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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Cultural disparity tests CH aid staff
A language barrier between social workers and Badjao communities affected by yesterday’s fire made it difficult to pinpoint the exact number of victims.
And since Badjaos don’t eat meat, City Hall distributed bread and sardines instead of the usual packed meals.
William Miro, Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council executive officer, said the City still has to get the exact number of displaced Badjaos because they do not speak Cebuano.
Social workers only got information from the Badjaos’ chieftain, who mobilized his men to do the documentation.
The City also had to deal with the division of Badjaos into two groups, Side A and Side B.
The Side A group has the more affluent members of the community.
Members of the Side B group live in clusters of homes. They dive for coins tossed by ship passengers at the pier and beg in the streets.
The two groups reportedly try as much as possible not to do business with each other.
Kathy Yso, Department of Social Welfare and Services chief, led the distribution of food to the Badjao fire victims yesterday.
She said her only problem is where to house the victims, although the Alaska Elementary School is being considered.
Yso said her office initially listed 500 Badjaos from Side A and 300 from Side B who were affected by the fire.
The National Commission on Indigenous People also went to the area to aid the City.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo, City action officer and council committee on social services chairman, said in a telephone interview that he will ask the council today to declare Sitios Naba and Pungtod as calamity areas.
This will enable the victims to receive assistance from the City’s calamity funds.
The City has started giving food good for three days. It will also distribute household and construction materials.
Carillo said the family of the person who died in the fire will receive P10,000. Carillo also promised to look into the circumstances of the man’s death.
Carillo said the fire destroyed 300 houses and left 400 families (some 1,200 persons) homeless. (RHM)
(April 20, 2005 issue)
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