174,000 still in Maguindanao evacuation centers (tags)
174,000 still in Maguindanao evacuation centers Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:15:00 12/22/2009 Filed Under: rebellion, Armed conflict, Evacuation(General) DATU PIANG, Maguindanao—Johana Maluba, 24, is not sure if she could be back to her home to give birth before the end of the month. The mother of four is one of the 174,370 persons or 38,874 families referred to by humanitarian agencies as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maguindanao. The IDPs are scattered around the 103 evacuation centers. They fled their homes when fighting between government soldiers and Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces broke out August last year. It was not clear, however, how many evacuated following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 civilians, including 31 journalists, in Ampatuan town, allegedly led by Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. The incident led to the weeklong imposition of martial law in the province. Some of the evacuees, those who fled their homes in Shariff Aguak after the massacre, are living with relatives, while others have set up camps in nearby towns. For the evacuees, it is safer to be away from home. “I am afraid to go back to our own house because we might get caught in crossfire,” Maluba said as she waited in line for the relief goods being distributed by the Act for Peace, a humanitarian organization. Diosita Andot, chair of Act for Peace, said their main intervention for the Maguindanao evacuees remains focused on “early recovery and rehabilitation program.” She said several core shelters have been constructed for families whose houses were razed in last year’s fighting. Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Secretary Jesus Dureza, who also joined the distribution of relief assistance, tried to convince evacuees to go home. “It is now safe to go back to your own homes,” he told them. But Dureza said not all could be given a house and that the relief assistance “is just temporary and you cannot be given every day, so it’s a must that you go home and start making a living.” Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the Military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, assured the evacuees that the police and military would respect the ceasefire with the MILF. “We will work to restore your normal lives,” he said.
Racism and Anti-Immigrant Terror at Fire Evacuee Centers (tags)
The first story is a very detailed account of the police and immigration terrorism against African-Americans and immigrants at the fire evacuee centers. The second story is a call for volunteers, including interpreters.
Malibu fires show class divide as rich evacuees get massages, yoga (tags)
Audio:3 min 23 seconds. The treatement of fire evacuees from places like Malibu, CA stands in sharp contrast to what happened after Katrina! audio: MP3 at 3.1 mebibytes
Stop the war, Maguindanao folk cry (tags)
Pesante-USA/AJLPP joins the people of Mindanao in their urgent call to stop the US-Arroyo Regime's war against the people. “They are suffering and they want the fighting stopped,” Ruby Sahali, social welfare secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said of the more than 4,000 families displaced by fighting between militiamen and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Maguindanao.The evacuees came from the towns of Shariff Aguak, where the hostilities started last week, and from Mamasapano, Datu Piang, Datu Unsay, Datu Saudi, Ampatuan, Sultan sa Barongis and SK Pendatun towns, where it spread.
Bukidnon villagers flee as attacks vs NPAs continues (tags)
Pesante-USA reprints the latest news from the Phil.Star. dated June 27 about the incrased AFP counter-insurgency operations in Central Mindanao. As of the latest news. eight villagaes have been evacuated due to the heavy militarization in the area as the AFP launched ground and air attacks against the NPA in Bukidnon. the central highland area of Northern Mindanao.
Global Women's Strike/LA Action Highlights Katrina & Other Global Warming Survivors (tags)
“Everything was calm. I had just gone from the sofa into the kitchen. That’s when the water came gushing in. I saw my little dog, Queenie, struggling to get up on the sofa. I grabbed her up, but the water kept rising; it was up to my neck by the time we got out...” - Gloria Brown, Katrina survivor.
Car Caravan Demands No Katrina/Rita Evictions (tags)
Katrina Solidarity Committees nationwide will be pointing out that FEMA and the Bush administration are mandated by the Stafford Act to provide housing for disaster victims for 18 months - their attempt to cut off housing and rental assistance is illegal and criminal. Protests will demand Katrina/Rita evacuees be granted an indefinite extension in federal, state and local housing assistance until such time as they obtain affordable and adequate housing.
VIDEO > Housing Rights for New Orleans Hurricane Survivors (tags)
This video includes interviews from evacuees in NY and those who've returned to New Orleans. This issue is currently effecting the lives of thousands of people and it's still not too late to help put pressure where it needs to be put to force the goverenment to deal with these people properly.
Free Market Idiocy and Easy Money in the Big Easy (tags)
The federal government is paying $200 billion to bring in outside companies to rebuild New Orleans, while hundreds of thousands of the city’s evacuees languish in shelters across the country, jobless and penniless. What’s wrong with this picture?
Indymedia shines during Hurricanes (tags)
Corporate media reports rumor as fact and doesn't both to correct itself. no wonder Indymedia shines, unfiltered reporting no coporate agenda.
Housing News-Feds Withold Disaster Assistance (tags)
As of yet, HUD has not even offered any temporary Section 8 vouchers to Katrina's victims.
Barbara Bush shows no compassion for hurricane Katrina victims (tags)
Barbara Bush shows no compassion for the people who lost their lives, and homes, in the hurricane Katrina catastrophe.
ISRAEL SUPREME COURT RULES WEST BANK AND GAZA ARE NOT PART OF ISRAEL (tags)
The 11-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Aharon Barak, also determined that "Judea and Samaria [West Bank] and the Gaza area are lands seized during warfare, and are not part of Israel."