Click with Ease: Preface
PREFACE to Click with Ease…
The sound of the guns being laid down on the floor is the sound I remember the most from that night.
It was 1995. I was conducting a social psychology field research on the notorious National People’s Army (NPA), an insurgent military group in Philippines. My informant said the NPA were ready to meet with us, after we have spent three days living with peasants out in the rice fields. They observed us, as much as we observed them. I was told “Only you and your two fellow researchers, nobody else. 9PM, no flashlights. Someone will bring you to the meeting place.”
That night, we walked through the darkness of the rice paddies, lit only by stars and a fading moon. We found ourselves in a cabin, in the middle of nowhere. Our guide left us and my heart started to beat fast. All we could hear were our rapidly increasing breathing and the noise of the crickets. We were too nervous to talk. We waited. And waited. Around 10 PM, they arrived.
A group of rifled military men surrounded us, three young women with nothing but journals and pens. The atmosphere was tense.
We stood up from the bench we were sitting on. I looked the men in the eyes and nodded at them. I greeted them good evening with as warm a smile as I could muster while my pulse was still in overdrive. They nodded back without a word while still holding on to their rifles. The leader stepped forward, shook my hand and the rest took the cue. “Have a seat”, he said. Once someone sat down, everyone else followed like a domino.
The sound of guns being laid down on the ground punctuated the bubble of anxiety that enveloped us, like a signal for us to finally exhale and relax. That sound was like the click that eased the tension and switched the connection. Faces broke into smiles. I forgot all about myself, my attention totally focused on the group. My curiosity overcame my fear. What brought them there, and why? What’s their story? We all got into the flow of an easy conversation. A lively banter and chatter ensued. Our questions encouraged deeper conversations about personal stories, hopes and dreams. They were thankful we listened. They felt understood. They felt we were on their side. They even tried to recruit me as an advocate!
Getting out there alive was as much an achievement as the final marks we had on our research paper.
Looking back, I suppose I could say I was lucky to have been able to establish rapport and make a connection with an informant, to gain the trust of the peasants during the immersion, and finally engage a group of militant activists and armed insurgents. Was it really luck or was it something else?
