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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
102 BLURRED BORDERS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATIONSborders actually become a resource for communitydevelopment? How can the borderzone rise from itsascribed “backwater” status to become a venue forexchange and sharing?There is no dearth of imagination on this subject. Thepeople of North Sulawesi have many suggestions. I wasoften approached by parents who want to send theirchildren to learn English in the Philippines or peopleinquiring about hospitals across the border. Anotheridea articulated is that of setting up information andtraining centers along the border for citizens of bothcountries, where people can receive social services andinput on fishing and livelihood opportunities. Whatis therefore needed is not necessarily more centralgovernment-intervention, but an enabling environmentthat empowers people to act on their own initiativesand seek opportunities across the Sulawesi-Sulu Seawithout fear of sanction.REFERENCESAmster, Matthew H. “The Rhetoric of the State: Dependencyand Control in the Malaysian-Indonesian Borderland.”Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 12 (2005): 23-43.Anderson, James. “Questions of Democracy, Territorialityand Globalization.” Transnational Democracy: Political Spacesand Border Crossings. Anderson, James. Ed. London and NewYork: Routledge, 2002.Baud, Michiel and Willem Van Schendel. “Toward aComparative History of Borderlands.” Journal of WorldHistory 8.2 (1997): 211-242.Cullamar, Evelyn Tan. “Migrations across the Sulawesi Sea.”Proceedings of the Symposium Human Flow and Creationof New Cultures in Southeast Asia. Tokyo: Institute for theStudy of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1998.Southeast Asia. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila UniversityPress, 2007.Horstmann, Alexander. “Dual Ethnic Minorities and theLocal Reworking of Citizenship at the Thailand-MalaysianBorder.” CIBR Working Papers in Border Studies WP02-3,2002. .Kusakabe, Kyoko and Zin Mar Oo. “Gender and Power atthe Burmese Border.” CIBR Working Papers in Border StudiesWP04-3, 2004. .Shiraishi, Takashi and Alex J. Ulaen. “The Traffic ZoneReconsidered: Menado-Sangihe /Talaud-Mindanao.”Dynamics Studies on the Everyday Life and ResourcesManagement in Maritime World Wallacea. Kyoto: Center forSoutheast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 2004.Tiu, Macario D. Davao: Reconstructing History from Textand Memory. Davao City: Ateneo de Davao University andMindanao Coalition of Development NGOs, 2005.Tiu, Macario D. “Personal Accounts of Indonesian Migrantsin Davao and Cotabato.” Undated Research Report. .Tsuneda, Michiko. “Gendered Crossings: Gender andMigration in Muslim Communities in Thailand’s SouthernBorder Region.” Kyoto Review, 2006 .Ulaen, Alex J. Nusa Utara—Dari Lintasan Niaga Ke DaerahPerbatasan. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan, 2003.Velasco, Djorina. “Between Manado and Davao: How theIndonesian Island of Miangas is Making Use of its PhilippinesTies.” Newsbreak 12 February 2007.Cunningham, Hilary. “Nations Rebound? Crossing Bordersin a Gated Globe.” Identities: Global Studies in Culture andPower 1 (2004): 329-350.Hayase, Shinzo, Domingo M. Non, and Alex J. Ulaen. SilsilahTarsilas (Genealogies and Historical Narratives in SaranganiBay and Davao Gulf Regions, South Mindanao, Philippines,andSangihe and Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi, Indonesia). KyotoUniversity: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1999.Hayase, Shinzo. Mindanao Ethno-history Beyond Nations:Maguindanao, Sangir and Bagobo Societies in East MaritimeAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows
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Asian Transformations in ActionThe
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iiiCONTENTSAbout the BookAcknowledg
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V. APPENDICESCultivation of Transfo
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The Regional Project, entitled “C
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ixTHE CONTRIBUTORS(in alphabetical
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MYFEL JOSEPH PALUGA is a faculty me
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xiiiare common to nations around th
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xvsilence maintained by academe on
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xviiIt is reasonable and necessary,
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xixOVERVIEWCzarina Saloma-Akpedonu,
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xxito retain their identity but at
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xxiiiABOUT THE WORKSHOPThe 6 th API
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2CIRCLES OF POWER AND COUNTERBALANC
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188 COLLAGES OF BETTERMENTThe repor
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192 COLLAGES OF BETTERMENTPublic di
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194 COLLAGES OF BETTERMENTConstrain
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200 COLLAGES OF BETTERMENTSenge and
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216 COLLAGES OF BETTERMENTthe maxim
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233Day 3, Tuesday, 27 November 2007
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JOSIE M. FERNANDEZExecutive Council
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237MARY RACELISProfessorial Lecture
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239NAPAT TANGAPIWUTInstitute of Asi
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Persistent problems, promising solu
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Blurred borders and social integrat
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the basis of local identity and exa
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a certain Western perspective while
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strategy found their way into a bus
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