Fathers as child-carers in evacuee camps

In 2008, negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front reached an impasse, triggering clashes between the government troops and the rebels. More than half a million inhabitants of the conflict areas were caught in the crossfire. Evacuees sought refuge in camps scattered throughout Maguindanao province.

In an evacuee camp in the town of Mamasapano in 2009, I chanced upon some men caring for their children, even as in Philippine culture, child care is a role most often relegated to women. That those men were there in the camp during a time of war added a dimension to their gesture of nurturing their own sons.