Minda refugee crisis ‘grim’, says UN
October 5, 2008
DATU PIANG, Maguindanao - The United Nations food agency has said the humanitarian situation in 
The UN food agency said more than half a million displaced persons need emergency aid. WFP country representative Stephen Anderson said people are living in very overcrowded conditions with unacceptable water and sanitation conditions.
“While some help is getting through, clearly it is not enough,” Andersen said. Anderson recently visited a packed evacuation camp in the southern town of Datu Piang town, Maguindanao province, scene of the latest skirmishes between troops and the MILF.
“The situation is very grim,” Mr. Anderson said, adding that heavy rains pounding the area over a number of days had caused flooding “that is growing worse day by day.”
“Clearly, much more is needed in helping people in addressing camp management here. People are living in very overcrowded conditions. Just from the face of it, water and sanitation conditions are unacceptable,” he said.
He noted that in many areas thousands of people, living in rudimentary tents made of tarpaulin and other light materials, did not have adequate drinking water and toilets.
He said his agency had budgeted aid for about 600,000 people affected by the violence, and that they had delivered more than 12,000 sacks of rice to 16 evacuation camps in Mindanao.
In Datu Piang on Wednesday, WFP distributed about 500 sacks of rice to 429 families, many of whom had not eaten proper meals in days.
The refugees have taken over the municipal plaza, erecting makeshift tents in every available space, including a patio that has been converted into an emergency medical center.
Anderson said he was “very surprised” to find out that more and more evacuees were streaming into the camps despite a recent drop in large-scale fighting between troops and MILF.
“I had thought that the number of people would have leveled off,” he said. Fighting began last month when MILF rebels, angered by an aborted land deal with the government, attacked many towns and villages in Muslim Mindanao, affecting more than half a million people.
More than 60 civilians have been killed so far, including five children who died in a military air raid on a marshland. Rebels have burned down many homes, while shops and businesses have been forced to close. The Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has said the number of displaced persons from the clashes between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces in Mindanao rose to more than half-a-million as of early this month.
In its report, the NDCC said the total number of affected families rose to 104,810 or 501,649 persons compared to the 100,024 families or 479,223 persons reported.
Foreign countries and international organizations have joined hands to provie assistance to the growing number of displaced people. The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said it has provided food assistance to the refugees in the provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan for at least one month.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on the Philippine military and Muslim rebels not to stop aid reaching civilians displaced by fighting in the South of the country. Deputy director, Dominik Stillhart, said he had heard reports that a UN World Food Program convoy carrying aid to the area had been stolen.
He urged the Army and the MILF to respect international laws protecting non-combatants amid the violence, which he said was at its worst in five years, in southern Mindanao. “The ICRC is stepping up its operation in the region over the coming months. We intend to provide assistance and protection for up to 350,000 people between now and the end of the year,” Stillhart added.
“Up to half a million people have been displaced by the war,” he said. The fighting between government troops and MILF guerrillas broke out in Mindanao last month after the Supreme Court suspended a draft agreement on August 4 intended to pave the way for a formal peace accord.
“Mindanao has suffered its worst fighting since 2003,” Stillhart told reporters, saying that the ICRC had to bring in additional staff to deal with the increased number of civilians displaced by the combat.
Similar Topics
We love to hear your comments...
Got something to say?
Subscribe to Receive our News
Advertisement
New Entries
Our News Categories
Readers Opinions
- chofowl on Online forum for workers abroad
- klein on Wish Ko Lang - Huling Hiling
- tony on The Dirt of the Americans
- Carlos C. Dalmacio on Wish Ko Lang - Huling Hiling
- Stephen Boskett on Philippines hunts for more suspects in rebellion
Archives
Partners
