a re-post from my other blog. about the BJE situation in iligan city. read on

guys, if you haven't heard of it yet, there is a war going on in the city of iligan in the province of lanao del norte. several bombing incidents have already happened in the city for the past two-three days and thousands have been evacuated from the outskirts to escape the crossfire between the military and the milf today. right this moment my HS classmate who studies in msu-iit in iligan is volunteering in the evacuation centers to aid in the evacuation of the innocent civilians and is the one informing me about the situation through text. here's what he texted my last night which bothered me the most.



"Grbe mka luha man pud ni diri sa evacuation center. daghan pa la ka kaun... kulang ra amu gdala" (grabe nakakaluha naman dito sa evacuation center. madami pang hindi nakakakain. kulang yung dinala namin)



"daghan mga evacuees dri. gdala cla sa iligan. wlay fud, sanina ug 2lugan."
(maraming evacuees dito. dinala dito sa iligan. walang pagkain, dalang damit at tulugan)



now what i would like to ask is for help, because as a person coming from the beautiful land of mindanao i have experienced peaceful co-existence with everyone unlike the things you might have imagined while watching your TV or reading the news, be it the Christians, Moslems and Natives alike and i cannot believe how selfish people on both sides would want to tear our place apart, using fear, terror and power for their own gain.

right now those evacuees have no food to eat and no blanket to sleep into. this may sound crazy and far-fetched but i would like to ask your help in providing these people, our own countrymen these basic needs for their survival.

i honestly have no sure plan of what to do, as this post is only driven by the concern and worry of a plain pinoy citizen that is me right now, but if ever i'll have a concrete idea of what to do, can i count on your help? evenmoreso your own initiatives in helping the evacuees, no matter how simple that maybe, would mean a great deal not just to me but to the people that you will be giving aid to. the most realistic thing i could think of yet is to coordinate with the red cross (as i was a member in our province's chapter back then) to raise aid for those evacuees.

i will regularly update this blog to make people know what is happening and what is being done by us to help. any form of suggestions and help will really really do. thank you for reading and have a nice day ahead.


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08/19/08

UPDATE: i received my classmate eern's text yesterday night and here's what he has to say for the matter...

"bibu na balik sa syudad.. hehehe. mejo organized na pud sa evacuation center. salamat sa mga nag-donate"
(buhay na ulit ang ciudad, medyo organized na din sa evacuation center. salamat sa mga nag-donate)


thank goodness