Let not peace be the 45th casualty

“If you ask them, it is worth it,” choked Chief Superintendent Noli Talino, who helped oversee the Special Action Force (SAF) operation to arrest one of Southeast Asia’s most wanted terror suspects, “Marwan,” codenamed “Mike One” in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.

And so now we have 44 heroes instead of a husband, a father or a brother at the dining table. We have the anomaly of parents burying their children.

And yet, I truly feel that though every man in battle yearns to live, he dies victorious because he knew from the start that death may be a price to pay for his calling. And in the Fallen 44’s case, it was the ultimate price to live up to — and die for — the honored title, “Tagaligtas.”

Savior. Saviors from the perils of everyday life. Saviors from the “bad guys,” as the little girl of  Senior Inspector Ryan Pabalinas cried to her father the day before his dangerous mission.

I think most soldiers and police officers prefer to live rather than to die for their country. As Gen. George Patton was quoted as saying, (sometimes, in more colorful language), “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his.”

In the moment that you have death staring at you in the eye, what do you do? Braveheart, one of my favorite movies of all time, was being shown over SKYcable during the weekend, and William Wallace, the Scottish hero, told a warrior who said that the better soldier is one who “runs and lives”: “Yes, you can run and you will live. But only for a while. And then at your deathbed you will regret not having died for your country at that instant when you had the only chance to do so.”

I salute the Fallen 44 for not turning their backs on that  instant to die for their country. They could have feigned any excuse on earth and yielded to the cries of their family not to proceed with their mission. But the minute they said “yes” to this operation to capture “Mike One,” they were saying “yes” to the grim possibility of not coming home again — ever. They could only be praised in hyperboles.

For some, “falling” in the name of duty and country is better than fading away in a meaningless life. This goes for doctors and nurses who volunteer in Ebola-stricken countries, knowing they risk getting the deadly disease despite all precautionary measures under the sun. And yet they went (from Scotland or from Spain), even if those stricken were not of their race or creed. Or the firefighters in New York in 9/11 who rushed to the burning World Trade Center towers knowing they may not emerge alive.

And yet, like the Fallen 44, they went.

One of the Fallen 44’s widows said she knew her husband wanted to die a hero, and was glad he did.

* * *

To strike back is instinctive, even for children. It is the burning desire of every fuming and aggrieved adult. That’s why the Korean community in Virginia felt scared after a student of Korean descent attacked and killed his fellow students at Virginia Tech. Or white people in Ferguson after the non-indictment of a white cop for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

Striking back brings satisfaction “only for a while,” so to speak. The chaos and confusion that follow claim more lives, more fallen. Forty-four times 44 times.

How does one win a war? By winning the peace first.

* * *

This isn’t a war against anyone’s religious beliefs, because two of those who perished at the hands of the MILF were Muslim. I pray that our brother and sister Muslims will preach peace as well to their young, because no one wins in a war on earth that claims the future of their children. I pray that my brother and sister Christians reach out more to their fellowmen in areas fertile for the recruitment of rebels. To be sure, there are those fighting in the name of ideology. But more are fighting in the name of injustice, political and economic, and are seeking justice the way we, who grieve the Fallen 44’s death, are seeking justice now.

With the peace process in near death amid call for retribution in the name of the 44 elite police commandos who died in Mamasapano, the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel has appealed to the grieving nation to give peace a chance, saying the alternative is, “unthinkable.”

* * *

Pinky Aquino-Abellada spent Thursday night making handmade cards for the bereaved of the Fallen 44, coloring the cards pale lavender on the outside. Then she and her sisters Ballsy Cruz and Viel Dee wrote a dedication in Filipino and signed the cards. Kris, their youngest sister, visited the wake of the SAF men a day before they did.

“We made the cards with love and gratitude,” says Pinky, who finished coloring the cards at 1:30 a.m. Friday.

With no cameras and, thus, no still pictures, to show for their visit, the Aquino sisters went to Camp Bagong Diwa on Friday to condole with each of the families of the heroes, and were able to meet with 43 out of the 44 grieving families. The family they could not meet with was in Zamboanga.

To “give comfort to them at their lowest point” was the sisters’ only wish and purpose.

To her, all the bereaved relatives that she and her sisters condoled with were “appreciative” of their presence, as well as President Aquino’s presence. Nobody gave them the cold shoulder she says, contrary to some media reports.

“The truth will come out,” Pinky believes.

* * *

So soon after Pope Francis’ visit, which saw millions of Filipinos, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in a beautiful peace, we are a nation split again.  Don’t get me wrong. We should rage against the death of the SAF troopers and demand accountability from the MILF.

But let the Fallen 44’s deaths win the peace — not just the war — for our beloved country.

Let not peace be the 45th casualty at Mamasapano.

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