Older sister smiles while younger sister stares emptily at their evacuation center in Zamboanga City’s Enriquez Memorial Complex, two months after the Zamboanga siege. (davaotoday.com photo by Ace R. Morandante)
“Long-term counselling is needed because it will take a long time for them to overcome their trauma and fears. Not all children can cope, some are still afraid of the slightest noise, from fallen cabinet or things. Others who see men in fatigue uniforms thought there is another war,” said (Children’s Rehabilitation Center) CRC spokesperson Jacquiline Ruiz
The family of the slain eight-year boy reacted strongly to the decision of the government prosecutor who thrashed its murder complaint against soldiers they claimed to have been in the area at the time of the incident.
Kaugmaon executive director Florie Butiong-Tacang said their campaign has only reached ten per cent success in minimizing child labor working on hazardous conditions.
Their study showed cases where children worked in packing urea fertilizer in a refinery, and others cleaning bottles for a recycling plant. In both cases, children worked without protective gear and even worked overnight for days.
“Are authorities really that insensitive to children’s rights, that children can become collateral damage to military offensives?” asked Rius Valle, Children’s Rehabilitation Center Southern Mindanao spokesperson
Waving flags and donning costumes from different nations, pupils paraded for the United Nations Day celebration along SM Annex in Ecoland. (davaotoday.com photo by Ace R. Morandate)
“We want to have these pictures taken by children themselves, so we can show the existence of child labor in this city awarded as a child-friendly city. We want to show the hardship and hazard of children exposing to survival at their young age,” said Tacang.
A kid reads a protester’s placard slamming ‘bureaucrat capitalism’ or the abuse of government position for personal gain, during Wednesday’s protest by Youth Act Now, which condemned the retention of Presidential pork barrel known as Presidential Social Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). (davaotoday.com photo by Ace R. Morandante)
Children whether deliberately used or not are still victims and survivors of state violence in the Philippine context.
Tending to children has become difficult in evacuation centers with the number of displaced increasing every day after two weeks of skirmish between MNLF and state forces. All over the city, the number of displaced residents has swelled up to nearly 120,000 from 12 villages as fighting continued on its second week.
