Philippines: Long-term displacement for many in Zamboanga

26-09-2013 Photo gallery

Recent violence in Zamboanga caused death, injury and displacement. The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the ICRC carry out joint relief operations, notably to address needs in the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex, Zamboanga’s biggest evacuation centre, and in other areas of the city.

- Displaced people brave the scorching heat as they wait at the stadium to receive food assistance. According to government sources, nearly 118,000 people are sheltered in 35 evacuation centres in Zamboanga City.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00679
- For Langka Tanda, a 65-year-old widow, life at Zamboanga city’s largest evacuation centre is difficult. “The food queues are very long and the heat unbearable,” explains Langka, who lost her home in the fighting.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00687
- PRC staff and volunteers, supported by the ICRC, prepare and supply one hot meal daily to displaced people at the stadium. Other non-governmental organizations and the authorities provide two other meals a day.
  © ICRC / Jeoffrey Maitem
- Many displaced people are now homeless. One communal tent in Zamboanga city’s largest evacuation centre, Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex, houses over 50 families.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00681
- Displaced men are paid to set up communal tents in the stadium. This is part of a cash-for-work programme for evacuees.
  © ICRC / Albert Madrazo / V-P-PH-E-00695
- Some fishing communities stay close to the shoreline to protect their livelihoods. The PRC and the ICRC installed a water bladder for them and also provided tarpaulins and mats.
  © ICRC / Albert Madrazo / V-P-PH-E-00700
- Displaced people collect water from one of the three water bladders set up in the stadium.
  © ICRC / Jeoffrey Maitem / V-P-PH-E-00701
- Nurse Luisa Ramirez is among the PRC staff and volunteers providing psychological and social support to displaced people. “Many mothers... are very anxious about the future... their livelihoods having been destroyed, while others are distressed about the uncertain situation but still very hopeful about returning to their homes ultimately”, she says.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00682
- Many children are traumatized by events they have witnessed. Through art, play and therapy the PRC offers psychological and social support to help them cope with the trauma.
  © ICRC / Albert Madrazo / V-P-PH-E-00699
- A woman makes a tearful call to a relative. With ICRC support, the PRC offers free phone calls to help people separated from their loved ones restore links.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00678
- Children recover at the paediatric ward of the temporary hospital set up at the Western Mindanao State University.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00684
- Sharida Uda took her one-year-old daughter to the hospital after she showed symptoms of diarrhoea. Left cash-strapped by the conflict, Sharida hopes for government financial assistance to needy victims.
  © ICRC / Karlos Manlupig / V-P-PH-E-00685

Related sections

Operational update

Philippines: Civilians with no homes to return to