Rethink Fragility

Rufa Cagoco-Guiam is an anthropologist based in General Santos City. Over the course of several decades she has worked on dozens of peacebuilding and development initiatives in the wider southern Philippines. Her perspective cuts across the usual disciplinary lines, with Rufa's CV including a lengthy academic record; stints as a newspaper editor-in-chief and columnist; and a wide range of consultancies with international institutions. Show notes: [02:00] Beginnings of involvement in Mindanao, coming from a small village in the northern Philippines. Childhood ambitions to “defend the oppressed”, and how they evolved into first steps as an adult. [10:20] An early conspiracy with a friend to escape a constricting family environment. Getting onto the right trajectory in anthropology, with a dash of political economy. [18:20] Rufa’s stint as editor-of-the-chief of the Mindanao Cross. The importance and the hazards of reporting around inter-religious tensions, violence against women and political corruption. So