From guns to laptops, Philippine peace faces arduous road

From GMANews (Oct 16): From guns to laptops, Philippine peace faces arduous road

At a nondescript two-storey building in the town of Sultan Kudarat, the future of the Philippines' strife-torn southern region of Mindanao is taking shape, one accountancy class at a time. Dozens of former fighters in Mindanao's decades-old Islamic insurgency are learning new skills — from book-keeping, to computer literacy and law — that are crucial to the long-term success of a landmark peace deal signed in Manila on Monday. "Every student comes out of this institute as a new person," said Zamin Unti, a 55-year-old former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel who teaches three-day crash courses at the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute.... The Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute, set up in 2006, provides a reason for hope, teaching rebels the skills to become civil servants or run small busineses. But it also shows the scale of the task ahead. Until March, it was housed in a rented building in Cotabato City before Japanese aid money financed its new center in Sultan Kudarat, not far from the MILF's main base. The new building boasts broadband Internet, computers and projectors, but only has a single training room and remains reliant on foreign aid money. "We're here not only to teach but brainwash them to change their old mind-set," said Unti, the rebel-turned-lecturer.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/278416/news/nation/from-guns-to-laptops-philippine-peace-faces-arduous-road