The Economist Asia - February 10, 2018

The EconomistFebruary 10th 2018 25

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1

T

HE silence is startling. The only sound

is the slight creaking of the metal strips

peeling off bombed buildings like ban-

dages. A fancy light fixture hangs askance

in what might have been a dining room.

Elsewhere dirty toys lie in piles defecated

on by dogs. The animals are healthier here

than elsewhere in Marawi, says one local,

because they ate the bodies of those killed

in the fighting last year.

The conflict between fighters linked

with Islamic State (IS) and the Philippine

armed forces ended in October, after five

months of destruction. More than 800 ji-

hadistsdied alongside 163 soldiers and at

least 47 civilians. The rebuilding, especially

of the heavily damaged eastern half of the

city, has barely begun.

Marawi is a troubled spot on a troubled

island. Mindanao is home to most of the

Philippines’ 6m or so Muslims, a minority

that often feels discriminated against by

the country’s 97m-odd Christians. Con-

flicts abound—between the state and

groups wanting autonomy, or religious

militants, or restive clans, orcommunist in-

surgents, or bandits and pirates.

Few realised the danger when one crew

of Muslim insurgents-cum-kidnappers,

Abu Sayyaf, pledged allegiance to ISin

2015. A botched attempt to detain one of its
      leaders in May unleashed the violence in
      Marawi. The Maute group, another violent
      outfit that was once considered a mere lo-
      cal mafia, joined the fray, too, after aligning

conflict. The municipal building smells of

fresh paint. He believes it will cost 49bn pe-

sos ($956m) to pay for reconstruction. Wa-

ter and electricity are still unavailable in

swathes of the city. He laments the war’s

toll on the economy, especially because

poverty helped drive youngsters to the ji-

hadists’ cause in the first place, he says.

(Some recruits received payments of

300,000 pesos on joining and salaries of a

sort.) Disputes over property, created by a

lack of formal land titles, are preventing

families from returning to the city, too. “But

we cannot allow our enemies to use that

against the government,” Mr Gandamra

insists. Local, regional and national offi-

cials meet often to discuss what to do.

Many doubt the politicians’ claims that

the city can be rebuilt better than before.

Amid the piles ofrubble such pessimism is

understandable. Colonel Brawner says

just clearing unexploded bombs and hid-

den devices will take until August. One lo-

cal academic reckons it would be cheaper

to abandon efforts to revive the eastern

side of the cityaltogetherand just build

new homes elsewhere instead. But the na-

tional government’s commitment to re-

construction seems steadfast. A new mili-

tary camp is to be built where the ruined

town hall stands. Mr Duterte himself ap-

peared, albeit briefly, at a ground-breaking

ceremony on January 30th.

Other efforts to restore the city are less

tangible. “If there ever is a rebuilding it also

has to involve a sense of rebuilding peo-

ple’s values,” says Datumanong Saran-

gani, a professor at Mindanao State Uni-

versity. Muslim leaders are working with

different branches of government to devel-

op tactics for discouraging the spread of ex-

tremism. The curriculum at local Islamic

schools is being scrutinised. More practi-

cally, almost 3,000 displaced residents

have taken part in government-run train-

with IS. Romeo Omet Brawner, a colonel

who helped lead operations to retake the

city, says the government’s victory re-

quired its forces to advance on the insur-

gents from the rear. The offensive took

months, because attempts to cross the

three bridges over the Agus river proved

deadly. He believes the “decisiveness” of

Rodrigo Duterte, the president, and the re-

sulting declaration of martial law in July,

led to the army’s victory.

From tents to sheds

Miles from the city, small clustersof yellow

tents line the road. Some 200,000 people,

almost the entirety of Marawi’s popula-

tion, were displaced by the conflict. Fewer

than half of them have been able to return.

Felix Castro of the Task Force Bangon Ma-

rawi, which co-ordinates government

agencies working in the area, worries

about sanitation and how to move fam-

ilies into temporary, shed-like shelters

newly built for them. The displaced say

they are tired of eating handouts of rice

and want to go home. One woman ex-

plains that when the fighting broke out, she

told her mother to pack only three changes

of clothes because they thought they

would not be away for long.

Financial and legal complications are

stalling homecomings. On Marawi’s west-

ern side the mayor, Majul Usman Gan-

damra, sits in a meeting room just metres

from where a mortar landed during the

Islamic insurgency in the Philippines

Peace without dignity

Marawi

The government is struggling to rebuild a city destroyed in a battle with extremists

Asia

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