Yolanda’s whip leaves a weeping Philippines
A retrospect on how the people of Visayas especially in Leyte tried to cling for dear life and rise above the storm- literally.
These are the times that try men's souls.
The aftermath of the super typhoon Yolanda, unarguably the strongest and most devastating super typhoon to ever hit our lands this year, with its maximum sustained winds at 195 mph and gusts reaching as high as 235 mph as tracked by American satellites, brought tears, agony and desperation not only among the people in the region of Visayas but also of the whole Philippine archipelago. And it is frightening to know that weeping in its own terrorizing definition is still an understatement.
While we were in the comfort of our building at school, people miles away can’t do anything but pray, hoping to get a second chance in life, to get a grip and seize themselves away from the possibility of their death. Thousands of people died, hundreds were missing, families were mourning and children were left without their own parents. Years from now, lots of stories will be told with the same point-of-view on why their family members died: because of Yolanda. Once, I read a story about a daughter letting her mother go so she (the mother) can save her own life. After the typhoon, her body was found stabbed by wooden splinters brought by the houses that were crushed during the said calamity. The Philippines has also witnessed reporters like Love Anover cry while reporting her news, even said during her report that she was ‘all in’, that if it was her time, she was ready to surrender. A lot of news articles described how powerful this super typhoon was that they assumed to call it as a ‘monster typhoon’. Winds were very furious and crashed and destroyed homes, cars and essential establishments, thus ending lives. In Leyte, trees were cut down, leaving no place for any type of transportation to pass over the province, leaving people to walk for hours. Super typhoon Yolanda wrecked the entire Visayas region, sending-off a massive count of dead people and hopeless citizens.
A plea to fight against global warming
During the UN summit in Warsaw, Yeb Sano, the Philippine lead negotiator took a stand and spoke among the people present and said: “To anyone who continues to deny the reality that is climate change, I dare you to get off your ivory tower and away from the comfort of your armchair. I dare you to go to the islands of the Pacific, the islands of the Caribbean and the islands of the Indian ocean and see the impacts of rising sea levels; to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas and the Andes to see communities confronting glacial floods, to the Arctic where communities grapple with the fast dwindling polar ice caps, to the large deltas of the Mekong, the Ganges, the Amazon, and the Nile where lives and livelihoods are drowned, to the hills of Central America that confronts similar monstrous hurricanes, to the vast savannas of Africa where climate change has likewise become a matter of life and death as food and water becomes scarce. Not to forget the massive hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard of North America. And if that is not enough, you may want to pay a visit to the Philippines right now.” Yolanda is sure to be the strongest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines and we shouldn’t close our eyes with the reality that there might be more to come, as higher ocean temperatures and warmer ocean surfaces can create strong typhoons-and if we won’t save ourselves from our old ways, if we will repeat ourselves, maybe, stronger ones might visit our country again and end our lives. Let this calamity be an enough example of what we should be prepared for and what we should do to help and change our situation. In our own ways, let us start to take action and do what we can to scrap global warming. Plant trees; lessen the use of plastic, walk when you can go to your nearby errand. If we want the future generation to enjoy this amazing world, we must start with ourselves.
Still hoping, still praying
Every night as my family gathered to watch the aftermath of the super typhoon, all I’ve seen and heard of were reports about disasters after disasters, looting after looting, deaths after deaths, and tears after tears. I was hunted by fear, grief and pain. It is definitely Philippines’ hardest time. And it’s amazing how people especially reporters, were able put their emotions into words despite the fact that it has left scars or worse-has left nothing at all. Fortunately, organizations and other countries have lent a hand to the victors of the calamity. On the stream of all these catastrophic events that has left Visayas-first the earthquake and now the remnants of the Super Typhoon, I came to wonder, what is God has up for us right now? As Catholics, we’ve been brought up into thinking that God, ever so powerful, our creator, our father, will not do anything that may inhibit us from living a life filled with content and fidelity. He has His own ways of working things out. Yes, suffering is good for the soul for it strengthens you. All we can do is to be brave enough to take a leap of faith, let go and let God take the wheel-for He’s the one who knows our destination. Maybe when everything gets wrecked, all we can do is start fresh and start anew. Remember that God is always bigger than any typhoon we will ever get to meet. These are just tests of our faith. Cling to Him. He’s just there, watching us, ready to help us if only we pray.
As cliché as this may sound, let me retell the unending tale of the ‘after every rain comes a rainbow’ People won’t be able to experience the real fruit of happiness without experiencing pain. Take time to realize that if all your life you thought happiness is all about sunshine, then no one has ever told you about dancing in the rain. Let us help in our own little ways. Pray for the victims. They had it worse. Prayers always work. They give people strength. Faith doesn’t make things easy, it makes things possible. But it will always be better to accompany prayer with work. It will take months or maybe even years for them to start standing on their own feet once again-it’s hard but not impossible. Let the world know, let ourselves know that the Filipino Spirit is waterproof.
While I was writing this article, I was struggling for words. It was as though there were too many feelings that I can write beyond reason. Being assigned for this article was hard because it will lead me into reading once again all the devastating news that broke my heart before. It was as though the world was depriving me from the use of words. I can’t even describe half the pain of the victors. It all went so fast and it led to thousands of deaths and millions of dreams shattered at the seams. Hopefully, one day, people will realize what’s happening and decide to stop and start anew. Our life will be better if we learn to stop being too greedy and impulsive. This may or may not be all under our own making, but regardless of that, God created this world to be enjoyed-by everyone, let us not defeat its purpose.
