CHILDREN endure lifelong scars from disasters and emergencies. Fatima (not her real name) was only 11 when her family fled Marawi during the five-month clashes between state forces and the homegrown terrorist network said to be inspired by the Islamic State, the Maute Group.
“Our parents told us to get on the jeepney to join other children, so we can get out of Marawi,” Fatima told Save the Children Philippines when her family was staying in an evacuation site last year.
Fatima and two younger siblings spent two agonizing nights in another evacuation site before they were reunited with their parents.
“All of us were crying, we were afraid that the Maute [local armed group] might find us and kill us,” she said.
A year after the government ended hostilities in Marawi, hundreds of families still live in tents and children are missing out on school.
Lawyer Albert Muyot, CEO of Save the Children Philippines, said humanitarian assistance is still very much needed by displaced families in Marawi.
“Save the Children Philippines stands ready to help in rebuilding the war-stricken city,” said Muyot.
With funding from Insular Foundation, the group will implement the project “Balik Marawi, Balik Eskwela,” to provide 1,000 school-age children in Marawi and those attending schools in Lanao del Sur access to safe and equipped learning spaces. The four-month project, worth P1.9 million, runs from October 2018 to February 2019.
It facilitates the purchase of school materials, such as teacher’s tables, children’s armchairs and teacher kits for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and implementation of interventions.
At least 86,000 children were affected by the Marawi siege with an estimated 22,700 missing out on their classes, according to the Child Protection Rapid Assessment (CPRA) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Children trapped in conflict suffer from psychological stress, sleeping problems, nightmares, withdrawal, lack of focus and feelings of guilt, the DSWD report said.
Children in evacuation centers display changes in behavior, such as unwillingness to go to school; sadness; unusual crying and screaming; nightmares; disrespectful behavior and aggressive behavior, said the DSWD report.
The impact of the Marawi siege on children include inability to resume classes; inability to return home; loss of belongings; lack of food and shelter, and pockets of attacks.
“The conflict has left scars on hundreds of children that are difficult to heal,” said Muyot.
Save the Children Philippines still works with the Department of Education to provide psychosocial support to teachers and children affected by the conflict.
The group is also coordinating with local governments and communities to prevent potential exploitation, such as child-trafficking.
Muyot called on local governments in Marawi to implement Republic Act (RA) 10821, or the Children in Emergency and Relief Act of 2016, which addresses the needs of children before, during and after a disaster and emergency. The Comprehensive Emergency Program for Children (CEPC) lines up disaster risk reduction measures to ensure safety of children during emergencies, such as the Marawi conflict.
The Marawi conflict has resulted in the massive destruction of private and government infrastructure, and displaced more than 350,000 people who fled after fighting broke out on May 23 last year. So far, just over 23,000 families have been able to return to their homes since last year.
Save the Children has been responding to the crisis since the beginning of last year and has set up 28 temporary learning spaces in host schools to help cope with the high number of new enrollments. It has also distributed 4,000 back-to-school kits for students.
Muyot earlier called on local officials—from governors to barangay leaders—who will run in the 2019 elections to prioritize the implementation of the law under the CEPC that integrates disaster risk reduction measures to ensure safety of children during emergencies.
“As politicians file their Certificates of Candidacy [COC] for the 2019 national and local elections, it is our hope that they bear in mind the vulnerable situation of children in times of natural and man-made disasters,” said Muyot.
Save the Children Philippines coorganized the National Conference on Children in Emergencies with the DSWD on October 12 to discuss the CEPC implementation in local cities and municipalities.
RA 10821, the first legislation of its kind in Asia, was passed in 2016 following the experience of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan), where 6 million children were affected, and which led to massive deaths and destruction of properties and infrastructure.
With over 6,000 people dead, Haiyan opened the minds of government agencies and civil-society organizations on the need to implement a coordinated humanitarian response to address the vulnerabilities of children in times of disasters and emergencies.
The law mandates local officials to establish the following in their respective cities and provinces:
- A Comprehensive Emergency Program to protect and safeguard children, and promotes human rights, ensures children have access to essential services for immediate recovery;
- Heightened surveillance against child trafficking and other forms of violence and abuse against children in the aftermath of disasters and calamities;
- Increased participation of children in disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning and post-disaster needs assessment;
- A system of restoring civil documents for children and their families to better access services and protection against the exploitation;
- Less disruption of educational services with limited use of schools as evacuation centers and proper use of temporary learning spaces;
- Improved care and process for family tracing and reunification for orphaned, unaccompanied and separated children;
- Improved data collection and reporting related to affected children for better understanding of their needs; and
- Child-centered training and standard setting for all responders for community and village leaders, school personnel and rescuers.
Save the Children Philippines believes that paving the way for the immediate return to classes of affected children eases the wounds caused by hostilities.
When Fatima and her two siblings were asked what are the most important things they left behind in Marawi, all three children said the same thing: clothes, school bags and rice. Three items seemingly mundane, but which could be indispensable tools in helping them turn away from a nightmare and face the future with confidence and hope.
Image credits: AP