In solidarity with my People.
As you may have recently seen around the news, the earth’s strongest typhoon system, internationally known as Haiyan, had recently pummelled through central Philippines. An estimated 10,000 people is supposedly dead or unaccounted for, in the hardest-hit province we call Tacloban. The Destruction was so vast and unimaginable that it stunned a team of UN Disaster Assessment volunteers.
Photos of the Destruction in Tacloban; by Romeo Ranoco, Reuters
During the great earthquake of Japan more than a year ago, there was a similar devastation everywhere. Images like this have surfaced in the media after the great earthquake. The unfortunate disaster had made me appreciate the Japanese culture of Atarimae, as it has shown the best of the Japanese People’s culture in their toughest of times. It was truly a moving event in the history of human disaster.
However, nothing could sucker punch your emotions more than images of destruction from your own country.
Image from Gawker Media. Did you see that? It’s a freaking ship. On the ground.
Granted, the Filipino has no such notion of Atarimae; There is a stark difference between the Japanese and the Filipino cultures. Four days after the disaster, there have been reports of looting and anarchy (another article here) rising to the forefront of media reports. But, these turn of events does not make me hate my own people. It has only prodded me into unfathomable sadness. Such complicated reactions in the human psyche can only be brought upon by extreme hopelessness and daze; In the most unfortunate of situations, many will also try to take advantage of situations like this. This is human weakness; it is not exclusive to Filipinos. Many will take the chance if they could to loot whatever is at hand.
The Filipino is an extremely resourceful human being and will do anything to save their families and loved ones in the times of calamity. In the face of disaster and hopelessness, the Filipino’s strongest trait can also be their greatest weakness. That said, Filipinos are notably resilient; we simply do not kill ourselves over bad weather or extreme poverty (unless it kills us first). I sincerely believe that the anarchistic nature of the situation in Tacloban right now is caused by extreme desperation. What they need is immediate help.
There are many more images floating around the internet; the amount of dead bodies is just too much to bear. If you have the heart to be a fellow human being, volunteer or donate to your trusted charity to give aid to the victims of the Super Typhoon Haiyan. Unicef and the Philippine Red Cross are pretty reliable charities. If you are looking for missing persons or you have information about missing persons, you can also help manage the disaster through Google’s Crisis tools page for the victims of the Typhoon (locally known as Yolanda)
Also, did you know another storm is headed our way? Now stop your yappin’ and get to helpin’!
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This post also appears on Medium.
