Zamboanga still Agonizing

I re-visited Zamboanga City early this week. And again saw for myself the agony that the more than 100,000 evacuees still faced day to day altho it had been 2 months since the siege ended.

The sports grandstand and what used to be the big track oval was full of tents and makesift sheds and the place looked like it’s having a fiesta due to the thousands of people milling around. The humanitarian crisis was plain to see.

What’s worse was that new sheds kept appearing in the shoreline area. I was told Badjaos from the island provinces outside Zamboanga city kept arriving up to this day in their boats and occupied what was once a fashionable beach line public promenade. Perhaps, they were attracted by the free food and other freebies, my host explained.

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I was invited to revisit by Fr. Angel Calvo, a Claretian priest from Spain who had been in the area for about 40 years who had been in the forefront of peace and development efforts under the banner of Zamboanga Basilan Integrated Development Alliance (ZABIDA) which has under its umbrella groups like “Re-Unidos”, the “Peace Advocates Zamboanga”, the Interreligious Solidarity for Peace, the Zamboanga Civil Society Coordinating Council, among others. He is truly an angel in his work.

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I went to visit Barangay Taluksangay, about 19 kilometers from Zamboanga poblacion where a “Week of Peace” celebration was held. It is the site of the oldest mosque, reputedly built in 1886. The clan of the NUNO family holds sway in that area up to this day. It’s populated by the Sama Bangingi tribe. In one area, bunkhouses are now being built to be the relocation sites of some evacuees from the downtown area. They were all talking about “healing” the wounds of conflict. They did a Muslim native dance to the tune of a Chavacano song. It was a strong message of social cohesion and unity even in the face of diversity.