ICRC
Marawi- Diane Sumangan: Diane Sumangan,
her husband and their seven children
have been in
Saguiaran evacuation center for a year. She says
life in the evacuation center is difficult. They are
patiently waiting for government’s advice on where
they should go next. ICRC/R. Hashempour
patiently waiting for government’s advice on where
they should go next. ICRC/R. Hashempour
MANILA
(ICRC- May
23, 2018) – Around 230,000 people remain displaced and in need of stronger
support one year after armed conflict broke out in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur,
southern Philippines.
“Efforts
to rehabilitate Marawi and assist its people must be stepped up to reduce the
suffering of thousands of those who were displaced over the past year. The
efforts are there, but these must match the growing needs of those who face
prolonged displacement and are close to despair,” said Pascal Porchet, head of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in the
Philippines.
With
the response shifting from emergency phase towards early recovery, food
donations have dwindled and livelihood opportunities are reaching only a few.
Majority of displaced families still depend on relatives or friends for
support, while those in evacuation sites continue to struggle with poor living
conditions in makeshift camps, increasing their risk of illness.
“It has
been a year since the armed clashes began and we still don’t know what lies
ahead. I’m starting to feel the weight of it, and there are times when I feel
like giving up. But for the sake of my children, I strive to stay strong,” said
Diane Sumangan, an evacuee in Saguiaran. She is a resident of Bubonga Marawi,
one of the 24 villages in the main area affected by the clashes.
The
displaced families, added Porchet, struggle to feed their families, buy
medicines or resume their small businesses due to lack of livelihood
opportunities or capital. Uncertainty about the future has added to their
worries.
Authorities
estimate that 65,000 residents from the main area where structures were reduced
to rubble will be unable to return home for the next two to three years. The
transitional site in Sagonsongan, Marawi City, can only accommodate 6,000 of
them.
“The
ICRC remains committed to supporting those who fled the fighting, and to do
more by addressing gaps in the overall early recovery response, in coordination
with the authorities and other aid organizations,” Porchet said.
“But,
it is primarily the authorities’ role to assist people affected by conflict.
The pending issues concerning the transitional site such as lack of regular
supply of water and absence of proper sewage collection and treatment should be
resolved soon,” he stressed.
Particularly
concerned about the pain of people whose loved ones went missing during the
fighting, the ICRC and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) are following up on the cases
of more than 100 families with the aim of tracing the whereabouts of their
missing kin.
“We are
stepping up efforts to accompany and support these families. There is a need
for a neutral and independent organization such as the Red Cross to work in
this field. We encourage those with information about missing people in Marawi
to approach the Red Cross,” said Adriana Uribe Villa, who leads the ICRC’s
response in Marawi.
The
ICRC has been supporting the Management of the Dead and Missing Cluster since
the start of the crisis for the retrieval, management and identification of
human remains.
Ever
since clashes broke out in May 2017, the ICRC together with the PRC has been
helping thousands of people affected by the Marawi crisis. It is now focusing
its efforts to help the remaining displaced families in Marawi and in Lanao del
Sur by improving their access to health care and clean water and by supporting
their livelihood recovery efforts.
“We
plan to direct our assistance to certain high-security areas of Lanao del Sur,
where the ICRC has access thanks to its links established with the community
and non-state armed groups,” said Uribe Villa.
The
ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose
exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims
of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with
assistance. It has an international mandate to promote knowledge for and
respect of international humanitarian law.(By
Allison Lopez- ICRC News Release)
ICRC
Marawi-Jalil: Jalil's parents chose to stay behind at their home in Barangay
Calocan, Marawi City, during the fighting. One year on, Jalil is still looking
for them. ICRC/R. Hashempour
IMG_3958:
The regular supply of water is still an unresolved issue in the Sagonsongan
transition site in Marawi City. Some 800 residents there continue to depend on
water trucking or travel outside to get water for their families. ICRC/A. Lopez
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