Conflict, terrors, and wars have plagued people, societies, and nations since time immemorial. It is not uncommon for people to face some form of conflict in their lives and with the increase of religious and political attacks; one cannot help but wonder where the solution lies. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been responsible for major terror attacks ranging from suicide bombers, to the stabbing of civilians, the use of explosives and the recent Marawi attacks in the Philippines is no different. This essay will summarize the recent events at Marawi Philippines in the Austral and Pacific realm which relate to geography.
About 100 civilians have been confirmed dead and scores injured in the besieged Philippines city known as Marawi. This area has been under siege since May 24 th when armed fighters set foot in the southern Philippines city (Regencia, 2017). Edgard Arevalo, the Philippines' military colonel has, however, come forward to deny the allegations that the ISIL group was behind the conflict and insisted that there were no militia groups in the Philippines. However, world reports have confirmed that the Marawi crisis is an armed conflict between the Philippines government and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group (Regencia, 2017).
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The conflict is reported to have started in May when fighters occupied a hospital in the Marawi City and ordered everyone out. According to a news correspondent, black flags used by the ISIL group could be seen flying over several government buildings in Marawi (Regencia, 2017). The militia group went ahead and attacked a Philippine military camp and set ablaze several houses and buildings. They literally put the city on lockdown, as the civilian movement was restricted, roads blocked and the city air punctuated by gun shots. Several gunmen occupied state buildings while others destroyed power lines and other forms of communication leading to several prisoners escaping jail. Some Maute members also invaded a college, killed teachers and set it ablaze (CNN, 2017). The Philippines government in a desperate resolve tried to evacuate the residents out of the city leading to retaliatory attacks by the assailants who started murdering the fleeing civilians. Local politicians, however, came forward to lend a hand to the relief efforts and Zia Alonto Adiong; one of the politicians confirmed that close to 1,000 people were still trapped in the troubled city of Marawi (Regencia, 2017). The state was dire as most residents had run out of water and food with no access to medical care.
Rodrigo Duterte; the Philippines President who was on a state trip to Russia, decided to cut short his visit and travel back home to deal with the crisis. He decreed Martial Law to be enforced over the state and even children were subjected to questioning by military personnel. Several militia leaders were arrested following the government’s intervention including one of the seven Maute brothers. The Maute brothers were at the forefront of the vicious battle with the security forces and their arrest came as a huge boost to the government’s efforts (Regencia, 2017). One Arabic teacher turned out to be a bomb maker for the militia group was also incarcerated by the authorities after he was caught using a fake student card. According to reports given by the military, 290 people had died in over three weeks of fighting, including 206 fighters, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians (Regencia, 2017).
The Marawi crisis has a huge geographical bearing to the people of Philippines and their country as a whole. First and foremost, this crisis is one of the deadliest and unprecedented attacks by a foreign power or a group ever witnessed in the country. It will undoubtedly have a long-lasting effect on the economic and social lives of the affected persons. This crisis destroyed roads, power, telephone lines and other forms of communication bringing the city to its knees. This led to a hiatus of any form of economic activity during the fighting period as most people were busy running for their lives. The crisis was also detrimental to the Southern city of Philippines and the country at large as it put off the tourists who frequent the southern Pacific coastal city. The economy here depends very much on tourism which was dealt a major blow by the three-week widespread fighting. There was also evacuation of people leading to deserted streets and homes and the war also destroyed the landscape of the Marawi City which was a fighting zone.
This crisis not only affected the Philippines nation but also the Austral Pacific region as a whole. Due to these attacks by a foreign militia group, other neighboring countries like Indonesia and Taiwan were on high alert as the attacks could have easily spread to their countries. These neighboring countries also had to chip in and assist the troubled Philippines by offering military personnel and also donating vital gear like clothing, blankets, and medicine. Their economies were also affected as these attacks tainted the security of this Pacific region, thereby keeping tourists off the entire region.
A lot can be revealed about the Marawi and Philippines people following this turn of events. The people are religious since the government officials condemned the assailants and rebuked them for not honoring the holy month of Ramadhan. These attacks also reveal that the Philippines people can come together in the face of adversity as seen by the efforts put in place by volunteers and government politicians to rescue the civilians who were still trapped in the besieged city of Marawi.
Conclusion
Tragedy strikes and at times it does so without a warning. The Marawi crisis is just one of the many recent events that have occurred in the Austral and Pacific Realm which have a great geographical bearing not only to the Philippines but also to the Pacific region as a whole. The economic activities were hampered as well as the political stability as seen from the news article. Numerous lives were lost and this led to military intervention to quell the crisis.
References;
CNN. (2017). Marawi crisis timeline . CNN . Retrieved 19 June 2017, from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/05/24/marawi-crisis-timeline.html
Regencia, T. (2017). The battle for Marawi: Confusion and contradictions . Aljazeera.com . Retrieved 19 June 2017, from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/battle-marawi-confusion-contradictions-170603152736332.html
