This is an essay... But I dont have a blog set up yet, and people have been wanting to hear from me about whats happening where I am. So here are my ramblings and thoughts. Purely a stream of my consciousness, so please dont feel the need to read or even agree. But if you want to, here it is... I cant even begin to explain how devastating it is to be in a country, completely torn apart by one of the worlds largest natural disasters, and find myself unable to do anything to help. Yesterday morning after the storm had hit, we walked around the streets and to the beach, to see what had happened to the town while wed all been asleep... and what we saw was incredible. This small community were already out in force, helping to turn El Nido back into the place it was before. To see a whole town pull together and help in anyway possible, by fixing one and others shop fronts, mending boats that have been smashed apart by story-high waves, or local woman cleaning the beach to keep tourists (their main source of livelihood) coming to these parts, is a humbling thing to witness. By 10am the town looked like a small rain storm had passed through, not a category 5 super typhoon! As was (and is) most of the Philippines, we were without any form of external communication for around 36 hours, which was possibly one of the worst aspects of this whole experience. Waiting for the worlds largest typhoon to come and wreak havoc is pretty daunting to say the least, but to be completely shut off from the outside world, unable to contact concerned loved ones at home, or friends in other parts of the country, or just being able to see what destruction Yolanda had caused in other parts was beyond frustrating. But when communication did finally start to come back, in the first instance CNN in a local bar, it was shocking to see the amount of destruction one storm can cause in less than 24 hours. Tacloban city was a mess. A mess most definitely doesnt anywhere near describe the footage that we, along with the rest of the world saw, but there are only so many times you can use the word devastated or destruction. Sat there, knowing that only a few hours away people were suffering such real catastrophic loss, was a terrible thing to witness. And even now sat typing this, I could cry at the heartache being felt by such a beautiful and caring nation. Having just checked the latest headlines, the reported death toll could stand at 10,000, and that is only in one region. ONE region out of hundreds of cities, towns and villages who were unfortunate enough to be in Yolandas path. It is unthinkable to imagine what the death toll could stand at by the end of this week, or even worse, the month. Being from the UK we dont have many natural disasters. They tend to be something we see frequently on the news, and although most will take a moment to pity these desperate neighbourhoods and countries, how often do you really stop to think how lucky we are... as a nation? As a community? As a human being? Because I have met many people, living in countries that only dream of the luxuries we have, and yet very unfairly also have to deal with the constant fear of the next attack Mother Nature may make on their homeland. Whether it be a tsunami, an earthquake, volcanic eruption or typhoon. Many of these people are living their daily lives in fear, unable to stop, or in many cases predict when the next event will occur. And yet even in a country where it is known and expected for these disasters to take place, they dont have available to them the resources to make their homes structurally sound, or even have the money to be able to evacuate when told to... How crazy is that? They are all just trying their best to make a living and take care of their families, but how many times can a person bounce back and rebuild their lives when a disaster comes and rips it apart again? So please, take a moment and consider the things I have discussed. Im not preaching, far from it actually. I am more than guilty of not taking the time to appreciate the things and opportunities I have. But for the first time I have seen and been amongst a nation in complete turmoil, and all I seem to have to offer while I sit here feeling guilty in my nice room with electricity and water and food, is my words. So read them, and share them, and think of those who really are in need of our thoughts and prayers. Because one day, it could be you feeling as though the world has come crashing down around you and theres no one out there to help.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 16:15:05 +0000
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