmers.

“Literacy is low. Many cannot read nor write. They really have to be organized because they sell to different traders. Each pondohan is monopolized by a trader who dictates prices,” she adds.

“Pondohan,” traditionally a place for stopover or half-way houses, have evolved into villages-on-stilts constructed on shallow coral reef areas in the middle of the sea. They are near the seaweed farms and built from substandard construction materials.

Under PRIME, PDAP has already organized three pondohan, each with around 200 households. Since pondohan also double as drying areas for harvested seaweeds – often a piece of wood placed over bamboo which regularly threatens to overturn and capsize, and ruin almost dry seaweeds – PDAP provided funding support to construct three stilt dryers in each of the organized pondohan.

This crude drying technology passed on from farmer to farmer for generations and other similarly old or traditional practices caused many to believe that Sitangkai seaweeds are of poor quality because of their high moisture content and the presence of algae and other contaminants. This lowered the prices of the seaweeds compared to other islands such as Bongao or Panglima Sugala.

These, along with inadequate facilities during harvest and post-harvest, and the lack of cultivars that are adaptable and disease-resistant, are among the issues that bar the farmers from optimum level of production. Seaweed being the only source of income, farmers are pressured to desperately sell their produce on a daily basis. Farmers are also trapped in a feudal set-up with traders.

Given such a dire situation, PDAP’s support was a godsend.

PDAP provided technical support to the farmers to address the technology gap – increase production and improve quality to pass the standards of even the export market, and sustain the demand volume. A gene bank and three seaweeds nurseries were also constructed.

“Because of the poor quality of seedlings, they have a lesser harvest,” says Jolly Ahaja, President and owner of the Sitangkai Seaweeds Export Company (SITEXPORTS).

The Local Market Consolidator and democratizing trading

In 2005, Mr. Ahaja formed SITEXPORTS primarily to establish a foreign market for seaweeds, jack up the rates to give farmers a good price and set standards.

At the farmgate price of PhP30 per kilo, farmers sell the seaweeds to buying stations which keep them in stock a prescribed volume is collected.

SITEXPORTS buys the produce at PhP35 per kilo and initially exported 80 metric tons of the Sitangkai harvests in 2007 to Cargill, a French company.

To set acceptable standards and fair trading practices, PDAP started to consolidate the local traders and the organized farmers. “One of the innovations of PRIME is to try to democratize ownership, democratize trading,” relates Santos.

“We grouped the pondohan, organized them, and improved their capacities so they can participate in the decision-making because we’re facilitating the creation of a local market consolidator or LMC which is a corporation. Decisions on price and volume are not just made by traders but also by the small farmers. And because they are stockholders of the corporation they also have) gains from the trading,” she adds.

The LMC is composed of farmers with a 60% share, PDAP with 10% and traders with 30%.

“PDAP (with its 10% share in the LMC) serves as an equalizer between the seaweed farmers and traders,” says Ahaja.

Interestingly, under PRIME, the big, traditional players are not excluded. The LMC design will be expanded to include even what Ahaja calls, “the multinationals, the Chinese and other traditional traders. We need to strike a balance but I think that will make the program more sustainable. Also, so we don’t disturb the existing trading arrangements or practice.”

The expanded LMC (Sitangkai, Inc.) will facilitate the provision of production credit for seaweed farmers and small fisherfolk, market raw dried seaweeds and other mariculture products, and assist in other value-adding activities for these products.

To address the issue of buying stations or stockers being “middlemen,” the expanded LMC will establish stations to procure the farmers’ harvests.

The creation of an expanded LMC was prompted by the nature of the seaweed industry, which works like a cartel.

It is a recognition that as long as the seaweed value chain is directed to produce defined products for the big industries as the main market, farmers will always be at the mercy of processors.

Thus the need also for value-adding or product development for other processed products based on raw dried seaweeds (RDS).

With PRIME’s intervention, prices were stabilized at PhP40 per kilogram. With the cost of production at PhP15 to PhP20 per kilogram, the PhP40 buying price gives farmers enough capital for the next cropping (safety net).

Extreme price fluctuations also went down, from up to 50 percent to five to 10 percent during the early years of intervention.

But seaweed prices are still very much dictated by the whims of the global market.

In 2007, the high demand for RDS was such that prices shot up to PhP100 per kilogram. The high buying price spurred more people to take up seaweed farming, and existing farmers to increase their cultivated areas.

This led to production outstripping demand, pulling down prices to pre-PRIME levels of PhP20 per kilogram.

This is a key learning for PRIME.

Strategic visioning and the Sitangkai Seaweed Industry Masterplan

In August 2005, PDAP and several NGOs, farmers’ representatives and the municipal government held a workshop to develop a master plan for the Sitangkai seaweed industry.

The comprehensive plan has ten components, from Resource Tenure Improvement to Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, among others.

