Anderson Cooper, CNN correspondents praise strength and continued courage of the Filipinos By Bernie V. Franco 11/15/13 08:17 pm Bumilib ang American journalist na si Anderson Cooper at mga kasamang CNN international correspondents sa positibong ugali ng mga Pilipino sa kabila ng trahedyang dinaranas nila. Dumating sina Anderson sa Pilipinas noong November 11, Lunes, para iulat ang pagsalanta ng bagyong Yolanda—na may international name na Haiyan. Una nilang dinayo ang Tacloban City, Leyte, na isa sa mga pinakamatinding sinalanta ng bagyo. Sa kanyang programang Anderson Cooper 360º kaninang umaga, November 15, tinalakay ni Anderson at ng CNN international correspondents ang kalagayan ng mga biktima, isang linggo matapos manalasa ni Yolanda. Unang kinausap ni Anderson—na nasa Maynila na sa mga oras na iyon—si Nick Paton Walsh, CNN senior international correspondent, na nasa Tacloban. Pinag-usapan ng dalawa ang tungkol sa bilang ng mga nasawi sa nasabing lugar. SENSE OF HUMOR. Pangalawang kinausap ni Anderson si Ivan Watson, na nag-ulat naman mula sa Cebu. Tinalakay nila ang kawalan ng komunikasyon sa lugar na malaking balakid sa pagkuha ng mga impormasyon. Ikinuwento ni Ivan na pinuntahan nila ang Guiuan, Samar. Nalaman nila na marami sa mga biktima ang hindi pa nakakausap ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay na nasa ibang lugar. Sabi pa ni Ivan, ang ginagawa ng mga tao ay nagpapadala ng sulat sa mga aircraft, at umaasang maiabot sa kanilang mga mahal sa buhay. Inilahad din ni Ivan ang 22 oras na paglalakbay ng isang ina, mula Cebu patungong Guiuan, upang hanapin ang kanyang 8-anyos na anak, na noong una ay hindi niya alam kung patay na o buhay pa. “We saw that glorious reunion. “Amid all that uncertainty and fear, I have to say with all these destruction, I was struck in Guiuan. “The death toll is 87 in a town of more than 40,000 inhabitants. “To see so many people next to the ruins of their houses laughing, joking with a foreigner, like me, perhaps that’s gonna be the greatest resource that the Filipinos have. “Their sense of humor, that’s gonna be what’s going to take them through the long difficult months ahead if they try to rebuild.” STRENGTH OF THE FILIPINOS. Huling kinausap ni Anderson si Andrew Stevens, na kasama niya sa Manila. Binanggit muli ni Anderson ang sinabi niya sa simula ng programa tungkol sa “strength of the Filipino people, the dignity of them.” Pagpapatuloy ng news anchor, “You go to the people and you say, ‘How are you doing? Kamusta?’ And they say, ‘Oh, I’m okay.’ “And then you ask, ‘Have you lost anybody?’ And they say, ‘Yes, I’ve lost three of my children... six of my children.’ “I mean, their strength is extraordinary.” Sinegundahan naman ito ni Stevens. Sabi niya, “I mean, many of these people live a tough life, at the best of time, just trying to make it. “And I’ve been struck even in [after a major tragedy], neither their resilience has been struck, just how they’re dealing with this. “Two days after [the storm], when a lot of people would have been too stunned to move or just shocked, people were gathering in communal group, talking… as I would say, laughing. And a lot of people I was talking would say, Thank you, thank you so much for being here to help…’ “Still very polite, still very gracious.” Hirit pa ni Anderson, “I think it’s easy to stress that too much, by and large, I’ve been stunned at the response of individuals to this tragedy and, again, it’s just their strength and continued courage.”
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 19:40:43 +0000