Sapiah Wahid, 14, takes care of 8 children, the youngest being 3 months old, in the city's Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Grandstand.
She was left there by her parents and grandmother, who chose to stay at their house in fear that it might get burned. Her cousin was shot yesterday in the head and the back. Her grandmother treated her cousin’s gunshot wounds after he was rejected by a hospital.
Sapiah is only one of the estimaed 7,000 evacuees staying in the grandstand, according to figures from city social welfare and development office.
Hot and cramped
According to Regine Mendoza, a relief volunteer from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, people are "fighting against the heat, improper sanitary measures, and the crowded conditions in the grandstand."
"Long lines are established during food distributions, though instructions sometimes cause confusion among the people," added Mendoza.
LONG LINES. Evacuees in the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Grandstand line up for relief goods
Rising numbers
Around 2,911 families are displaced after members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) staged an attack and held hostages on September 9, Monday. The Department of Social Welfare and Development says some 9,440 individuals are affected.
HARD PLACE. Evacuees use the grandstand seats as beds
Zamboanga City Hall communication officer Christian Olasiman said there are 15 evacuation centers in different barangays, including the Tetuan Church, Tetuan Elementary School, Mampang Elementary School, Talon-Talon National High School, and the DPWH compound.
"We are trying to address the situation... to gather them in one area para mas mabilis yung pagbigay ng tulong," Olasiman said. (We are trying to address the situation...to gather them in one area to expedite the delivery of aid)
STEPS TAKEN. The Zamboanga local government and the local DSWD say the evacuees are being secured
Olasiman added that residents seek shelter in churches and barangay halls whenever conflict breaks out.
A curfew has been imposed in all barangays from 8pm to 5am. Classes remain cancelled in all levels while work is suspended within the city.
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