Evacuees of Insurgency: Part02

I promised in my previous blog, that i will post the part 02: the emotional

continuation is here for that bitter reality.

By: Doi Flordeliz

Capturing their faces is like an agony in my heart. As Habiba shared their piece of little story that we don’t know and witnessed. I was not in the mood with that talk because something is like in my throat that’s difficult for me to deal with. I just throw questions to her without thinking what the content of those questions is. Then I questioned myself, am I being devcom? At a glance then I realized the lessons discussed inside the four walls of the classroom, and in field the situation is very different. I have with me just few bags of candies for the kids and I feel sorry for them. They still dwell of the Holy month of Ramadan, fasting at the evacuation center. It’s totally hilarious and if im in that situation I would really cry, but it seems they are very happy. Happy in the sense that they are away from troubles and the fear that the weapons that the insurgency has brought about.

In our conversation, Habiba and I shared the same insight about the insurgency. At that moment I can’t help but cry Habiba stared at me and said don’t cry it’s okay. Then I found my moment I tilted my head and cry over her shoulders. What triggered my tears to fall is the innocent looks of the children and the pregnant lady that’s was outside the room and the 80 year old woman watching us. They gave me the chance to cry and cry, while I was taking shots I’m wiping off my tears and they just smile at me. At that moment my feeling for them was so hopeless and fearful of what is in store for them in their future.

I went to the tour in the whole vicinity and each room tells a story that the world doesn’t even know. I want the world to see the real situation in the evacuation center. When I was about to leave, before boarding the car I took shots from my position that angles the children waving goodbye, then in shock they were running towards me and I made me cry again and in seconds they were in front of me any waving goodbye and saying “salamat” in bisaya and “salam” in their language. Boarding the car and I slowly closed the door and inside I nodded my head and cry. I closed my eyes at that moment because I don’t want to see the reaction on the faces of those innocent children. I knew then that they were following our convoy and I instructed the driver to go fast because I don’t want to see them and I will cry and cry again.

Maybe, I was a little bit cruel because of that, but I really don’t want to bid goodbye because it hurts inside me. There's this favorite photograph (shown above) that I took during my visit there, and it will remain in my memory forever.

Jurillyn says...

The United Nations aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. There are actually eight of them and these are 1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2) achieve universal primary education, 3) promote gender equality and empowering women, 4) reduce child mortality rate, 5) improve maternal health 6) combat HIV/aids and other diseases, 7) ensure environmental sustainability and 8) develop global partnership among countries and trading system. All of these are actually based on the happenings all around the world because we want to have and give justice to every little thing that is going on around us. It is a dream to achieve the MDGs for all we know that it is not an easy list to do so.
The third MDG which is to promote gender equality and empowering women seeks to have no biases by creating wholeness of such person and of human. It points out to shut down the gender biases and start to uplift the individuality of a person as man and woman. Man can be woman and woman can be man in terms of work and treatment because people actually tend to have that superiority when it comes to men and that is not fair. Talking about fairness should apply in this situation because we are all created equally.
Specifically here in Cagayan de Oro city, there are organizations that promote gender


equality and empowering women. This is the Technology Outreach and Community Help (TOUCH) Foundation, Inc. It implements a Project on “Strengthening Support System for Victims of Gender Violence in Cagayan de Oro City.” To have a clear understanding of the TOUCH Foundation’s main role, it aims to respond the needs of women survivors of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) in Cagayan de Oro City because in this case people are aware that gender equality problem is actually arising and to prevent that, the TOUCH Foundation in partnership with the different sectors, line agencies, academe, organizations concerning the subject matter, NGOs, other service providers, and lastly the Eighteen barangay local government units (BLGUs).
The Philippine government supports and recognizes the need to increase efforts in instituting measures to protect women and their children.
One of the Republic Acts is the Republic Act 9262. This Act is about Anti-Violence against women and their children. The Anti-VAWC Act (R.A. 9262) was passed on February 2004 by the Congress and was signed into law on March 8, 2004 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The law seeks to address the widespread acts of violence directed against women and children, which acts clearly violate their fundamental human rights and several international human rights instruments of which our country is a participant.



