The Philippines has been in the top news and will stay there for a while due to the recent natural calamity that has befallen this country. It is said that this storm was the strongest ever that had hit the face of the earth – stronger than Katrina which was a Signal No 4 with winds of 175 kilometers strong. Haiyan (or Yolanda as known in the Philippines) had winds of 235 kilometers per hour and a Signal No 5.
Storm Katrina hit a part of the world wherein homes and industrial/commercial/buildings were strongly-built and where government and non-government organizations were in a far better, position to cope with the disaster. Still, the devastation was tremendous and the damage especially to the poor and vulnerable was tremendous.
Well-to-do individuals donated villages of homes, social services poured in but it still took years before the communities affected were able to return to their normal lives.
How about Haiyan and the Philippines?
I remember very well when I was still living in Manila that the highest typhoon signal was No 3. During the rainy season typhoons were common, floods came and went and people almost took them for granted. But when the signal was No 3, people did not leave their homes, classes in schools were suspended, offices were closed,
When the bad weather lasted for several days, the prices of commodities went up. No government social benefits and very few charitable organizations could be depended upon for help. “Bahala ka sa buhay mo”.
After a storm, people would gather the tin scraps that were blown off by the strong winds and would start to rebuild again, right on the spot where their homes were blown off. They helped one another (bayanihan). They would continue to live in the half-finished houses adding a wall or a door here and there when they found the materials and/or the money to buy the needed parts.
And they survived, Life goes on!
“Pagsikat ng araw, laganap ang awa ng Diyos!” – The Filipinos endless optimism and resiliency.
How about Haiyan? Signal No 5?
Never in the history of the Philippines or any other part of the world had such a horrendous storm ever hit,
“This is Hell”, one woman exclaimed on televisions.
“Akala ko, katapusan na ng mundo.”
“We have no home, no food, no water, and no light, please help us!”
“The dead are on the streets, on the water, on the bridges.
“This strong wind hit our house, and carried it away. I grabbed my two children as we were pushed by the water. Then a strong wave hit us and took my children from me. I never saw them again.”
Several days had passed. The world has started sending help. But shipping and transporting the aid to these helpless people is a problem. The survivors have nowhere to go. There is no food and clean water.
Looting has begun. Diseases and starvations are being feared. The strong stench of the countless dead buried in the mountains of debris is unbearable. Aid is coming in slowly, painfully slow.
How about the relatives of the victims of this horrible natural calamity who are far from home? Communications has been cut. They cannot contact their parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles.
Organizations have mobilized gathering clothing, canned food and money to be sent to the survivors. But where would they be sent. Would they reach the people who really need help very badly?
We cannot blame those who do not seem to trust that their aid would reach those who really need it. At present there seems to be no organized system that can account for aid received and assure that they go to those who need it most.
I have been away for forty years. I had gone back to visit at least ten times. Lately, I have not returned because I cannot cope anymore with the pollution and pace of life. I look back to the struggles of my “kababayan” which I am not capable of anymore, like getting in and out of jeeps and buses that are in a hurry and would start before you have really gone out. I cannot wade in the street, floods wherein you might step on an uncovered sewage hole.
But I love the land of my birth and my fellow Filipinos, our close family ties, our care for one another, our neighbourly sharing and compassion.
In the Philippines, you can leave your children with a neighbour while you go out in an errand. The neighbour will feed your child at meal times, no charge.
All these random thoughts are running through my brain. As I sit on my couch watching the news on the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, thinking of the helpless victims who are still digging in the mountains of debris for their loved ones that may be buried there, not knowing where to sleep tonight, where to get the next meal and when to have the next bath.
And yet, being a Filipino and knowing the Filipinos, the survivors of Haiyan will be able to go through all this.
“Hindi pa katapusan ng mundo, Pagsikat ng araw, laganap ang awa ng Diyos.”****
