Through the eyes of a storyteller

“Dati, ang tulay para sa akin ay tulay lang” (To me, a bridge was just a bridge), Saudi reflects on a series of news reports he has written for S’bang Ka Maguindanao (SKM) which have covered different broken bridges in Mamasapano where he lives. 

Saudi Daud, 19, is one of the youth community patrollers among the roster of budding journalists mentored through the S’bang Ka Maguindanao community media platform. What he loves most about being a patroller is finding opportunities to forge deeper relationships with members of his own community and seeing the world through their eyes; opportunities he wouldn’t have otherwise found, as school has always had the monopoly over his time. 

“Sa tulay pala nakasalalay yung buhay at kabuhayan ng mga tao. Dito dumadaan yung mga batang papasok ng school, yung mga manggagawang papasok sa trabaho, dito rin dumadaan yung mga pagkaing ibebenta sa merkado.” (I didn’t realize that the lives and livelihood of the people depend on the bridge. This is where children pass through to go to school, where adults walk by to get to their jobs, where food goes through to get to the market.) 

It was August last year when his neighbor Samarudin told him about S’bang Ka Maguindanao. Samarudin has produced a few reports for SKM then, and when he showed Saudi one of his video reports to encourage him to join, Saudi felt intimidated. “Kaya ko ba ito?” (Can I do this?), he asked himself. Looking back to it now, he feels that joining SKM is one of the best decisions he has made in his young life. Saudi has some experience in campus journalism and while he has always enjoyed writing, it was not until he has regularly produced reports for SKM when he has gradually developed the skill of effective storytelling – writing stories that move people and inspire them to desire for change. 

“Kaya ko naman pala” (I can do it, after all), he says retrospectively. More than anything, what he has gained from being a patroller is the confidence – to do things he was intimidated by, to pursue stories he feels need to be heard, and to take up space and demand for a better world.

Saudi’s favorite report that he has produced for SKM was his first one. The country was in its fifth month of lockdown in August 2020 and the national government had decided that schools nation-wide will be conducted online. He reported about how students in Mamasapano will be affected by the new setup. Saudi is the eldest of five, hailing from a working-class family. His ama works as a habal-habal driver, and his ina stays at home to take care of the children.

“Anak natin yan. Si Kaka yan” (That’s our child. That’s our eldest brother), his family would say every time they play back his first report. 

In the baseline study for the MYVP Project, a respondent from Maguindanao wrote down, “Maliit na tao lamang kami” (We’re just small people) in response to the question on whether or not they feel confident in sharing stories and news reports about their community, and why or why not. When storytellers like Saudi are provided with a platform that looks beyond their social and economic capacity to afford such a platform, it democratizes story-telling, enriches the production of information, and empowers people to tell their own stories.

“Sa SKM ako nagsimula. Tuwing napapanood ko yung video na yun, naalala ko kung saan ako nagsimula at lahat ng pinagdaanan ko kaya ako nandito ngayon” (I started in SKM. Every time I watch my first report, I am reminded by how I started and how I got to where I am now), he shares. Saudi is now assigned as SKM’s associate editor, which entails editing and polishing his colleagues’ reports before publication. 

He has one thing to say to people his age: “Hindi natin makikilala ang totoong mundo kung nasa loob lang tayo ng comfort zone natin. Kailangan nating lumabas kasi dito tayo mago-grow, magde-develop, at dito natin mare-realize kung ano pa pala ang mga bagay na kaya nating gawin.” (We will not understand the real world when we stay inside our comfort zones. We must go out because that’s where we will grow, develop, and realize our full potential.) ##