Fifteen-year-old Monisha Lucman, or “Moning” as her family and friends call her, is a Marawi siege survivor and one of the delegates from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to the 2019 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC).

Moning experienced firsthand the deafening blasts of bombs and gunfire that enveloped the whole city of Marawi. Houses, buildings, and even mosques were torn down, and the historic city that once stood magnificent was reduced to ruins.

This dreadful incident caused the death of one of her cousins and the destruction of her grandmother’s house. Moning called her parents who were in Qatar that time and told them how she and her brother were scared. The next day, their parents went home to Marawi and their family fled to Iligan City for safety. They returned to Marawi when the armed conflict was over.

Already trying to bring back normalcy in her life, Moning saw an opportunity to voice out her thoughts about the siege by joining the feature writing screening in her school—Hadiyyah International School. With her wits, grit, and perseverance, she made it to the national level.

Moning believes that everyone has the right to live in peace and prosperity; with no war, no inequality, no hunger. She trusts in the power of journalism–the power to create positive change and transform lives for the better.

“The war brought so much destruction physically and even emotionally, but I believe that through journalism, it can bring hope and inspiration to people. War cannot break us as Filipinos. Lessons and experiences are written to inspirit survivors of wars, and this is one of the roles of journalism,” Moning concluded.

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By:
Liberty Sino Cruz Casaclang, Master Teacher II
Maria Cristina Lomibao Dela Masa, Master Teacher I
Pangasinan National High School
DepEd-Region I