Recently, October 16 marked the day when, four years ago, a protracted siege that created a huge humanitarian crisis and which had shattered the lives of Marawi citizens came to an end. Or at least, that could be said of the hostilities.
However, there is not much need to return to what had happened four years ago; it has been etched forever in every man, woman, and child who had fled Marawi City in a bid to save themselves from the crossfire between the military and their adversaries. In the aftermath, however, new questions have sprung up and need to be answered: When will the rehabilitation of Marawi be finished? How has Marawi fared so far since the gunfire and airstrikes stopped? Have the people healed? What happened exactly to the aid that was received? importantly: Whose war was it?
Most of these questions do not have clear answers. Either these have yet to be answered by time, or the ones who are in the position to answer them are not yet ready or worse, not yet willing to answer them. But the people who have been most affected can say that they have yet to heal from what had befallen them, and only a speedy and genuine addressing of their plight can assuage their grief.
But only until the other questions are questioned could this kind of healing happen. Four years on, how long will Marawi need to wait?