Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

BLURRED BORDERS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATIONS 101up for. This orientation trains its sight on identifyingand sanctioning the wayward, those who violate theboundaries and sanctity of the nation-state. However,the security approach is also one-sided, in that it turnsa blind eye to people’s traditional life-worlds. Thesecurity framework simply leaves historical linkagesand the fluid nature of the border unproblematized.Instead, the state’s security apparatus focuses on whatI classify as ‘second order’ problems in the borderzone:undocumented migration, illegal fishing, and smuggling.The shortcoming of this approach is that even though itmay target the “big fish” involved in transnational crime,oftentimes it victimizes the poor and marginalized whoare unable to defend themselves.A common example here is the profitable fishingoperations that are orchestrated from General Santosand Sarangani in Mindanao, which employ fishermen(no women) of Sangirese origin or mixed Sangirese-Philippine parentage who reside in Mindanao. Theybring with them local knowledge of the fishing groundsand are able to “blend in” once the fishing vesseltransverses to the Indonesian side in search of swarms ofprized tuna and other fish. A common modus operandi isto have two captains and two flags (one Indonesian, oneFilipino) that are conveniently interchanged, dependingon which side of the border they are on at a given time.This way, the operators are able to avoid getting caughtfor poaching in foreign waters and fishing withouta permit. However, if their cover fails and a vessel iscaught by Indonesian navy patrols, the crew is left toits own devices. Sometimes, such cases are “settled”on the spot by paying bribes. Other times, the crewis apprehended and languishes in a detention centerfor many months before repatriation procedures arecompleted. Ship owners and operators often shrug offpersonal responsibility and have disinterested Indonesianagents represent the crew members. Circumstances areaggravated when fishermen are unable to prove theirOutrigger boats on Tinakareng Islandidentities and citizenship is difficult to ascertain. ThePhilippine consulate in Manado is the only agency thathelps these detainees.I have thought long and hard about a question posed byone of my advisers in Manado, Rignolda Djamaluddin:“Are people tricking the state or is the state tricking thepeople?” The poignancy lies in the fact that transgressorsin the borderzone at hand are not “big time” gangsters,just ordinary people following their traditional lifestyleof fishing and inter-island trade. They do not “trick” thestate out of malice or for big profits. Some of us maysecretly applaud the skillful mice in this cat-and-mousegame. However, we should not forget that it is the catthat sets the rules of the game.Here it must be stressed that borders in themselvesare not “irrelevant” to people. For centuries, peoplein Sulawesi and Mindanao-Sulu have, in fact, takenadvantage of differentials across localities in order totrade commodities, exchange marine technology andenrich their lives. Problems arise when ordinary peopleeking out a living become victims of a border regimeinsensitive to their needs and intentions.Perhaps the biggest trick the state is playing on the peopleis its attempt to project itself as an omnipotent, infallibleentity—the irony being, of course, that the state’ssovereignty is compromised by its own state personnel,either through active connivance in or tolerance of“unlawful” practices. What people experience is not therule of law, but the rule of inconsistency. This is also onereason people feel ambiguous about the ‘maintenance’of the border, which, to begin with, is an imposed realityin their lives and a barrier to their aspirations.From the people’s perspective, then, we may askourselves: Given that the Indonesian-Philippine borderis not about to dissolve into thin air anytime soon, canAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows