wfn.org | Philippine churches again assist victims of Mindanao war

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 26, 2003	News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-33-71BPI{174}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this report.

By Paul Jeffrey*

DAVAO, Philippines (UMNS) - Even before the Philippine military renewed its
attacks on rebel forces on the southern island of Mindanao early this year,
churches in the region began providing support to families affected by the
brewing violence.

"Several pastors and priests in Mindanao informed us in January of troop
movements in the area, and people started evacuating from rural communities"
said Minnie Anne Calub, coordinator of relief and rehabilitation programs for
the National Council of Churches of the Philippines.

"Once they see people in uniforms moving through the area, they know the
clashes are coming, and they start moving to safer places. Many local
churches opened their doors once again to evacuees, and we started providing
assistance where we could."

The church council is a member of Action by Churches Together, the
international coalition of church-based relief organizations that includes
the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

With government forces waging open war against insurgent groups by
mid-February, NCCP/ACT began offering support to some 8,000 families, most of
them in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

That assistance has been provided through local congregations of the United
Church of Christ in the Philippines, the United Methodist Church, the
Independent Church of the Philippines and the Episcopal Church, as well as
through the Southern Christian College in Midsayap.

NCCP/ACT is coordinating its relief operations with government agencies and
other nongovernmental organizations in the area in order to avoid duplication
of services to displaced families, according to Calub.

Assistance includes emergency food, blankets, sleeping mats, and medical and
psychological care especially targeted to children and women traumatized by
the violence. When the displaced families are able to return to their
communities of origin, NCCP/ACT will provide rehabilitation assistance,
including seeds and tools that will allow families to restart their lives.

NCCP/ACT and its member churches in the region will also continue to support
formal dialogue between Muslims, Christians, and indigenous peoples as a way
of lessening the potential for violence, according to Sharon Rose Joy
Ruiz-Duremdes, the organization's chief executive.

According to Ruiz-Duremdes, religious tensions in the region had been
manipulated by those favoring war. She added that international factors were
also contributing to the conflict, with the U.S. war on terrorism and
invasion of Iraq aggravating anti-Muslim sentiments in the country. She said
the NCCP and its member churches were working to prevent the renewed presence
of U.S. troops in the country.

# # #

*Jeffrey, a United Methodist Missionary and journalist based in Honduras,
traveled to the Philippines for Action By Churches Together. 

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United Methodist News Service
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