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[av_heading heading=’EDITORIAL | Caught in crisis situations’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, June 4, 2017
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THE Humanitarian and Emergency Response Team of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao placed the number of people displaced by the gun-battle between government forces and Maute terror group in Marawi City at some 218,665 as of May 31.
How should the government – and every citizen for that matter – address the plight of these people and empower them to have their lives and dignity back? Each one of us has a stake in human security and development.
People caught in between these unfortunate scenarios – war, devastating earthquakes and typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc. – should be assisted immediately and sufficiently. The issues on food and water safety, privacy, rape, trafficking, prostitution, and shelter, among others are the concerns that affect internally-displaced people, especially the women, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Let us remember that every person in our country is susceptible to becoming internally displaced. We are prone to all kinds of disasters. This could either be due to either long-standing insurgencies, natural or man-made calamities, among others.
Involuntary displacement results in loss of lives and properties, psychological trauma, family disintegration, disruption in education, loss of employment, anarchy, and over-all vulnerability, among others. People caught in crisis situations – armed conflict, generalized and/organized violence, clan wars, violations of human rights, implementation of development projects and human-made hazards – should not be considered merely as collateral damage. They are our brothers and sisters.
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