FILE PHOTO (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Eid al-Fitr is supposed to be a joyous and meaningful celebration of the Muslim community all over the world as it translates to a “festival of breaking of the fast” and marks the end of Ramadan or for them. However, for Moros affected in the Marawi siege, today’s celebration is different.
“Parang wala kaming Eid (It’s like we don’t have Eid),” this was how Aminola Mitmug, 37, a father of six and a resident from Marawi City, described this day.
The Arabic word “Eid” translates to “celebration” in English.
Mitmug said that they were really happy with the “eid” over the past years but for the first time, today is far different from those.
“Sa amin, sa mga evacuees, sa lahat ng affected. Kasi usually, sa ganitong Eid, ang dapat na gagawin ngayon bawat relatives magvisit, parang reunion kumbaga. Tapos nagsasaya, halos tatlong araw nagsasaya. Pero dahil sa nangyayari ngayon, wala. Walang ganoon (For all of us who are affected in Marawi City we feel that way. Usually during Eid relatives will have a sort of reunion as we meet during the occassion. And then we will celebrate for three days. But because of what happened, we do not have that now),” Mitmug told Davao Today in an interview hours after the Moro community here did their Eid prayer at the Tiongco Football Field, Davao City, June 25.
Mitmug along with his wife and children left their house in Marawi City nine days after the Maute group first attacked the city.
He said they were the last to leave the area since their neighbors evacuated immediately.
They were here in Davao since June 2, and currently finds refuge in a house that they rented along Bajada.
“Ang ginagawa lang namin ngayon ang pagsamba pero yung feeling, yung spirit ng eid, wala sa amin. Di namin naramdaman. Nag-eid lang kami tapos natulog. Yung mga anak ko lang, ipinapunta ko doon sa mall para mafeel nila na masaya ngayong araw (What we do now is pray, but the spirit of Eid is not with us, we cannot feel it. We had Eid then we went to sleep. I allowed my children to go to the mall),” Mitmug said.
Mitmug said that after the first few days of the clash in Marawi, they thought it would not last long so they stayed for a couple of days in the city. However, the situation worsened and so they were forced to leave their home.
“First day ng giyera nagfasting na kami. First day ng Ramadan akala namin okay lang, normal lang. Lahat ng kautusan ng Allah na gagawin sa loob ng Ramadan ginawa namin hanggang nag worsen na ang war yung mga five days na after ng clash, naibahan na ‘yong mga tao kasi takot nang lumabas sa gabi,” Mitmug said.
Mitmug admitted that with the war, they felt the difficulty of doing fasting this Ramadan.
“Sa sitwasyon na iyon, nahirapan na kami ‘yong iba sa bahay nalang. Iyong pagkain din, mga 4 o’clock sa hapon bibili na dapat kami ng kakainin para sa ala sais. Nahirapan na kami kasi ang mga open na tindahan nasa labas talaga ng secured area ng mga sundalo. Kung gusto mong bumili sa labas, lalabas ka, lalakad ka pa. Medyo nafefeel namin na mahirap ang pagperform ng Ramadan,” he said.
Mitmug said that their Imam told them that it was “a test, a trial from Allah” and encouraged them to be patient and do everything they can to observe Ramadan.
Deputy Mayor of the Maranao tribe Randy Usman said that in-house evacuees in Davao City have already reached to 580 families.
With the rising number of casualties, Mitmug said they cannot afford to feel happy and celebrate the Holy Month.
“‘Di mo talaga mafeel kasi maraming namatay, tapos ang sitwasyon naming ngayon, ang trabaho, lahat, putol na lahat. So kahit magsaya kami hindi kami magiging masaya. Hindi namin mapilit ang sarili dahil alam namin na wala na. Wala nang babalikan. Kahit magbalik kami doon, pero for recovery. Matagal pa siguro yun,” Mitmug said.
Meanwhile, Suara Bangsamoro National Chairperson Jerome Succor Aba said their prayers this Eid is for all victims of war to immediately recover.
“We pray for just peace and for the immediate recovery of all survivors of Marawi crisis and victims of Martial law in Maguindanao, Matan-ao, North Cotabato and the entire Mindanao,” Aba said.
Suara Bangsamoro also called for the immediate stopping of aerial bombings in Mindanao commuties, particularly in Marawi.
“We call on President Rodrigo Duterte to lift Martial Law. It only increases the number of human rights violations,” he
added.
Mitmug said they hope peace will soon be achieved so that their families and other residents may return to Marawi and start rebuild their lives. (davaotoday.com)