R.A 9262 can be committed inside or outside the family residence. These are acts committed by the any person against a woman who may be the wife, former wife, live-in, girlfriend, or with whom the abuser has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom the abuser has a common child—the woman’s child may be legitimate or illegitimate. VAWC is not limited only to physical violence, sexual violence which includes rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, etc. psychological violence, and economic abuse.
The prohibited acts have corresponding penalties as to help the victim have their justice. It is just fair to have this kind of law in order to feel that women and children belong to the world where most people called it the superiority world because of the biases among men and women.
Women have rights so as the men. All of us should be treated equally in order to have peace in each one of us. It is just so simple to achieve this but people are complicating it. The problem will always be a problem if each one of us is not capable of what needs to be done. Awareness is not enough if it is not put into action. It will just defeat its purpose. Women should be treated with respect and dignity.
Moreover, the reason why there are cases like this is due to the absence of education. People become less sensitive of their actions because they believe that nothing is wrong with it. The guidance when it comes to moral values has been scarce.
A helpful way to attack this problem is to organize a seminar for men for them to have a


better vision of what needs to be done and what is not need to be done. Little by little, it would lead to a successful outcome afterwards—may be consciously or unconsciously.
All of us need respect. What do we do? Give it without any doubt and judgment because I believe that the only way to accomplish this goal is through the certainty of acceptance that all of us living in this world are the same. So, we should treat one another equally. Boy, girl, lady, lad, man and woman.

Lastly, it would be definite if patience will be included because without patience all of us will be going over the same problem as to where it started. It is just one step at a time.

Night Café

by: Ancheden J. Pacamalan

Night Café is the place where people from different walks of life converged every Friday evening 7 o'clock to Saturday at dawn 2 o'clock.

Almost all Kagay-anons know this please because this place is all in one! Food, drinks, entertainment and even second hand clothes are in this place.

This place is not just for party-goers or the happy go lucky students, street children and beggars are visible in the vicinity of night café. It is ironic, right? Despite the happy ambiance of this place, signs of poverty are lurking even around the corner of Cagayan de Oro City.

Every time I go home, I would often see beggars. There has been a time when they came to me and beg coins for food, however I seldom gave. This is not because I do not pity them - my coins are not solutions to their situation.

Dole outs are short term solutions. Well, I hardly think it is a solution. It will only encourage them to linger more on the streets which is obviously dangerous to them especially the street children.

Night Café, which is a street party, is a good venue for them to ask for alms. They are also creating human traffic because sometimes when I would pass this place, they are blocking my way. Thus, slowing my pace.

But I would always have patience and understanding for them. I do not shout at them or even push them.

How I hope that the time will come when I would not see them on the streets but in their safe and clean homes.

For now, I think will see them for quite sometime. Perhaps the government has long term solutions for them. (They better have one!)

Evacuees of Insurgency: Part 01

By: Doi Flordeliz

Cagayan de Oro City, is quiet grateful that its terrains is not that near Lanao del Norte. The insurgency brought by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the MILF militia claimed innocent lives in Lanao del Norte and Southern Mindanao. Last week in our photography class we were tasked to do the photo essay and my topic is about the evacuees from Lanao del Norte that fled to my home town, Iligan City. I went there last Sunday, and I arranged with some friends from the DSWD in Iligan my visit to the evacuation center but I was lucky that they went with me and some Military men as my escort but in shock we used the armored military tank going to that remote area in Iligan. I just can’t remember how much time it took us to reach the area, but I was pretty excited and I have with me two packs of candies that I will give to children. We arrived there at exactly 2:00 P.M I’m so excited to jump out from the Military Tank, but the soldiers did not allow me because they will clear the area first. After 15 minutes of waiting finally they gave us the signal to go down and 4 soldiers were my close in guards.

