Kalinaw Mindanao set to document `abuses’

MARAWI AFTERMATH

ANOTHER round of a threeday humanitarian mission is set in Marawi City in what deemed to be an effort to document and collate the human rights situation in the city ruined by war.

In a statement sent to the media by Kalinaw Mindanao, the nongovernment organization said the mission is also aims to help at least 2,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur to recover.

The humanitarian mission slated Nov. 15-17 also intends to empower and organize the survivors and victims of the all-out war in the only Islamic City in the country.

“Nearly five months after President Rodrigo Duterte declared an all-out war in Marawi that displaced thousands

of residents and brought heavy damages to lives and properties, the President finally declared the city liberated from the ISIS-inspired Maute group. His declaration signals the start for home coming of the displaced residents and marks the beginning of the rehabilitation,” it says.

“’Despite this development, most of the evacuees seem to have no idea as to when they would go back and how they could start restoring back their lives after almost nothing survived the war,” it added.

Amira Lidasan, convenor of the Kalinaw Mindanao and the Moro-Christian Alliance, said they will also hope to recommend ways for a smooth rehabilitation process of the city.

In the previous humanitarian mission, Lidasan said its group has already recorded over 300 human rights violations in the first months of the 5-month siege in Marawi. This time, however, Lidasan said they will look for more human rights violations for them to be able to document the humanitarian side of the war.

Kalinaw Mindanao has been carrying out interfaith responses to Mindanao crises over the years.

The group is composed of different organizations such as religious groups, Balsa Mindanao, Suara Bangsamoro, Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao, and Sisters’ Association in Mindanao, among others.