When Tragedy Strikes Paradise at Christmas

When Tragedy Strikes Paradise at Christmas.

 

Last week as early as Tuesday, there were warnings that a storm was coming.  It was supposed to be a small one so no panic.  It made landfall last Thursday and passed through the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.  I did not give it much thought; after all it was far away from us and just caused rains in Manila.  I was more worried about a wet Christmas. 

 

Saturday afternoon, I got the shock of my life and could not believe the BBC when it reported 215 dead and 400 missing.  WHAT?????  Turning quickly to the local news channel, it hit me.  I could not believe the images.  What happened was truly incredible.

 

Tragedy had stricken paradise!!! I say paradise because that part of the country, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, is not usually struck by typhoons.  The last they had was 40 years ago.  And boy was this treacherous.  The flash flood came at 1 am in the morning, while all were asleep.  Lulled into a deep sleep, no doubt, by the cool temps and the beating of the rain, but never to awake again. 

 

By Monday, the news was more horrible and the images more painful to see.  Whole villages gone.  A lot of mud, debris, and uprooted trees where houses use to stand.  Bloated bodies were lined up waiting for identification.  Funeral homes overwhelmed.  Mothers and Fathers half crazy looking for their beloved children and other loved ones.  Children looking for their parents.  Really disturbing to see were various Pietas (mothers carrying their dead children) with that look on their faces.  By now, the death toll had risen to 600 and lots more missing.  It is hard to remember the last time I cried watching the news. 

 

I have been having the Christmas Blues and after the news immediately fell into a depression with fits of anger.  This is a real test to faith.  I started grumbling, why, what, how come, and millions of angry questions in my mind trying to rationalize the situation.  I helped where I could and gave what I could.  Yes, tears welled up in anger and helplessness every time I prayed and while at mass.  And that is when God nudged me….

 

Today, I did not want to watch the news, but had to.  The death toll today is 947 and 600 missing.  What struck me was the tremendous and immediate response from the rest of the archipelago.  There was news that a navy ship was leaving Manila for Mindanao and individuals went to the ship to bring their donations, some of them on bikes.  The province of Pampanga is sending 400 coffins to the island for free.  The local water district had sent mobile purifying stations to the island.  Almost all the big companies are sending goods and men to help.  A mobile forensics lab had arrived in Cagayan from Cebu.  TV personalities already have a schedule on who will go there on what day to help.  It was also described that old clothes and blankets were flying off closets everywhere in the country.  The military had suspended all Christmas parties and sent the fund for that to the island instead.  This was also done by many public schools and private companies. 

 

Gruesome but touching, was seeing a rescuer dig up a dead child.  He removed his shirt to clean the baby and the people around started pouring drinking water to help before the child was handed to the parents.  The survivors have started cleaning up what could be cleaned.  And most importantly, children have started playing again. 

 

Conspicuously absent was the usual finger pointing, politicking, and blame assigning that is so staple in Philippine life.  :O  J

 

The news was not that painful at all, in fact, it was heart warming in a way.  I cried now knowing that everybody was moving to do something.  Maybe it helped that people have a little extra in December (13^th month pay is a law in the Philippines). 

 

Today, it was announced during mass and in the news that all the donations collected during the traditional nine-day dawn mass (Misa de Gallo) will go to that effort as decreed by our bishop in Manila.  I hope all the other bishops follow for it will be a lot because all of our churches are filled to the brim and overflowing during these masses.  (There are more than 600,000 churches in the Philippines plus 20 million chapels)

 

This will not be the Merriest Christmas I will ever experience, but I assure you, this will be the most BLESSED I will live through. 

 

This is the very first Christmas that I will see when all are more concerned on the Christmas of another than that of their own, more concerned about the Christmas of another family other than their own. 

 

I salute that woman in the news, washing the mud off from the clothes they managed to salvage, when asked, “What about your Christmas?”  “Tuloy ang Pasko”, she answered without batting an eyelash.  “Tuloy ang Pasko” = We will have one, and she had no house.    

When tragedy strikes paradise at Christmas…. 

CHRISTMAS JUST STRIKES BACK.