A Reflection on Ethnicity, Identity, and Nationalism in Developing Countries At first, I thought that this topic would make my life

easier because I know, deep inside me, that I am makabayan. But as I headed forward in my readings, I realized that the issue here is not just about being a makabayan. It is about how ethnicity and nationalism affected our growth and development as a nation, specifically on economics and politics. But before I go deeper with my reflection, let us first settle some terms that are very vital in the understanding of this issue.

The term ethnicity and nationalism has been very vague and ambiguous. Ethnicity and nationalism may be a word that is fluently spoken in households, educational institutions, media, public offices, and even in day-to-day conversations, but it is rarely defined. Upon reading the article, I realized that these terms are something that we should give attention and must not ignore. Ethnicity and nationalism talks a lot about modernization and development especially on Third world countries.

Even I, as a student, is very guilty of displacing the proper meaning of the term ethnicity. I thought that ethnicity is synonymous to minorities. I thought that ethnicity refers to the indigenous people. But I was wrong. According to Walker Connor (1994), ethnicity is not a synonym for minorities because even the

majorities have ethnicity. He said that ethnicity is an identity that is shared among a group of people. These shared identities are indicated by language, religion, race, and culture. In this case, we can say that Warays, Manovos, Tausugs, and so as Manilenos, Cavitenos, and Cebuanos, are ethnic groups because they are groups of people that share same identity in language, culture, beliefs, and religion.

The question now is who defined ethnic groups? Did they define themselves as ethnic, or other people did? The answer is both. They may be defined by others or by outsiders. For example, a group of cannibalistic tribe in Papua called Korowai is considered as an ethnic tribe by people outside the group even though the Korowais does not possess a sense of self. Ethnic groups can also define themselves. These groups has a sense of self and is aware of the difference between us from them. This is where an ethnic conflict takes place.

One very prominent example of ethnic conflict here in the Philippines is the conflict in Mindanao, between Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and later on, the emergence of Moro International Liberation Front (MILF) who has international relations with small group terrorists like Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. Another thing that adds complication to the conflict is the case of the Lumads. Lumads are non-Malay indigenous people who were placed and displaced by the majority Christian settlers and Moros during the Spanish and

American colonization. Religious differences have partly shaped the conflict, but the root of it is the clash of interests in land and other natural resources.

On the other hand, nationalism, according to Ernest Gellner (1983), is a political principle which says that political and national unit should be congruent. Walker Connor (1994) stated that nations are ethnically self-defined. Meaning, a nation has its sense of self that differentiates it from another ethnic group, or in this case, another nation. However, a non-ethnic nation also exist. These are called civic nations. Civic nations members are defined by territory, regardless of their ethnic background or identity.

But how are all these related to development? Ethnic conflicts prevented a holistic development. It gives limitations and boundaries to development. The still-on going conflict in Mindanao negatively affects not just their development, but the development of the entire Filipino nation.

We, Filipinos, consider national identities based on religion, culture, and ethnicity which lead to a more complex inequality. According to Adeney and Lall (2005), ethnic based nations are more prone to biases and prejudices because you would have more preference to those who have the same ethnic background as yours. Ethnic nation is also open to chauvinism or unreasonable patriotism and sense of superiority which is very evident in our country. Most people would

say that those who are living in urban areas are more superior to those in rural areas.

I think, based on my readings, the problem here lies on having the sense of self and us, and them, or in a common Filipino notion, tayo-tayo, sila-sila. Instead of being one, because of ethnic identity, we are divided into various groups that work independently. Because of this, we fail to empower one another. Those who gain powers are the majorities while minorities and marginalized sectors are muted. We should have this civic nation that

encompasses everyone living in the territory, regardless of ethnical background that divides us to separate groups based on culture, religion, or language. According to Horowitz (1985), Western colonialism often divided groups especially if the opportunities given by the colonialist would benefit one group than the other. They draw political boundaries that created very diverse and unrelated groups.

Nationalist movements in our country fights against colonialism, or more appropriate in our times, neocolonialism. They argued that neocolonialism, as a result of capitalism, only brings economic exploitation and poverty. Nationalists also argued that we should step outside the shadows of the West that is still continued by elite nationalists who were the descendants of Western colonizers. (Ghandi, 1998)

As young Filipina students, we should also be a part of solving these problems and not just let the nationalist movements take full responsibility on it. So how will development communication address this issue? We all know that we are not just living in a well-communicated society, but we are in an era of communication technology. And according to Deustch (1966), the spread of this technology, like film, radio, and television, helps create an awareness of a mass society. Development communication has a big role on informing the public about these problems and on how to solve it. We have to educate our fellowmen on the effect of ethnic classification to our development as one and empowered country.

As I was writing this paper, my mind was opened to a bigger scope of reality. I realized that identity is still very important. And that no matter what happen, we should never loose our identity as Filipinos. I realized that we can still build a civic nation that celebrates each and everyones identity as long as we are all moving forward to one goal a goal towards a better nation, guided by truth, justice, love, equality, and peace.

It is not impossible to make a well- developed society, inside and out. We just need to continue on pushing for unity in diversity.

References: Conor, W. (1994). Ethnonationalism: The quest for understanding. NJ: Princeton University Press. Horowitz, D. (1985). Ethnic groups in conflict. Ca: University of California Press. Adeney, K. and Lall, M. (2005). Institutional attempts to build a national identity in India: internal and external dimensions. India Review. 4(3-4): 258-286. Deutsch, K. (1966). Nationalism and Social Communication: an inquiry to the foundations of nationality. Ma: MIT Press. Gandhi, L. (1998). Post-colonial Theory: a critical introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Cannibalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism. Retrieved on July 4, 2012. Calhoun, C. (2011). The deepening crisis: governance challenges after neoliberalsim. NY: New York University Press. The Mindanao Conflit in the Philippines. Internal displacement.org/.../WP24_Web.pdf. Retrieved on July 4, 2012.