MARAWI, the Philippines, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Asniah Sultan, 26, fled with her family from southern Philippine city of Marawi when fighting between government security forces and pro-IS fighters erupted in May last year.
Sultan, with her three children aged one, three and four and her husband, were among those who hastily fled the city.
They are now living in a "tent city" in the outskirts of Marawi along with almost 200 families. Their rented house was among those burned down during the five-month fierce fighting that also left more than 1,200 dead.
Before the war broke out, Sultan earns a living by selling fish in the market. "Now, we are living on dole outs for a year now," she told Xinhua.
On May 23, 2017, pro-IS fighters launched a five-month long siege to the Marawi City, Lanao del Sur province. Nearly 354,000 residents or more than 77,000 families in and around the besieged city were displaced in the clashes between militants and government forces.
In October last year, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city liberated after five months of air strikes and gunbattle to retake the once scenic city.
Humanitian aid is being distributed to the thousands of people, mostly poor Filipino Muslims, who fled Islamic militants that laid siege to the city. But conditions are harsh in temporary shelters and many fear they will never be able to return home.
Evacuees receive a pack of goodies that include six kilos of rice, four cans of sardines, four cans corned beef and six coffee sachets every nine days, Sultan said.
Once in a while, Sultan said they get fresh fish. "It's really miserable living in an evacuation center. Even drinking water is scarce sometimes," she said.
Her husband cannot find a job. Duterte imposed martial rule in the entire Mindanao region in the wake of the siege, making it difficult for male residents to move around due to security reasons.
Unlike the other displaced residents, Sultan do not own a house in the ruined city. They were just renting an apartment, they said, making them less likely to return to their previous village after the rehabilitation is completed.
Housing Assistant Secretary Felix Castro, Task Force Bangon (Rise) Marawi field office manager, said there are still 39,000 families who have not returned to their homes in the ground zero. Some of them are staying with relatives in Marawi and nearby provinces. Some 1,000 families are living in 41 evacuation centers, he said.
Philippine authorities hope the rehabilitation work inside the former battleground area will be completed by 2021.
Castro said the government is still negotiating for a developer who will conduct the debris clearing in the city's central business district which the military calls now the "most affected area."
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said there are still an estimated 50 unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices in that part of the city that need to be cleared, referring to the area where the final battle took place to retake Marawi from the clutches of militants.
"The biggest challenge is taking core of the IDPs (internally displaced people) while they are still waiting for the chance to rebuild of their houses considering the time that will take," Castro said.
For now, Castro appealed to the IDPs to be patient while waiting for the "right time" to rebuild the part of the city ruined by air strikes and gun battle.
"In the meantime they are not allowed to return to their homes we have to take care of their needs," Castro added.
He said the government is looking at some livelihood projects for the evacuees so that they could have their own income and they could also earn.
Sultan welcome the idea but she stressed the need for the government to provide capital. "We cannot rely on dole outs. We also need cash to buy for our other needs which are not provided to us like diapers for our children," Sultan said.
To augment their food supply, some of the evacuees plant vegetable patches in the evacuation centers.
Mindanao residents like Sultan are often the victims of decades-long armed conflict like the Marawi siege.
The spate of violence perpetrated by extremists continue to scare off investors and keeping the region that badly need investment in an endless cycle of poverty.
