ARA (real name withheld) remembered how she wrapped her arms around the little bundle of joy who wrapped his arms around her neck last May 22.
The 21-year-old college professor considered as a stress reliever the humming sound her 8-month-old son makes while sleeping. Little did she know it would be the last peaceful sleep they would have.
“I still can’t seem to understand how our paradise ended in tragedy,” she told SunStar Cebu.
Ara was one of close to 150 individuals who arrived in Cebu yesterday to escape the armed clashes between the Maute group and government troops in Marawi City. The refugees came from Iligan City on board MV Trans Asia 8, which sailed Thursday night.
While making their way down the walkway, the families were huddled close to each other, shaken by fatigue and stress.
Like Ara, most of the families had not slept since the siege last May 23, afraid to lose sight of their loved ones for a second.
“A lot can happen even in five seconds and I’m so scared. How can I not be when I could clearly remember the day the Maute arrived at our very front lawn?” said Ara.
Ara had gotten home earlier than usual that Tuesday afternoon and decided to get some fresh air when a group of unidentified men on board a jeep arrived.
The next thing she knew, Ara was crawling her way back to their ancestral house, where she wrapped her child in an embrace. Her sister was also in another corner of the house, arms also hugging her own infant.
The gunshots stopped, but before the sisters could let out a sigh, two armed men barged into their house but left immediately after seeing they were wearing hijabs.
“Then I heard one saying to the other to leave us since we are Muslims. I reckon they were looking for non-Muslims. I don’t know why, but I also can’t for the life of me, ever want to know because it gives me terrors,” Ara said.
The mothers and their children spent the rest of the night holding on to each other, praying to be spared by stray bullets.
After eight hours, Ara took a peek outside and saw some of their neighbors leaving their houses in haste. They joined the crowd, bringing with them nothing but things their infants needed.
After more than 13 hours of walking and hitchhiking, the mothers arrived at the evacuation center in Iligan City where they rejoined the rest of their family who had escaped from a university where they were trapped.
“We don’t have relatives here in Cebu but having each other is more than enough. We decided to come here because we believe this is the safest place and that we will not be discriminated against here,” Ara said.
Alaina Macabato, 24, one of the rescued teachers who worked at the Zapatera Elementary School, said her heart breaks at the thought of their once peaceful city now becoming a battlefield. She was home to observe the Ramadan with her family when the war broke out.
“Our city is beautiful and it gives you a warm feeling. Ramadan is the best time to visit because it is when you really feel that we Muslims are nothing like the stigma placed against us,” she said.
Alaina, however, believes that one day they could return to Marawi. For now, she and her family will stay in Cebu City as she plans to continue teaching.
The Cebu City Government said it will coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 to ensure that all refugees undergo stress debriefing. As of yesterday, the City has taken the profiles of 62 refugees.
Councilor Dave Tumulak said the profiling is needed to determine who needs what type of help.
“We will try to give them the peace of mind and freedom they deserve here. As new residents, we ask them to help us identify suspicious persons,” he said.