The Daily Manila Shimbun

 

UN official calls on international community to support displaced people in Marawi

October 12, 2018



COTABATO-- A United Nations official urged the international community to support the central government’s effort to help people displaced by last year’s siege by Islamic State linked militants in Marawi City.

Ursula Mueller, the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief, visited Marawi on October 9 where she met people living in the tent city, barely a year after the military defeated the militants. Nearly a thousand died in the fighting that lasted for about five months.

“To see is to understand the challenge. I was struck by my conversations with displaced women living in the Sarimanok temporary shelters. As their displacement continues, they want their children to have access to education. Sustained humanitarian assistance is needed. There is a lot of hope and opportunity in Marawi, and we need to keep those hopes alive,”  Mueller said.

Mueller reiterated the support of the United Nations and its partners to the government’s recovery plan as well as its efforts to help those who remain displaced.

Haroun Alonto Lucman, a resident of Marawi, said heading in a nearby town he recently passed the main battle area in Marawi.

“It's been more than a year now since the 'liberation' of Marawi City and we are still displaced. Never mind the rehab plan. This unreasonable delay is degenerating into a denial of property right,” Lucman said.

“Bring our people in and let them rebuild their homes and lives. It's time to break silence,” he added.

The military said they could not allow civilians to return in most areas in Marawi as they are still looking for more than 50 unexploded ordinance dropped by military planes at the height of the battle. DMS