By Azer Parrocha
MANILA, (PNA) — From the onset of the crisis, the relief operations carried out jointly by the Philippine Red Cross have focused mainly on addressing needs of evacuees, up next: long term displacement.
“This is a devastating reality for the population of Zamboanga as a whole,” PRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said in a statement.
More than two weeks after the outbreak of violence in Zamboanga, 132 people have so far been killed and a further 213 wounded according to government sources.
Over 118,000 civilians have fled their homes with few if any belongings and according to the PRC, prospects for the displaced are looking very grim.
“Besides losing their homes, many people have lost their livelihoods. They will need to rebuild their lives from scratch, which will take considerable time and effort,” Pang said.
“Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, we have to prepare for and work to respond to long-term displacement,” she added.
An evacuee whose fire was burned down, Milagrosa Magalso, a 46-year-old mother of two who used to live in barangay Santa Catalina, one of the areas hardest hit by the fighting, said that the incident was going to be hard to accept.
“It’s hard to accept that we’ll have to start building our lives again from the ground up,” Magalso said.
With thousands of houses completely burned down and public infrastructure having suffered significant damage as a result of the fighting, many civilians will never be able to return to their homes.
However, the PRC assured Magalso as well as all other families who have been victims of the assault that they will assisted until they have eventually settled down.