Boracay Island: Loosing its Paradise?

Fr. Am Mijares

Boracay has been dubbed as a Paradise Island by people who come, but the ones who stay are the one's making it like hell even a hell for one another. One may come and enjoy externally the beaches which are beginning to be more and more populated not only with people but with dirt, trash, but they leave after some time.  Those who stay, or those who by change are around may hear about the mention of rape, robbery, murders.  Recently, It is becoming hell for those who have enjoyed originally this island as a gift from God - Atis.  

Atis are historically the orginally settlers of Boracay and slowly, this paradise, as considered my media and tourism, is being transformed into hell. The recent murder of an Ati leader adds to the spiral of violence which errupts from human greed which causes land disputes in Boracay.

Obviously it is due to a piece of land, awarded to the Atis as their ancestral domain.  Other interested parties wanted to construct something to gain more profits from the land.  Yes, land for them has to be productive and to make it just be a dwelling piece of land for people who might not be even considered civilized would be normally considered unreasonable for business.

The Atis, therefore has no space.  They were harassed always, their land was barracaded by private security guards owned by a famous company and owns also a huge hotel in Boracay, but the Atis remained steadfast and  did what is right: to claim the land which was in fact, since the beginning, were theirs.  Maybe the documents were not present but now the government awarded the land to them.  Thanks to the efforts of the Sisters of Charity and the Parish of the Holy Rosary 

The mind of the perpetuators is short sighted.  We have a problem: so eliminate the problem, eliminate the Atis so that they would have no more problem and make Boracay as a paradise. Let the tourists come and enjoy its amenities, as long as you have money to spend, never mind the lives of people.  

But who would like to come to a place where is violence?  Who would like to be robbed of life, who would like not to be respected as human beings? Who would like to come to a place where nature is not respected and much more life?

Could tourism increase where paradise is slowly being eroded?  How shortminded these people are.  They want to utilize the land to attract more tourists but never hesistate to kill, in order to drive the tourists away.

Would we then shift the idea of tourism not only of creating commodities and pleasure but a true exchange of human resources and culture?  The marginalization of our tribal minorities for the sake of tourism is the best way to scare tourists away.  

Let us learn from the experience of Hawaii where the natives are being showcased for tourism not as objects but persons who have their own cultural value.  Instead of pushing aside the Atis, they could be considred as gifts to the international community and hence, they demand respect, give them value, support them.  People are attracted to peace rather than violence, to respectfullness of the human dignity rather than its violation. More than the place, we have something to offer, our people and our culture, not mentioning our friendships and of course our faith and our God.  These are gifts of God to Aklan, the province where Boracay is.  Aklan is not only Boracay, it's quite other way round, Boracay is part of Aklan and "Boracay: Island Paradise" does not represent the true Boracay.  And you cannot think of Boracay without our cultural minorities, the Atis.

Our brother Ati, friend, and leader to his own brothers, Dexter Condez, has contributed and given for his own life not only to the Ati community but to Boracay and Aklan as a whole.  Let us give our share in making our island really a paradise and not loose this paradise before its too late.