since our house is at the end of the road, they have not reached our place before they turned back.
I can’t believe that I saw ISIS that evening. After seeing them returning, right there and then we
left the house. It was raining, I was carrying my five months old baby and my 10 year old boy was
following. I have not brought anything with me except my two children. I forgot even to wear a
bra when I left the house.
Since our house is nearby the military camp, I went there with my children. They helped
me find my husband the following day. For three days and three nights that we stayed there, it
was really difficult…“Ni hindi mo mapikit ang mata mo; hindi ka magugutom kasi nga ang iniisip
mo na lang na yumayanig ‘yung lupa kapag nagbomba. ‘Yun na lang ang laman ng isip at tiyan
mo”. (You cannot even close your eyes; you will feel hunger because all you could think is the
shaking of the ground when there is bombing. It is all that is in your mind and stomach). Fear is
so real. You don’t know if you will still survive.
After three days, together with my family, we decided to leave the camp. A born again
family we knew, offered to bring us hear in Buru-un.
We were relieved given the fact that we were far from the war zones but different difficulty
we have to go through here. It was really difficult because my son has to stop from studying. He
does not have uniforms and school supplies. My husband and I has nothing to wear - underwear
and clothes. There were relief goods, but not enough. Since they are not packed, people don’t line
up and just snatched all that they could. Cooking a meal is an ordeal. Around 16-20 families share
one gas stove and you have to wait a turn. And it only last a week; it takes time (one or two weeks)
before it could be replaced. “Kaya nagtitiis nalang kaming mangahoy” (hence, we just endure
gathering of woods). Children, elderly and even us are getting sick because of the unbearable heat
and rain showers that getting in the gym. We are also just lying on the floors with just mats thus
coughs and cold just come and go even DOH is giving consolations and medicines.
We appeal for electric fans especially for those who have babies, sleeping foams and more
gas stoves. We also need underwear and clothes, and uniform and school supplies for the school
children. We also really need money to buy aside from what is supplied to us. We want to eat fish
and vegetables but we don’t have money to buy. Our husbands need job so that we can earn money
on our own.
We hope the President will fulfil his promises when he visited here. He promised to build
houses and give livelihood to those who are poor in the evacuation centers.
Anisa Sultan
During the eruption of the war, we (with three children) got separated from my husband
because he fetched his sister from another place. Hence together with the children we tried our
best to escape. We hitched in to a group going out Marawi. First, we went to Pantar but when we
heard that there were relief goods distributed in Balo-i, we went to there, then here.
Actually, I became very emotional when I heard that my brother was picked up by ISIS. I
even got sick because I can’t sleep. As far as I knew, they kill those who refuse to join them. There
are two things they asked: ‘where do you like to join, white? or black? If you say white, they will
kill you. If you say black, you have to carry arms. It is what I am afraid of most. He is a man and
they take men to join them. My brother hid in a mosque for three days. He witnessed the firings
and bombings. When they asked him, he just nod because they will kill him if they noticed that he
is not with them.
What I need is an ID and money for my brother to be able to leave and go to Manila. There
are news that anytime ISIS will take a siege in Iligan or Cagayan De Oro and I fear for the safety
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