Together with our neighbours I ran around half kilometres, despite my near
delivery, to escape them [Jeana Marino]
The family hid inside the house, hearing gunshots and afraid of going out.
They could not see where the bullets were coming from and were afraid of
getting hit. [Hasana]
On their way out, Mahid recalled seeing Isis men on the streets and the fear
they felt inside the vehicle. They were afraid that they would be asked to go
down and would be asked to recite prayers, she says its good for her and
other Muslims as they are able to recite the prayers but she worries for her
Christina co-workers. She said “Hindi ko makakalimutan ano yung
papalabas na kami, nakita naming yung mga ISIS sa gilid, akala naming
na papatayin na kami… takot kami kasi maraming Christian na empleyado
si ate, buti nalang talaga hindi nila sinita…. Kami alam naming yung dasal,
yung mga Kristyano na kasama nain maawa kami baka hindi naming
kayanin na makita naming an yung kaibigan naming pinapatay, hindi
naming kakayanin. Kaya nanalangin kami kai Allah na gabayan kami sa
pagtakas, at yun hindi na kami ipinababa ng mga ISIS, yung ibang
sasakyan daw pinababa.” [Mahid]
While none of the women interviewed were directly threatened by Maute or Isis armed
groups, there were accounts validating invites from the group for young men to join their fight.
One woman [Anisa] told the story of her brother who was taken by the Isis, she got sick thinking
about him, worrying about his safety. She shared that her brother hid in the mosque for three
days and that when the brother was asked by the Isis, he would just nod because they will kill
him if he is not with them. In terms of threats from the military, the women’s concern were
either speculative – on what will happen to the properties they left behind, and concern for
children who lack documentation and might be subjected to arrest in view of martial law.
Fear for family members
Most of the women interviewed by the team expressed various degrees of worry and
concern for their family members. The firefight began in the middle of the afternoon, most
children were at school, while parents who were working were in the workplace. Women who
were housewives and who were taking care of young children stayed at home and some were not
able to leave the City immediately as they had to locate/wait for their children who were in
school or their husbands who are at work. In cases where women opted to leave, they are
burdened with worry for the safety of their immediate family and relatives. The fear that women
felt for the safety of their family members, either with them in flight or left behind, may be
gleaned from the following selected accounts:
When it started, I right away told my husband to go home from work. But
according to him, he is trapped with his employer in their place of work. But I
still waited for him my two children until 6:30 in the evening. But since I can
no longer called him because there was no signal, I decided to leave the house
together with the children. [Jocelyn Lagata]
Cosnia reported that she was not able to take her other son ‘Nouman Alawi’
(son from another man) who was left in their home at West Marinaut because
Nouman cannot walk. His foot was injured few days before the attack in
Marawi. Since then, they do not have information of whether he was saved or
was able to leave Marawi City. She tried reporting the same but no report or
news has reached her as to his son’s whereabouts. [Cosnia]
Fatima is a mother of eight (8) children. She was in Iligan when the firefight
began. She was so worried for her children who are left in their home while
some are in the school at that time. Upon hearing the news, in the eve of May
23, 2017, she hurriedly went home to look for her children but was not
allowed entry at Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur. It was difficult to contact her
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