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Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Officials appeal for aid to flashflood victims
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Flashfloods spawned by torrential rains have destroyed thousands of hectares of farmlands and submerged villages in the largely Muslim province of Maguindanao in Mindanao.
Local officials are appealing for government aid and relief goods to feed hungry families left homeless by weeks of heavy rains.
The towns worst hit by flash floods were Tuca and Mamasapano. Villagers there have already evacuated to safer areas.
Local town officials have also appealed for donations of foods and medicines to be distributed to those displaced by the flooding.
One village mosque in Tuca was submerged two feet under water and many thatched houses owned by farmers were either destroyed or swept away by the rampaging water.
"We have nothing now. Our cornfields are destroyed and everywhere you see is water. Please help us and tell the government about our plight here," said one woman, while she pointed to the horizon, once a field of green, but now a watery world for animals.
Children were left hungry in the villages and some ate a meal of uncooked maize to pass their craving for food--most of the time a staple of rice and dried fish--although many eat only twice a day. Even drinking water was scarce.
Villagers said local government officials were sending them rice allocation, but they could not ask for more because many families affected by the flash floods also need food to survive until the water subsides or the weather improve.
"They give us rice, the officials of the province, but we cannot ask for more because many also need food. We have to wait until the flood subsides or the sun comes out, so we can go back to the field and start all over again," another villager said.
"We need government aid, like funding for seeds and fertilizers. We have nothing left now. Even our houses here in the village are destroyed, even our place for worship, the mosque is underwater," a villager named Ibrahim said.
Mamasapano Mayor Datu Akmad Ampatuan said social workers were helping displaced villagers. He also appealed for provisions and medicines, saying, their supplies were not enough to feed the hungry.
"We really need potable water here. Water sources, mostly springs, are now polluted. I appeal to everybody to donate provisions and medicines," Ampatuan, who led several humanitarian mission in flooded villages, said.
Ampatuan said the lack of potable water system in the farming town of over 50,000 people is threatening the heath of villagers. The lack of government funding have hampered development not only in Mamasapano, but also in other areas in the province, a known stronghold of Muslim rebels in the south.
Maguindanao is one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), torn by strife the past decades.
"We have to hang in here and make use of every available resources for the benefit of the people. The little we have is divided among all the villages, and unity is what driving us to hang on tightly and move forward and look on the bright side of life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is our guide," Ampatuan said.
(June 7, 2005 issue)
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