“Basically, the master plan serves as an investment plan. If the government wants to develop a commodity, this is how to invest and how much,” explains Santos. “If this private sector player would like to contribute to the development, this is the intervention and the necessary budget allocation.”

One crucial element that PDAP will address through the master plan is to make farmers aware of their rights as farm claimants and make the system more responsive. Unlike land which can be owned as evidenced by a title, the tenurial status of tidal flats is a major problem.

Farmers brandish a “sulat,” (letter) a permit issued by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BFAR-ARMM) that entitles the holder to use a production area of one hectare.

A “sulat” holder pays an annual fee of PhP800 to renew the permit. But due to the distance to the nearest BFAR office and the cost of the permit, as well as the absence of on-ground delineation and database, farms get stolen and this has caused conflict among the seaweed farmers.

The conflict is usually resolved peacefully, the Sama people being traditionally non-violent and having forged good relationship over the years with the Tausug. Compared to neighboring Sulu, Tawi-Tawi is not plagued by chronic conflict.

Efforts may have now reached the industry level under PRIME but really, the Sitangkai story is all about small seaweed farmers keeping their heads above water in their beautiful land below the wind.

Story reblogged: © Copyright 2010 PDAP. All rights reserved. Website by 168 Media Creative.

PDAP

The Partnership for Development Assistance in the Philippines Inc (formerly known as Philippine Development Assistance Programme, Inc.), started as a consortium of Filipino and Canadian non-government organizations (NGOs). It was founded in 1986 as a non-stock, non-profit organization, to become an effective instrument in reducing poverty and inequity in the Philippines. PDAP prides itself in having 6 member networks with more than 300 community-based members and partner NGOs. PDAP has distinguished itself in promoting and developing rural enterprises for poverty reduction and as a tool in promoting peace in conflict-affected areas.

BATTLE OF LANGKUWASAN, A LITTLE FOOTNOTE

BATTLE OF LANGKUWASAN, A LITTLE FOOTNOTE 

By Dr. Benj Bangahan

When the battles between the Tausugs and the Americans come to mind, perhaps the Bud Dahu’ Massacre, or the Battle of the Clouds, almost always is the first that creates the spark, but there is no stopping the Battle of Langkuwasan from being talked about too, among other battles…and here is a little story about it.

The Tausugs who fought against the Americans in that battle were led by Panglima Sakkam (the father of Ambassador Akmad Sakkam, who is my source of this), and at one point in that encounter, the American barrage was falling like rain, for the white soldiers had all the fighting machines that they could muster at the time. The Tausugs could only take shelter and could not match up the intensity of the American salvo, but no, they would never be cowed to give up, for even in such one-sided encounter, running away from a fight was never a part of their vocabulary. The Americans could only wonder at what kind of stuff that had sustained the mettle of these small men. The Tausugs kept fighting back in their own way, though perhaps uselessly under the circumstances, aside from making the big and tall white heavily-armed and pistol-packing intruders realize that they were still very much around despite the rain of fire.

Then, an announcement from the Americans was disseminated, to the effect that all those who, on their own volition, would willingly side and be friends with the Americans, would be set free and given amnesty. The Panglima took the announcement in good faith, and talked his band into using the opportunity to their advantage. So, they stopped fighting, and hoped that their decision would save their lives and the community.

But, the Americans did not think in the same line, to the dismay of the Panglima and his band. The announcement, it was explained, was for those who were not actively fighting against the Americans and who would willingly want to be allies with them. It was not so in the case of the Panglima and his band, for they were actively fighting in the battlefield and were forced by the insurmountable intensity of the fire to cease fighting. So, they were tried in an American court, and of course the decision was against them, and they were sentenced to die before a firing squad. They had to submit. There was just nothing they could do.

The day came, and a squad of sharpshooters was in line, their guns loaded, ready and aiming at the poor Panglima and his band. When the order to shoot was given, the burst of fire reverberated and the gunsmoke blurred the air, followed by silence and disbelief! Panglima Sakkam and an aide, who was beside him, were still standing, unperturbed! Of course, what followed was their demand for freedom, for legally, they had to be set free for the sentence was carried out, except that the American bullets did not work on them. But no, said Gen. Pershing, the American commander, they had to go through another firing squad, and this time, Pershing himself would do the shooting.

On the second firing- squad day, Gen. Pershing conditioned his gun, for he wanted to be sure that the lives of the small men would be ended right there and then. And, he started to volley. And his gun smoked and the shots were heard all over Langkuwasan.

But Panglima Sakkam and his buddy just stood there, scratching their heads, perhaps more confused than scared. Gen. Pershing had to give in–they had to be set free.

Panglima Sakkam and his buddy died of old age.

Believe it or not…. :)

original blog at Kawman Kasilasa.