Revealing the hidden faces of conflict

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for re-unmasking the horrors in conflict-ravaged areas, among them women forced into prostitution and entire communities displaced.

The Jan. 4 story, “In misery of Zamboanga City shelters, women forced into flesh trade”, told readers how the now-dilapidated bunkhouses built for Zamboanga City residents after the Sept. 9, 2013 siege have become breeding grounds for prostitution as well as sexually transmitted diseases.

Hundreds of residents of villages in the city, who are staying in these bunkhouses after followers of Moro leader Nur Misuari laid siege more than a year ago to the city, are often in need of food, with some of them forced into the flesh trade just to survive. Illegal drugs have also become rampant in those areas. Government officials, the Inquirer reported, deny that such conditions exist.