By Eloisa Lopez
MARAWI CITY, Philippines, May 21 (Reuters) - It had only
been a week since Mohammad Ali Acampong finished renovating his
house when bombs and bullets struck Marawi City.
Two years ago, pro-Islamic State militants took over in a
bid to carve out their own "Wilayah", or province, forcing
nearly 100,000 people to flee in what became the Philippine
military's toughest and longest conflict since World War Two.
Acampong, a local government official, left his three-storey
lakeside house with his family of eight.
"When the chaos began, our life suddenly became really
difficult," Acampong, 42, told Reuters.
"We had a comfortable life before. Now we live in between
shelters, enduring heat, the lack of water, the lack of
everything."
Marawi was once one of the most picturesque cities in the
Philippines.
About half of it is now charred concrete and skeletons of
buildings, the effects of 154 days of air strikes and artillery
by the military, and booby traps the rebels laid everywhere to
keep them at bay.
(Click https://reut.rs/2ElzxrJ see a picture package.)
The Acampongs now live in a tiny temporary housing unit on
the city's outskirts, competing with thousands of families for
water and other basic utilities.
At least 500 other families live in plastic tents, like
Asnia Sandiman, 25, who produces made-to-order clothing with a
government-issued sewing machine.
"The tent is fine until it rains and it gets so cold, or
until the heat is so bad," Sandiman said.
"My deepest hope is that we are allowed to go back to Marawi
but honestly, I would take any permanent address just to get out
of here."
Hundreds of militants, 165 soldiers and at least 45
civilians were killed in the five-month conflict. President
Rodrigo Duterte in October 2017 declared the city liberated, and
its rehabilitation officially underway.
But there is little sign of progress.
Bangon Marawi (Rise Marawi), an inter-agency task force in
charge of reconstruction, has a deadline of 2021 for rebuilding
and remains confident of meeting that.
"We could only go as fast as legally possible. We can't make
shortcuts," its field office manager, Felix Castro, said.
"It takes a while in the beginning but it will be quick once
it starts."
ABANDONED CITY
Except for stray dogs and soldiers on guard, Marawi's
commercial centre has been abandoned. There is no sign of the
promised rehabilitation.
Thousands of people are in limbo following a conflict that
no one saw coming.
Most are jobless and dependent on relief goods, like
Noronisah Laba Gundarangin, a mother of three, who lives with
four other families in her sister's home.
The 73,000 pesos ($1,385) her family received from
government agencies isn't enough for a small business. They have
debts to pay and children to feed.
Gundarangin, 40, wonders what happened to all the help and
money pledged by the international community when the war was in
the spotlight. The authorities say not all of that has
materialised.
"I know billions (of pesos) were donated to Marawi but they
go through so much bureaucracy that by the time it reaches us,
they are pennies," she said.
The task force commander, Eduardo del Rosario, on Monday
said obstacles to progress were debris, unexploded ordnance and
unsafe structures, but said those should all be cleared by
November, with some construction to start in September.
While awaiting that, the task force has been allowing people
to return to see the place they once called home. Now they call
it "ground zero".
Acampong gave his consent for his house to be demolished. He
returned recently and found a papaya tree growing in its place.
"It's painful because we had nothing to do with this war. We
were just caught up," he said.
"Everything we've worked hard for, all the big and small
investments, are now all gone."
"Every day, it's like this. Waiting and waiting, as if
waiting for death."
(Editing by Martin Petty)