I feel sad for those people who are greatly affected by the war in Mindanao; I just hope that it will end soon to avoid more damage and casualties. and becasuse of selfishness of the people involve in the war; many innocent childern and families are forced to leave their homes and properties. And I hope that the government will do something about this problem or at least exert more effort. Poverty is enough, Filipinos don't need war.
OneWorld.net's take: Conditions in evacuation centers for children -- who account for two thirds of the 500,000 people forced to flee the ongoing conflict in Mindanao, Philippines -- are "deplorable," according to an international human rights monitor.
Children in the Sulu province of Mindanao, Philippines. © Asia America InitiativeEconomic disparities and ethnic tension have fueled violence between the Filipino state and post independence communist and separatist movements since the late 1960s, particularly in the predominantly Muslim region of Mindanao, explains OneWorld UK in its Philippines country guide. One secessionist rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), recently began calling for the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, an area awarded to them in a 1996 peace agreement. After a formal accord on the expansion of the Autonomous Region was blocked by the Philippine courts in early August, the MILF took up arms once again. The ongoing conflict is having a severe impact on civilians, some of whom have endured direct attacks by the rebels, reported Amnesty International in late August.
Children in the Sulu province of Mindanao, Philippines. © Asia America InitiativeEconomic disparities and ethnic tension have fueled violence between the Filipino state and post independence communist and separatist movements since the late 1960s, particularly in the predominantly Muslim region of Mindanao, explains OneWorld UK in its Philippines country guide. One secessionist rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), recently began calling for the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, an area awarded to them in a 1996 peace agreement. After a formal accord on the expansion of the Autonomous Region was blocked by the Philippine courts in early August, the MILF took up arms once again. The ongoing conflict is having a severe impact on civilians, some of whom have endured direct attacks by the rebels, reported Amnesty International in late August.
The evacuation center in the northern Mindanao town of Munai is one of the biggest encampments set up for people forced out of their homes by the conflict. Here, children share makeshift tents with their entire families and struggle to endure intolerably hot days, cold, damp nights, and a high incidence of illness, reports the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. "The endless conflict has prevented basic services reaching the remote villages here and I pity the children most," says visiting health worker Dr. Sophia Omar. "Many of those who come and seek shelter in Munai are either malnourished or undernourished and some already had lingering illnesses."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment