Ex-hostage’s birthday wish: Peace, safety
ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines – Two days after being freed along with 74 other hostages during military operations here, Evelyn and her husband, Rosauro Peralta, believed it was but fitting to celebrate her 54th birthday yesterday.
“We did not think we would come out alive. We thought it was our end,†she said.
Evelyn said her birthday wish is not for herself but for the safety of the remaining hostages.
“I could not ask for more for myself and my husband because this freedom was already a birthday gift, but I wish that peace will finally come down and all the hostages will be accounted,†she said.
The couple, who are residents of barangay Mampang, recalled they were on their way to town on a motorcycle at dawn of Sept. 9 when they saw a group of armed men in military uniform at the junction of barangay Talon-talon.
Thinking that the armed men were soldiers, they said they even approached them, only to find out that the military uniform they were wearing bore the insignias of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Rosauro said one of the rebels, who was holding a bolo and rifle, took their motorcycle.
The Peralta couple was among the initial hostages of the MNLF group under a certain commander Ismael.
The couple said the MNLF gunmen took more hostages as they walked toward the nearby Kasanyangan village.
“They were asking the people if they are Muslim. If not, they take them along with us as hostages,†Evelyn said, adding that the rebels ordered them to carry an MNLF banner as they marched toward the city hall.
The couple said they were used as human shields as the group transferred from the villages of Sta. Catalina to Kasanyangan and Sta. Barbara.
They said they were lucky to be part of the group of hostages under Ismael, who is “more considerate.†They said Ismael had wanted to free them much earlier but the other commanders prevailed upon him not to do so.
Friday the 13th nightmare
But Rosauro said the “real nightmare†came on Sept. 13 when the rebels herded them and used them as shields as government tanks approached.
“An old man near my husband was hit in the stomach…but managed to say his last words – my wife, my wife,†Evelyn recounted.
She said several others were hit in the volley of fire, including a two-year- old boy.
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