UPDATE (Philippines): A 13-year-old daughter of a disappeared man in Davao City suffers trauma 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the present condition of the family of Datu Abdullah Sabdura Salah whose  forcibly disappearance was caused by unknown men in Davao City on 3 April 2003. According to the report, Salah’s 13-year-old daughter Mirriam has been suffering from trauma following her father’s disappearance. As a result, Mirriam has stopped schooling and has to be looked after by her mother Amena and five other siblings.

According to Mirriam’s mother, even if she wants to have Mirriam undergo psychiatric treatment, she can not afford to. The family has been struggling to survive meet their daily needs due to financial difficulties after the disappearance of Salah who was the only breadwinner of the family. Mirriam is the most seriously affected by the father’s disappearance among the siblings. Salah has not been found after he was forcibly abducted and disappeared. His disappearance occurred at the height of the government’s campaign against terrorism in Davao City in hunting down perpetrators of bombings that happened in March and April 2003. (See further: FA-16-2004).

Although the Philippine government, in particular the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office in Davao City, investigated Salah’s case and the disappearance of three other persons, no intervention was made for the welfare of the families of the victims. All of them belong to Muslim community. On Salah’s case, Mirriam has not been afforded with any assistance from government agencies working for children’s welfare.

In a letter dated 24 August 2004 to the AHRC, Emiliano Cajes Jr., the investigator for the CHR in Davao City, stated that the investigations have been conducted on the disappearance of victims; Ustadz Amir Mokalam on June 2003, Carpit Jimlan on August 2004, and Salah and Ustadz Alimuddin Zulkiple on April 3 and 6, 2005 respectively. However, as far as the AHRC is aware, the victims have not been found yet and the perpetrators remain unknown. However, there are suspicions that they could be government agents.

We request your urgent action to pressure the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office in Davao City to take an appropriate action to provide assistance and psychiatric treatment to Salah’s daughter Mirriam. Please also urge the local authorities put their efforts in locating Salah’s whereabouts and the perpetrator’s identity.  The local authorities should initiate regular monitoring to cases of disappearance that frequently occur in Davao City.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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UPDATED INFORMATION (based on a statement of Amena Salah):

Name of a child suffering from trauma: Mirriam Salah (13), daughter of disappeared victim Datu Abdullah Sabdura Salah, a resident of Purok 27, Islam, Maa riverside, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines
Present condition: Mirriam stopped schooling from grade three for two years due to depression after her father disappeared. She requires a sustainable psychiatric treatment.

Amena Salah, the wife of a disappeared victim Datu Abdullah Sabdura Salah recently reported that her daughter Mirriam has been suffering from trauma for about two years since her father’s disappearance. Despite an urgent need for her sustainable psychiatric treatment, she cannot receive it because the family could not afford it.

According to Amena, Mirriam and her five other siblings namely Aireen (29), Miralyn (27), Jenelyn (25), Abdul Mani (23) and Jaria (19) have yet to get over the loss of their father. They still have a hope that their father will come back home someday. Amena said that Mirriam was the one who was the most deeply affected by the incident among the siblings because she was very close to her father. She was ten years old at that time. Out of depression, Mirriam stopped schooling.

For her part, Amena also suffers heart ailment. She has been in and out of the hospital due to frequent cardiac arrest, a result of depression (To see Amena’s photo, click: Photo 1). In addition, the family suffers severe financial difficulties after they lost their livelihood due to her frequent confinement in the hospital. Amena and her children are struggling to survive for their daily needs. Most often, she does laundry jobs to provide income in order to buy food to eat.

Although the Philippine authorities, in particular the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Davao City, have investigated the disappearance of Salah, the case has not shown any progress for over two years. The victim’s whereabouts and the identity of the perpetrators are still unknown.

Salah disappeared on 3 April 2003 after he was forcibly abducted by unknown men while buying a welding rod at a store in Barangay Maa, Davao City. Salah is one of the four Muslim persons who disappeared after being suspected of the involvement in the bombings happened in March and April 2003 in Davao City. The other three people’s names are Ustadz Amir Mokalam, Ustadz Alimuddin Zulkiple and Carpit Jimlan. Their whereabouts remain unknown. No one has been arrested or prosecuted regarding their disappearances. After the bombing incidents, the Muslim community was targeted for harassment and intimidation by the government forces. The police and the military illegally raided several Muslim communities.

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