Michiganders are split on two sides of a fence, one that welcomes the Stay-At-Home order as a necessary step to protect the community, and the other that sees it as a threat to the freedoms that Americans hold oh so dear. There have been protests. There have been pleas from both sides of the issue to think reasonably and rationally. There have even been comments saying this was like the gateway to martial law. Well, I've lived under martial law and I figured this was a great opportunity to share what that experience was like for me.
If you haven't followed my story, until this year, I had spent the last 4 years living in the Philippines on an island called Mindanao. About three out of those four years I lived under martial law. Not a fact that you share with people back home when you don't want them to worry and/or you want them to let you stay. So many of you might not have realized I even lived under martial law. Well let me explain the circumstances leading up to this before I explain what it was like (as one of the rare Americans who have actually lived under such circumstances).
Quick geography lesson: Mindanao is almost 40,000 sq. miles, or roughly the same size as the lower peninsula of Michigan. I lived in a city called Davao in the south. It is the major city of the island, and the fourth most populated city in the whole Philippines. It is the home of the current president, President Rodrigo Duterte, the only president who has come from anywhere besides Manila essentially. President Duterte was elected into office during my first year there and remains current president. The island, Mindanao, has a long history of violence between the Muslim and non-Muslims in the north and west portions of the island.
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| Map of Mindanao for reference |
I was an assistant coach to the volleyball team during this season and our game was cancelled that morning due to safety concerns of letting visitors on campus. Living just around the corner though, I decided to mosey on over though to see that all players had gotten the message and then head over my classroom to busy myself with some work. There was one player there, my ferocious senior outside hitter. As we talked about what happened, she was nothing more than a scared child that morning. And so was I.
Threats loomed in the city for a week or so after. My friends and I avoided all malls (the center of all activities in the city) and crowded areas. Thankfully no other violence took place and eventually life settled back in to normal. A state of emergency was declared and checkpoints were set up to search vehicles coming into the city. The Islamic extremist group Abu Sayaaf took responsibility for the bomb as an affront to their displeasure with President Duterte, although later it was discovered that it was really a sympathetic group.
Things got quiet for a while and besides the checkpoints, life went back to normal. But the violence on Mindanao was not done.
Tensions between Abu Sayaaf and the administration continued. In May 2017, Abu Sayaaf took the entire city of Marawi hostage. Marawi is near Iligan if you look back at my map, about 8 hours northwest of Davao. This is like saying it happened in Traverse City and I lived in Detroit. The first thing they took was a hospital, but they eventually infiltrated the whole city killing when they saw fit and taking many more hostages. The army would come in to try and liberate the city. This conflict would last 5 months. I can't even imagine what it was like to be those people trapped in the city fearing for there lives. It was shortly after this event started that martial law was declared on Mindanao.
This declaration of martial law was met with a similar feelings as Michigan's stay at home order is. There were a lot of critics, but also many who welcomed it. What was interesting was it was not Mindanao where it was opposed. It was in the other parts of the Philippines. The parts that were already safe. Where martial law didn't really affect them, besides the precedent they were afraid it would set. I see the same thing here in Michigan. It is not the front-line health care workers or essential workers that are striking. They know better. They see the tragedy playing out right before them and wish it on none of us. My best friend works at a hospital. She currently spends most of her shifts in the morgue. It is also not the elderly and those with autoimmune diseases. The people in real danger are not speaking up against this Stay-at-Home order. But similar to Mindanao, the people in real danger mostly welcomed it.
Martial law actually didn't change much in my life. We did have to cancel any trips out of the city. This included us as a school scraping our plans for our Outdoor Education trip, an annual outreach trip that was often a highlight of the school year. We pulled together something in the city in the 2 weeks of planning we had, but it was pretty terrible compared to the experience of getting away. Also any weekend getaways, which were always fantastic as Mindanao has a wealth of nature to explore, had to be postponed for quite a while. Checkpoints were increased and seeing armed military guards became the normal. But it was not the brutal martial law of the past. It was not a government overreach seeking to control and terrorize its people. Instead it felt like an act of compassion from our President, showing that he stood with us and was going to protect us at whatever cost. While I don't agree with everything President Duterte has done, I do appreciate this act of support he gave us.
I've heard Michigan's Stay at Home order compared to martial law, and I just want to say "Don't". While you are asked to stay at home, you face no real consequences for your disobedience. Military is not lining the streets nor are officers sending you home when they see you out. This is not martial law.
Well I tell this story, there's so much I want Michigan to hear. I want them to know that while this is devastating on the economy (and so was martial law), sometimes saving lives is more important. I want you to know that while staying at home sucks, the people in real danger (like me) are grateful for it. Although I am lucky to have a job where I can work from home for the rest of the school year at least, I can't even imagine if Michigan reopening meant me going back to work right now. And having that hard choice of going to work and into danger every day or staying at home while my job which I love was forced to replace me as they go on with normal.
In America, freedom is a core value. And I get that that is important. But I think that people's lives are pretty important too. And I'm willing to let go of my right to do whatever I want to value life first. I'll pray the government makes wise choices in this impossible situation. But ultimately, I need to give a show of trust in them believing that they are not seeking to harm us until they prove otherwise. And I'd like to invite you to as well.
Disclaimer: I'm not looking to start any arguments here. I just wanted to share a different experience that I have that might give a different perspective on what is going on right now. I also want to outright state my bias in this situation: I am the vulnerable that we're seeking to protect. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder after spending much of the year in the hospital and am currently on immune suppressants. I also am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to work from home. My heart goes out to those of you that aren't so lucky.
Love this blog. Well said.
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