Making Sense of Yolanda

As my countrymen in the Philippines struggle with the aftermath of Yolanda/Haiyan, the world's biggest typhoon to make landfall to date, I struggle to find the words to describe the desperation that we feel, especially for us who are away from home, who cannot do much but reach out through words, through balikbayan boxes, through prayers and what little money we can send, all the same feeling that no matter what we do, it just wouldn't be enough.

Much has been said about inefficiency of our government leaders, of our inadequacy to deal with such catastrophe that though I cannot deny the frustration I wouldn't want to add to the stress and the negativity. Rather, I am writing simply to add another voice to the grateful, to let you all know how much we all appreciate the work that everyone is doing, especially those who are on ground - the tireless social workers and volunteers whose heroism day in day out continue to be a source of hope for all us, the local and foreign press who have kept us connected sharing vital information on places where help is much needed, thank you for keeping us up to speed and telling our story.

To the various countries and individuals from all around the globe who have come to support our tiny nation of seven thousand islands, generous with their aid and their resources, expressing symphaties, our heartfelt Salamat for being there, for thinking of us, for lending your able hands, God knows we cannot do this alone.

It is very hard to make sense of something so tragic, but at times like these losing hope is not an option.  As one writer has put it, we are a nation in mourning, but we are not helpless.

Underneath the stench of death, desolation and despair, we have exposed our soul as a nation. Underneath it all, we have shown the world, the stuff that Pinoys are made of - the incredible strenght of a real survivor. You see, we are a people who have, time and again weathered many storms and learned to adapt to all kinds of difficult situations, in our own country and in other places around the world, even in the direst of circumstances you will find us carrying on, as one family, calling each kabayan, (countrymen), ate or kuya (sister or brother), finding reasons to smile despite our many problems.

If there is a silver lining to it all,  not to undermine the great loss that many of my kabayans have suffered, I would say that Yolanda / Haiyan brought us all of us back to our senses,  rightly putting things into perspective.

The truth is, it so easy to be sucked in by the daily grind, by stuff, by so-called matters of consequences - politics, religion, career, fame, money, sex, technology, bad relationships, hollywood, etc but at the end of the day, what really matters most, and perhaps the only thing that matters is our Humanity.

This tragedy is a harsh reminder that no matter who we are, how far we've gone, how much money we have, how much we've achieve, we are all temporary tenants to this generous earth and all of us, regardless of the clothes we wear, our status in society, all of us are living on borrowed time.

That really at the end of the day, when you take away all the petty things, the only thing that would matter is how much, and how generously we loved each other. At the end of it all, we come to realize how our brief lives are only made significant by giving and making a difference in someone else's.

Having said that, still there are many who would rather turn a blind eye to those who are suffering, who would allow their selfish ambitions get the better of them. I pray that they would wake up, I pray that they would not waste time.  Every passing minute is an opportunity to turn it all around. If death is just around the corner, then let us make the days count, and let not those who have perished before us die in vain.

Yolanda may have taken so much from us, but battered as we are, we as Filipinos are proud to show the world what it means to truly live. We are putting our mark on the global map, to be defined as a nation and as people who know the secret to life, and that is to live and let live.


And now these three remain, Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of this is love. - 1 Corinthian 13 :13