There's a poignant scene in the movie American Sniper where the character of Bradley Cooper helplessly complains to his wife, while he was on leave from the war in Iraq and was with his family in the US."Do people here know that there's a war going on? Do they care? It's like everyone is just going to the mall, talking on their cellphones like nothing's happening!"
It may seem like that to the families of the 44 slain cops as they see that life goes on for everyone else, especially for us in Manila, who live so far away from the place where their loved ones were slain.
But deep in our hearts, we are all saddened and very disturbed that 44 young men had to go that way and pay the ultimate sacrifice just so the rest of us can live safe and comfortable lives.
We want them to know that we all care and like them we also feel that we have lost a kuya, a tatay, an anak, a good friend. Even as we go on with our daily lives, we are as keen to know the truth and that the real story be given to us to explain what really happened.
In the movie American Sniper, I admired at how the soldiers kept an eye on each other's back - and took care of each other - and how they moved with such precision and care. So for a civilian like me, so many questions have come to my mind.
How can so many men die? Did they even bring guns? If so, what guns did they bring? And when did policemen start doing the work of army men? I would think men from the army would be a better option to take on a terrorist army, since cops would have different training from them. Did the cops even do a recon before going to the place? Were they briefed about the terrain, the dangers that awaited them? Did they even know that that place was an MILF stronghold?
So many questions on our minds yet our local media has not really been helpful as the real journalists have seemed to disappear and have been replaced by armchair komentaristas who I'm sure know only as much as we do.
Also, last I heard, the supposed peace process with the MILF was going well, so why did they shoot at the cops? Are we actually talking to the right factions in the MILF or are there so many of them to deal with, even they could not get their act together? Like their right hand is talking peace, while their left hand has a machine gun aimed at our head! Ano ba talaga kuya?
I have lived part of my life in Mindanao and I'm actually a son of Mindanao, being born there - so I feel sad that there is a part of the island that is always under threat of war and terrorism, ever since the day I was born. How many more men will have to die before all the parties on the negotiation table realize that killing and armed conflict would not solve anything?