The Human Rights Watch (HRW) urges the new government to strengthen efforts to protect the rights of indigenous peoples (IPs), including their rights to livelihood, adequate housing, and health.
The organization hopes that, with the recent exposure brought by “Badjao Girl” to the plight of displaced communities, government will provide resettlement areas for the Badjaos and other IPs in areas that will allow them to find livelihood, such as fishing.
Photos of a beautiful Badjao girl begging in the streets of Lucban, Quezon, recently became viral. “Badjao Girl”, who has since been identified as 13 year-old Rita Gaviola hails from the war-torn city of Zamboanga in Mindanao.
But Gaviola is but one of the thousands of Badjaos and other residents displaced by armed conflict in Zamboanga. Many more of her people remain destitute and in need of help.
According to HWR, the violence between the Moro National Liberation Front and government forces in September 2013 killed nearly 200 people and wounded 200 more. In the nearby province of Basilan, another 19, 000 were rendered homeless.
A total of 10, 000 homes were destroyed, displacing more than 100, 000 residents.
“The city’s ethnic minorities, including the Badjao, were particularly vulnerable to displacement and forced relocation following the fighting,” HRW said in a press release.
“The authorities, with little or no genuine consultation, forcibly moved the Badjao inland from their homes along the coast, despite their traditional occupation as fishermen. To this day, thousands of Badjao and other residents, mostly Muslims, remain homeless, living in dire conditions in evacuation sites,” HRW also said.
According to an article by Coleen Jose published on Rappler, of those relocated to evacuation sites, 109 died, 48% of which were children below 5 years old.
According to HRW, the Badjaos and other IPs in the Philippines are neglected. The Badjaos, for instance, live in extreme poverty, often beyond the reach of government assistance.
“The public concern for Rita Gaviola is an opportunity for the new Philippine government to strengthen efforts to ensure the rights of livelihood, housing and health to the Badjao and other indigenous peoples who, too often, are denied those rights in the face of discrimination, conflict or displacement,” HRW appealed.
The organization said government should start with proper housing based on consultations with the Badjaos and other affected individuals. The Badjaos, who are also called “sea gypsies” because of their ties to the sea, in particular, need to live in areas where there is access to the sea so that they can work as fisherfolk.
Stillness follows the gunshots, but there is no peace for the Badjaos as they continue to fight for their very existence. For countless other “Badjao Girls” out there, the war is far from over.
READ: “Badjao Girl” hopes newfound fame will bring a brighter future for family
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