The DSWD workers introduced me to the people there and I just smiled and I really don’t know what to do and I quiet clueless. But then I need to go out from my shell and converse with them, my plan is just to take pictures from them and have it in my photo essay but since I was there I thought about knowing there real feeling about the insurgency. They were hesitant and shy but one woman stood up and is willing to converse with me. She is Habiba Maoday, an Islamic Studies student, a resident of Kauswagan, Lano del Norte. She relayed their story to me, that in the dawn of that insurgency they heard gun shots and saw that the towns proper of Kauswagan burning like hell. They knew then that it was the MILF troops, fortunately they are 4 kilometers away from the town proper and they are located in the hill so they have a view on the town. At 6:00 A.M they evacuated their homes instead of going down to the town proper then to the town of Linamon and then Iligan City, the en route to the mountains of Kauswagan, crossed rivers and mountain trial for 4 hours carrying heavy loads of clothes and some household things they arrived in Linamon, where trucks are waiting and took them to Upper Hinaplanon a barangay in Iligan City.

Where the International Red Cross, government and some NGO’s are helping them. Providing them with food, water and some clothing. When I was there I wondered if they can still sleep there, because they were just at the cold floor with no electricity and just a banig, blanket and pillow. But Habiba told me that its better there compared to their fears in Kauswagan. They were 28 Muslim families in that evacuation center and lucky they are because it is an Islamic school.

Watch out for the continuation of this blog story and actual photographs next week.

Thanks...

The Special Child at Manila Domestic Airport: Screaming For the Airplane

By: Doi Flordeliz

(The Blog that I never posted)

June 5, 2008 (Thursday), while I was catching my flight back to Cagayan de Oro from Manila, I had my last summer steam off in Manila and that vacation was quite memorable for me. After all the security checks and carrying my baggage that I was shocked because when I had the check-in we found out that it excesses for 5 kilogram, that’s why it was quiet heavy, and I also hand carried the boxes of Krispy kremes for pasalubong to my friends. The security check was terrible, when I passed the last security check it was a relief.

When I entered the departure area I heard a boy crying in scream, it is like he is robbed with a toy or feeling extreme pain, but I just continued to walk and find a seat, I was busy texting my Tita, my Mom, and friends that im just waiting for the plane. After I texted everyone, I was looking for the guy that checked in at Asian Spirit his flight was bound to Boracay, he was damn cute so I was looking for him, but I did not found him. But, what I realize is that my seat was near to the little boy crying in scream, he was about 5 to 6 years old, his skin is fair, he was wearing a blue sando with pictures of Disney characters printed in front, a white towel at his back to absorb his sweat, a brown strapped sandals and white socks, chubby and he was so cute. It seemed that he is taken cared by his parents. At a first look he is a cute normal little boy, but later on I discovered that he has mental problem. Autistic, that’s what the experts call a patient to that condition of the little boy. The departure area is a huge air-conditioned room that maybe can cater a seating capacity of a thousand people. I was taking the 12:20 fight of Cebu Pacific bound to Cagayan de Oro, and I was there at exactly 11am, so I have enough time not to be late with my fight back home. I was separated an aisle away from the little boy. A nun offered her help to the father of the boy, the boy hugged the nun crying in vain as she told the nun airplane… airplane… and the nun told him, baby we are waiting for your airplane don’t cry because it is coming.

Then Cebu Pacific officials approached the father and told him that his kid is disturbing the whole of the departure area and he replied I can’t do anything my child suffers from autism and he wants to be in the plane. The officials just shook off their heads, because they can’t do anything to stop the boy from crying out so loud. A mother approached and gave the boy a pack of gummy bears (oh! Its my favorite) he stopped crying and ate two or three pieces and then he started to cry again. He screamed and screamed for the airplane Finally, it was 11:20 the PA system addressed the father and son’s flight number and flight instructions that they are now boarding then the child rushes to the people in line for boarding and the father immediately followed him and they got on board. That was the first time encountering such thing and it opened my eye that it is so hard raising up an autistic child and I have seen right before my eye the love of the father to his son.