The Other Side of Boracay

PHILIPPINES | Tuesday, 2 July 2013 | Views [632] | View Smaller Image

An Ati couple moving into their new house in the tribe's new settlement site. This small piece of land where 50 Ati families built their houses on (and had to make do with) is still under dispute. The developer of a hotel being constructed nearby is laying claim to it and has sought for a temporary restraining order from a local court to stop the Atis from occupying this land.

This is the new settlement site of an indigenous tribe called Ati on an island known to the world as Boracay - the Philippines' top tourist destination. The Atis were the original settlers of Boracay. They've lived here before tourists came for its white sand beaches and turquoise blue seas. The whole island is their ancestral domain but they were displaced and driven away when resorts, hotels and other establishments were built on it. They are now occupying a very tiny portion of the island.

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Ati kids catching fish. Fishing is the Atis' main source of living. According to them, their seas were filled with plenty of fishes before tourists started flocking to their island.

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The Other Side of Boracay

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