the-bubble-popper

[the-bubble-popper]

Terrorism is both a universal and borderless problem, which means that it affects not only one state but also all other states. It has caused damage to billions of properties and millions of lives all across the globe. In the Philippines, terrorism has been a problem persisting for decades yet it seems that proposed solutions have done little to address or at least alleviate the problem.

However, before we talk about solutions, let us first look into the possible reasons on why terrorism, most especially ISIS, was able to gain a foothold in the country. While President Rodrigo Duterte was busy waging war against drugs, in the Southern Island of the Philippines, there was a storm brewing. Former guerillas, scions of political families, university students, and Christian converts to Islam banded together to form a coalition that has a surprisingly strong fighting power. Although extremism has been around the country for years, the Philippine government’s failure to identify the change in the nature of extremism has led ISIS to gain local support.

Pro-autonomy armed rebellions have been active in Mindanao since the 1970s. When the government reached a peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, a small faction defected and was then called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. From this group came the Abu Sayyaf, which demanded for the creation of an Islamic state for Muslim Mindanao. This group was specifically known for its kidnap-for-ransom activities and has since housed foreign terrorists seeking refuge in the country. To top all of that, the group’s leader, Isnilon Hapilon, pledged loyalty to ISIS.

Despite this, the government was still dismissive of the growing threat. When Duterte became president, he set out to destroy Abu Sayyaf as a response to a series of beheadings when in fact, the kidnappers were not related to this group at all. Here, Duterte failed to realize that the nature of extremism in the country had already gone from profit-based to ideology-based. Not only that but Abu Sayyaf has joined forces with the Maute brothers, a new breed of extremists: young, charismatic, Arabic-speaking, educated in the Middle East, social-media savvy and with vast international connections.[1] Furthermore, there has been a steady stream of foreign fighters and several factions joining the battle in Marawi and even though the President has long declared Martial Law in Mindanao, the battle still continues until now, which begs the question, “Is the use of military might enough to quell the problem of terrorism in the country?”

Suppose the battle in Marawi ends and the Armed Forces of the Philippines claims victory, is there a guarantee that it would not happen again? Would terrorist groups persist or choose to die down? Or are we going to live in a relatively peaceful country for a short amount of time before the terrorist groups once again band together and pursue their original plans? Ladies and gentlemen, what I am trying to say is the nature of extremism in the country should be taken into account before taking a course of action. As I have previously said, extremism in the Philippines is now ideology-based. Hence, the use of force is not enough to solve the problem. The plan of action should be carefully rationalized, in which all contributing factors to the growing threat of terrorism should be considered.

[1] Jones, S. (2017). How ISIS Got a Foothold in the Philippines. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/opinion/isis-philippines-rodrigo-duterte.html?mcubz=0

[the-bubble-popper]

i love demi so much i had to draw her! shes my queen!!! #CoolRanchForTheSummer

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Well fuck you too.

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don’t fail me now mr. president

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How broke are you

[the-bubble-popper]

keeping up with the american elections while not being american like

[the-bubble-popper]

why cant i lose weight as easily as i lose friends

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Dying

[the-bubble-popper]

Sir Nicholas Winton is a humanitarian who organized a rescue operation that saved the lives of 669 Jewish Czechoslovakia children from Nazi death camps, and brought them to the safety of Great Britain between the years 1938-1939.

After the war, his efforts remained unknown. But in 1988, Winton’s wife Grete found the scrapbook from 1939 with the complete list of children’s names and photos. Sir Nicholas Winton is sitting in an audience of Jewish Czechoslovakian people who he saved 50 years before.

WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE

[the-bubble-popper]

Not an artist but frustrated___

[the-bubble-popper]

[the-bubble-popper]

weird noises: happen in the wee hours

me, unaffected: the only supernatural and ominous force in this place is me and i was here first, so whatever and whoever you are you need to Go

[the-bubble-popper]

Year 2017

Alien: Take me to your leader

Me: hold on lemme go find Donald Trump

Alien: *shoving breadsticks into spaceship* the mothership needs me to go immediately