Events do happen, good and bad. We know God has a reason but man’s nature of attachment destroy man’s capacity to learn the lesson in everything that happened in our lives.
AVV1212
When everyone is looking forward to the most wonderful season of the year, tragedy strucks almost every year. Some incidents are so near to Christmas day and suffers the last quarter storm in one’s lives as in literally. We will just check some factual data regarding these tragedies.
TRAGEDIES:
1. MV Dona Paz, a passenger ship sank after colliding with another vessel Mt Vector on December 20, 1987. Deathtoll is 4,375 making it the top most deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.
2. Typhoon Sendong unleashed torrential rain over the central and southern Philippines on December 16, 2011 leaving more than 400 people dead through the devastating flash flood it brought.
3. December 2, 1998, a fire broke out in an orphanage killing 28 children. Many of those children were sleeping when the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning. According to the survivors, children perished because they were trapped by the locked fire exits.
4. December 2, 2006, Typhoon Reming hit the Bicol Region and left more than 1,000 people dead with the casualties mostly from Guinobatan Albay.
5. December 1, 2004, Infanta Quezon, a powerful rainstorm triggered landslides and flashfloods in most of the town of Infanta and Real Quezon leaving 340 dead and 150 more missing.
6. December 2003, Panaoan, Southern Leyte, torrential water from bad weather triggered landslides burying more than 200 people of a small town whose soil lay behind a badly broken and fragmented limestone and mud.
7. December 4, 2012 Typhoon Pablo leashed its powerful wind and heavy rain on Southern Philippines leaving more than 700 dead both actual body count and missing bodies. Landslides and flash floods are the main cause of the death.
Actually the list may go on and may not end if we try to dig deeper on the data. But it will just end up in one thing: MAN’S FAULT. Yes, it is nature at work but man has the ability and capability to lessen the impact and death, if not totally eliminate, the destructive nature of these natural cycle. Climate changes because of ozone depletion. It is bound to happen with or without abuse. We just made it in a fast phase mode.
A pattern of never ending cycle of people’s choice to remain at risk is the first one to blame. Second is the political leaders who has no real and clear plan of ending this never ending death, casualties both on life and properties. Many have questioned the actual use of calamity funds on their sleeve. Of course, more disaster means more fund. Why not then just have a permanent solution to stop a milking cow from giving that precious milk who generates non-ending cash supplies.
All of the disasters are blamed on illegal mining, illegal logging, over loading of passengers, un-inspected buildings and many more but all end up to man’s negligence and greed for corruption and money. Decades or maybe centuries have passed and this natural cycle of typhoon and cyclone and man-made disaster happened but man never learned. Being a Christian nation, Filipino’s activity is in the highest during year-end because of the Christmas season but we still do not have a solution to manage this holiday rush.
And most to blame are the victims and the future victims themselves. If one allows himself to be used in irregular activity for selfish interest, then he must be ready to pay the price, their own life and maybe the life of their love one. I personally won’t take a piece of gold for the price of the safety of my family.
Government clean their hands that they are not one to blame but nature and the victim themselves. But who gave permits and authority to log and mine certain areas? Moreover, who has the power to stop and jail individuals who disregard the clear mandate of the law? Illegal have no place for people governed by law for the protection of the people and the land.
The poor make excuses of their poverty. Actually, there are no poor people if one strives hard, think beyond self, have plans for tomorrow and have a goal in life. One will be poor if one just think and settle for the food they have for a day and never think of tomorrow. That’s why poor people have more children for they don’t care about tomorrow.
One asked me, why do these events happen during Christmas season. A tough question to answer. I need to contemplate and ask the One who possess more wisdom than me. Then I learned, it is not the anger of the Creator nor cleansing of those who don’t deserve to live. It is because of a simple negligence on our part; being non-compliant to the constant changes of the world and environment. Why on Christmas, is because we are all busy just thinking of the gifts for ourselves, our love ones, and our friends. We need disaster to bring out the goodness in our heart. We have to see dead people before we appreciate our own unique life. We need to see homeless people before we make an effort to extend a hand and make them shelter forgetting that you yourself have none. Now, many Christmas parties are cancelled because food and prizes are now aligned to be donated to the less fortunate victims.
Do we really need a disaster first before the good and best of us comes out? Disaster or no disaster, there are people who need help. Christmas or no Christmas, we can have love everyday and not just on His birthday. These disasters bring lessons; that if all of us must take care of the welfare of each and everyone, only then will the world be different. It is a long shot dream, it was God’s desire, it will happen for sure when we experience a weekly disastrous event until caring for others will be our second nature or worst, we become victims ourselves Only then will we learn the lesson the hard way and it’s too late for us to rectify our mistakes and we will just be hoping others who are still lucky just like we are today to learn the lessons.
This Christmas, do not buy more. Instead, give more of those you have that are not of use. When buying is less, manufacturing is less, thus, extraction of raw material is less, and then the Earth is given a chance to recuperate from severe extraction man has made. Do not believe in commercials and marketing strategies of luring to buy by big companies. We make prices higher if there is so much demand.
Any comment and suggestions can be forwarded to anthonyvivero@yahoo.com and anthonyvivero@hotmail.com.
