Evacuation to Recovery: A Mindanaoan IDP Woman Story

Transcribed below was an interview of Mr. Misuari “Jake” Abdullah, ERRCM Technical Assistant on February 22, 2012 to Mrs. Kadiguia Zambaga (38 y.o.), married to Mr. Datucan Zumbaga (41 y.o.) with six (6) children namely Hawla (16 y.o.), Jehan (13 y.o.), Hamida (9 y.o.), Bai (7 y.o.), Zuharto (5 y.o.),  and Omar (2 y.o.)

The Evacuation: Loud cries out of fear from my children rattled me more aside from being afraid of stray bullet on August 8, 2008 when armed confrontation happens between 6IB AFP and MILF led by Umbra Kato as triggered by the failure of GRP and MILF to resolve the consensus points stated in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD). 2 of my children survived from being drowned while crossing the Pamalian creek, but our neighbours’ one little girl was drowned to death while fleeing. We didn’t have single centavo money during the evacuation, we left everything except the clothes in our body, the 1 cooking pot, and 3 old plates that I brought.

In the Evacuation Sites: With eyes filled with tears, we reach the unfinished Buisan rice mill in Pikit town (13 kms from Pamalian) and use it as our evacuation center together with over a hundred families. My heart was broken seeing my children starved from hunger aside from the dirty sleeping place that night. Yes we have 3 plates and 1 cooking pot, but, we have nothing to cook. Thanks for the foods supplies that came the next day. For over 2 months stay, our family suffered an untold difficulty of poverty living caused by hunger, diseases, crowded shelter sharing with over a hundred families, etc. MILF and GRP said they are fighting for the safeguard of civilians, but, we civilians are casualties. It is almost horrible to imagine witnessing how tens of children and old ones suffered and died of diseases in our evacuation center.

Our Sad Return: After over 2 months, we were advised to vacate the evacuation center and then transferred and built makeshift tent to Brgy. Manaulanan and stayed for 5 days before we finally found our self very happy and excited to return in our own house, yet, tears of sorrow falls because our house turned to ashes as it was included to those other houses that were burned by military soldiers. I can’t explain the hurt I had that time seeing my children crying and holding the ashes of our burnt house. We then returned and construct makeshift tent at the bank of Pamalian creek where my family got sick due to continues rain and short meals. After 2 days, we were offered by the BLGU to occupy the abandoned Barangay Hall where we live along with other 5 families since November 2008. We defecate elsewhere and the only source of our drinking water is the shall dug well. 6 families living in one shelter is really challenging because there are times that we just witness how other families take their meals while we are starving from hunger-this is the most painful repetitive scene to me as a mother of 6 children...very hurting. True with our Barangay Captains’ quote “ Barangay Pamalian is Barangay Pinag-iwanan”, so as the IDP communities within.

Thanks God, ERRCM Revived Our Well Being: I thought that the Early Recovery and Rehabilitation Rapid Needs Assessment we undergone in June 2011 facilitated in by the technical departments of MLGU Pikit along with the PLGU North Cotabato will be useless, nevertheless, currenthly through the ERRCM, a lot of positive changes happened:

·   Before… we are forced to fit our 9 family members along with 5 more families in the dilapidated old barangay hall, yet, our family alone now live in a core shelter;

·   Before… we defecate elsewhere, but, now we go to the recently completed latrines;

·   Before… we fetch water from unsafe shallow dug well for water drinking, however, we have now access to safe water from the jetmatic pump located 10 meters from our new house;

·   Before…my children said, the over one hundred elementary pupils forced to fit in small dilapidated school building, however, they are now currently occupying the newly constructed school building committed by DepEd to ERRCM as counterpart during the onset of the ERRCM;

Soon, the on-going construction of BHS and school building from ERRCM, the on-going Masjid construction, the recently completed school building from Dep-Ed, and the Multi-purpose building from PLGU of Cotabato will be completed and operational. Indeed, they will surely improve our social services. We also hope that the small livelihood project and the Bio-Intensive Gardening from ERRCM will help us towards economic recovery. We hope that the many blessings provided by the government and other agencies to include ERRCM as well as our current peaceful living shall be sustained. My family and my fellow constituents have recovered now. Thanks to the EU, UNDP, World Food Programme, MinDA, Provincial and Local Government Units and to the MAPAD because we have at least recovered... Mrs. Kadiguia Zambaga ended.