There are thousands of civilians affected by the clash in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur in southern Philippines. Some of them are trapped in the city, unable to leave their homes or the places they have taken shelter in.
Among these affected people are the 38 trapped at the house of a Marawi prosecutor for 13 days. They were offered shelter by the prosecutor when the crisis broke out on May 23, 2017.
Most of these people were teachers and staff of Dansalan College Foundation Inc. (DCFI); although there’s a baby among them.
Photo credit: Josephine Jaron Codilla / Facebook
After spending nearly 2 weeks at the prosecutor’s house, the group was finally rescued by the Joint Special Operations Unit 2 (JSOU2), a composite team comprised of members from the Light Reaction Companies, 14th Scout Ranger Company, 1st Mechanized Battalion, RPSB 10, Special Action Force and CMO Battalion, reports journalist Josephine Jaron Codilla.
The rescue mission did not just stop after the group was extracted from the house. Instead, they were also given medical attention by the soldiers as many experienced various medical conditions and illnesses from being holed up in that house, fearing for their lives.
One of those who received emergency medical attention is the 2-month-old baby boy.
The heartwarming video of a soldier cleaning up the kid as gently as he could, then picking him up for a hug has earned praise on social media. A lot of people saluted this soldier for his kindness in this time of war.
While the Maute group and other terrorists are sowing hatred wherever they go, these soldiers show that love rules the world and that there are still a lot of kind people. Faith in humanity restored.