3 years after siege, Marawi children face new battle

MANILA, Philippines – Bailiya was only 9 years old when her hometown was destroyed by the 5-month gun battle between government forces and ISIS-inspired local terrorists that started on May 23, 2017.

The Marawi siege flattened homes, schools, infrastructure, and displaced 200,000 people. (READ: The war in Marawi: 153 days and more)

“Our lives back then were difficult. However, it is twice difficult this time because our house was destroyed and we have no school to go back to,” she said.

Bailiya, now 12 years old, is one of the beneficiaries of Save the Children Philippines’ education program and an internally displaced learner at Angoyao Elementary School. She is had 7 other siblings. They live in a transitory shelter in Barangay Boganga in Marawi.

To make matters worse for Bailiya and children like her, there are already 9 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur, as of May 17, with 4 deaths. Forty patients were being probed for COVID-19, based on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) health office.

Alberto Muyot, Save the Children Philippines CEO,  cited the long-term impact of conflict on children. He said children and their families in Marawi are more at risk of contracting diseases including COVID-19 as clean water, toilets, and hygiene facilities remain a problem in the transitory shelters.

“Children bear the brunt of armed conflict as they suffer from severe malnutrition, diseases including COVID-19, as health care and food supplies are disrupted. Children’s right to education must be fulfilled even in times of emergencies,” Muyot said.

In this regard, Save the Children Philippines continues to help children and their families to rebuild lives in Marawi amid uncertainties and the COVID-19 pandemic. (READ: Life doubly hard in Marawi shelters as coronavirus grounds aid groups)

For the past 3 years, Save the Children Philippines has been providing emergency and recovery assistance to children and their families affected by the Marawi siege, reaching 48,475 children and 9,492 adults. These include learning materials, psychosocial first aid, and temporary learning spaces to ensure children will continue learning during the crisis.

Recently, Save the Children distributed handwashing facilities in checkpoints and quarantine facilities in Marawi. The team also distributed hygiene kits to children and their families and food packs to medical frontliners. It also helped families with water supply, hygiene promotion, and access to safe drinking water.

It also supported the rehabilitation of latrines and construction of toilets in the areas where temporary learning spaces were installed.

“Education is a life-saving response as it provides children a safe space to learn, provides normality, routine, and ensures their protection,” said Edwin Horca, head of Save the Children Philippines-BARMM offices. 

As such, Save the Children Philippines provided temporary learning spaces, back-to-school kits, and hygiene kits to motivate children to go back to school.

“Learning spaces also provide protection to children from threats of sexual violence, harmful work and recruitment into armed groups,” Horca added. 

The humanitarian support also includes training of teachers on child protection and the minimum standards on education in emergencies, as well as art workshops themed on peace for children and youth.

Children’s access to education, water, sanitation and hygiene, and child protection were supported by the Department of Foreign and Trade of the Government of Australia, Radiojhalpen/ Swedish Music Aid, and European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

Save the Children Philippines will continue to provide emergency assistance for the reconstruction and recovery of Marawi with new partnerships with the Asian Development Bank and the private sector. These efforts will be aligned with the national government’s recovery and rehabilitation plan under Task Force Bangon Marawi.

Horca said the new programs will complement the recovery and rehabilitation programs of the national government and SCP-BARMM to ensure access to income and livelihood of conflict- affected families, and those in host communities.

“We are harnessing resources, local and foreign, to ensure that the affected people of Marawi are never forgotten,” Horca said.

Save the Children Philippines is one with the people in the commemoration of the survivors and heroes of the Marawi Siege and encourages everyone to help and support its programs for the continued protection and the rebuilding of lives of those affected, most especially the children. – Rappler.com 

Aedrian Araojo is a Communications Officer for Save the Children Philippines.