There was news footage of a woman digging through debris and holding an unassembled Christmas tree she found under the ruins, possibly from a store that had collapsed under the brunt of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
She smiled, saying she was excited to show it to her six kids. “May Pasko pa rin,” she said. “Buo ang pamilya namin.”
Not everyone was as lucky as her.
People, countless people, continue to search for missing loved ones, some from across seas. We still don’t know exactly how many people died—the numbers have yo-yoed. 100. 200. 10,000. 1,700. 2,000. 2,400. We don’t know if we will ever really know.
It’s been a week and not all the bodies have been recovered, many are still unidentified. The stench of the corpses has become unbearable, it was reported, but the rest of us will not know—we cannot smell death through our TVs.
But we can see it—the death and destruction, through our little phone screens, through photographs. We read harrowing tales, watch horrific videos, listen to the wail of the hungry and desperate.
That wrongly attributed CNN user comment that had been passed around so much—about this tragedy being a privilege—has been forgotten.
Chaos
This, the devastation of cities, the loss of lives, the descent into chaos—this is not privilege in any form.
Ironically, we finally got the CNN attention we seemed to have been seeking—the Philippines is all they talk about these days. Anderson Cooper is here, to tell the world just how bad we have it.
And this country has it bad. People in the badly hit areas are on the verge of losing their wits. Some of them have lost everything. They are begging, crying for things that are their basic rights: food, water, shelter. Not to mention clothes to replace the only ones they had on when Yolanda struck.
But donations and relief goods are overflowing and, hopefully, by the time you read this, are being distributed properly.
city of Tacloban after the supertyphoon hit. LITO TECSON/CDN
Outpouring of love
There has been an outpouring of love and support for the victims—from fellow Filipinos, individuals, organizations and governments here and from all over the world.
People and groups have been stepping up to the plate in different ways.
Airlines like Zest AirAsia have been flying in relief goods, medical professionals and NGOs to the affected areas for free. Alphaland, the company behind Balesin Resort, has been using its planes, too, to extend help to the typhoon victims. Stores, restaurants, even small business, have offered their space as drop-off points.
Accenture wrote a memo encouraging its employees to volunteer and allowing them time off to do so.
The donation of P30 million from Jollibee Foods Corp. P10 million from Sharon Cuneta. P1 million from MAC Philippines. P1 million from Uniqlo Philippines and 10 million yen from its mother company Fast Retailing Tokyo. And more pledges from so many others.
surrounded by debris. AP
Piggy bank
Those two little girls in Los Angeles with their lemonade stand. The 6-year-old boy in Japan who donated the contents of his piggy bank, all of 5,000 yen. That man, a virtual stranger, who approached a Filipino woman at an airport and handed her money as his donation. The owner of Triple S medical and dental store in Bambang, Manila, who just handed Ginggay Pajaro P2,000 after finding out she was buying medical supplies for the typhoon victims and saying, “Ibili mo ng biskwit at ipadala mo sabay ng gamot.”
The group of friends that went from repacking site to repacking site until they found that actually needed their help—there were that many volunteers. The tourists who chose to cancel their Boracay trip to help repack relief goods instead.
There are so many stories like these. The devastation has been overwhelming but so has the response. And, in that sense, this country still has it good.
Filipinos are resilient, it has been said again and again. Yes, we are. But right now, we are a country on its knees and we are grateful for the hands that are helping us stand up.
We will get through this together. The Philippines may be heartbroken, but we will never be altogether broken.