Weathering Disasters

November 16, 2013

It's been exactly a week since part of the Philippines was hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan). Here in Marawi City, we had strong winds and rain. And, along with these strong winds and rain came photos and videos of other parts of the country. We watched in horror as photo after photo and video after video made clear to us how strong a Storm Category 5 was and what a storm surge could do to places. Through the news coverage and social media, we watched Yolanda pummel a huge part of Eastern Visayas to the ground! The whole Philippines (or at least the parts that weren't as badly hit by the storm) and the whole world watched whole cities and towns crumble piece by piece in a matter of hours. It was like watching an apocalyptic movie! And, it was heartbreaking!

Sadly though, in the midst of this misfortune, there are those who make the situation worse. People who continually make careless, offensive comments about the calamity. There's the self-righteous, holier-than-thou type. Those people who claim that the Philippines deserves this tragedy because of all the sins committed by the Filipino people. Those people who claim that the Philippines is being punished because of the tolerance and practice of homosexuality, pre-marital sex, prostitution, corruption among other things. Those people who say that God is punishing this particular group of people because these people are following the wrong path. Those people who claim that God, Himself, is punishing these people for a wrong committed to a certain religion or faith. There's the finger-pointing, fault-finding type. Those people saying that Filipinos never learn. Those people claiming that the government, especially the local ones, had not prepared whatsoever for the coming of the typhoon. Those people saying the government and the leaders should be blamed for what happened and later for the slow release and giving of help and assistance. Those people who have not, since Day 1, stopped criticizing and questioning every move that the government and the national leaders take. Those people who keep dissing the celebrities, government officials and even ordinary citizens, who are actually helping, for making their efforts known to the world. Those people who find fault in celebrities, government officials and other people, who go on living their lives and sticking to their usual routines, for not helping and being oblivious and uncaring. It's really "damned if you do, damned if you don't" with these kinds of haters! There's the insensitive, apathetic type. Those people who still have the gall to joke about what happened. Those people who just don't care about what the survivors have gone through and even post or give disrespectful comments on and photos of those who unfortunately died in the tragedy.

I can go on and on about the different kinds of people who really test one's patience and faith in humanity, but I'm not one to dwell on these negative things, lest I become no different from them. It's doubly disheartening, too, knowing that just a few weeks ago, another part of Visayas was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and destroyed a number of cities and towns and displaced thousands of people. A lot of historical places and tourist spots were not spared by the earthquake. Buildings, big and small, fell to the ground. And, still some weeks earlier, there was that war that broke out in Zamboanga and some parts of Basilan in Mindanao. This war destroyed most parts of Zamboanga City and, you guessed it, displaced so many people. All these things happened in a matter of months and, we, Filipinos thought we'd seen the worst. That was until Yolanda came and, like a scorned woman, threw her wrath around.

I'd like to think however that if there's anything positive that's come out of all these tragic happenings, it's how much heart and soul we've all seen in the human race. From the time news of the Zamboanga siege was known up until this very moment, different people and groups of people from the Philippines, as well as other countries, have not stopped organizing relief efforts and finding ways to help those affected. In the case of Eastern Visayas (Tacloban and other parts of Leyte and Samar), hit by Yolanda, even if reaching the devastated areas has been difficult and help hasn't reached the areas as fast as everyone wanted and hoped, people have not stopped in their efforts. While it breaks one's heart to see all those photos and videos of the devastation from all these disasters, it is also heartwarming to see so many people helping and wanting to help. In the Philippines, we call this the bayanihan spirit. I guess it (to help or at least try to help) is what any human being in his/her right mind would do. This idea of human beings all united to help makes one believe that, truly, despite all the bad things and cruelty in this world, there is, and always will be, goodness. There are still things to smile about and be thankful for. There are still reasons to be hopeful. In spite of the unfortunate events, not only in the Philippines but throughout the whole world, there is something that we should celebrate-- the (inevitable) triumph of the human spirit.