In the wake of typhoon 'Sendong', I find myself both saddened and amazed.
I am saddened by the destruction and death wrought by the killer rains. As of this writing, the death toll has now passed the one-thousand mark, and is still likely to rise. People affected by the floods struggle to piece back their lives together. Families are scattered, with many losing someone precious to them. Whole communities have been wiped out by the floods, and questions rise about the wisdom of settling in those areas to begin with.
Despite all these, it's amazing, and touching, to see that the spirit of the Filipino remains indefatigable. As soon as word came out about the tragedy, people hurriedly mobilized themselves, and relief operations began almost immediately. The spirit of Christmas was strong in the air, as people willingly gave of themselves in order to help those in need. The stories of generosity are as numerous as of those of tragedy. While the giving will not erase the horrors that people in the affected areas have experienced, at least it will help ease the burden, and maybe help these people rise from the ashes.
It is said that the brightest of lights shines in the darkest of times. I'm glad that our countrymen have risen to the occasion, and have proven this to be true.
1 comment:
It's good to note as well the many number of ways one can help (media, Ateneo/schools, Red Cross, even texting, etc.). I hope those firms involved in excessive/illegal logging/mining don't use these opportunities to disguise them as "good", though.
Did you hear/read of the town of Bais, Negros Oriental? Another nice story. Sendong also passed there but barely touched it, thanks to the presence of many trees and nice & effective pro-environmental programs such as waste segregration.
Meanwhile, in Iligan and CDO, it's somewhat hard to distinguish between fallen trees from illegal logging and uprooted trees. It's disappointing to note that the DENR there seems to be more interested in going after flood victims who are using the trees from illegal logging to build temporary houses rather than going after the illegal loggers themselves.
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