The Philippines has its untarnished record for being hospitable. Our culture is said to bear the maximum elasticity of accommodating generously. To a bad stretch, it is no wonder that we have been colonized by three countries. But social movements mustered anti-foreign domination upheaval to reject their presence. At this point, the people sets limits to the borderless hospitality. Akin to the unwanted outsiders, the nation has another unsolicited guest – natural disasters. Its geographic features facing the Pacific Ocean makes it vulnerable to the malevolence of nature. Aside from being a part of the Pacific ring of fire, the country becomes a favorite entry point of vicious typhoons. With this trespasser, there is no chance for resistance. There is no avenue to deny typhoons as they come all year round. Man’s science has not yet decimated or tamed the almost-absolute power of nature.
Throughout time, typhoons tirelessly inflicted the Filipinos. In Fr. Jose Algue S.J’s notes in Obervatorio de Manila entitled “El Baguio de Samar y Leyte”, a Yolanda-like storm devastated Eastern Visayas.
Beyond the beastly winds and waters, natural calamities open a social media discourse – an exchange of conjectures and thought. These events resuscitates the thinker to every netizen. The religious would comment that storms are God-given challenges to test humanity’s faith. And that the strength of the typhoon reflects how God trusts one to surpass his tests. The stronger the typhoon, the more capable and resilient you are. In another view, the keen observant of the international community would contrast the Filipino decorum to the other nationalities. The Japanese, with all the imbuement of Zen, peacefully stays in their lines during the relief distribution. While the Filipinos seem to be tributes in the Hunger Games or any dystopian plot that comes to mention. At the top of this all, the optimistic middle class shares that storms are social equalizers. It is as if nature has the ultimate command of upholding equality. This thought pronounces that typhoons somehow democratizes the country since it randomly devastates a person without consideration of finance, race or gender. But the final arbiter of these thoughts is social reality.
It is sad that typhoon survivors are slammed for their decorum in times of relief operations. One may call[quote_right]It is sad that typhoon survivors are slammed for their decorum in times of relief operations. One may call them looters, uncivilized or undisciplined but it must not be forgotten that they are victims of a natural calamity and an insensitive government. [/quote_right]them looters, uncivilized or undisciplined but it must not be forgotten that they are victims of a natural calamity and an insensitive government. What the people negatively perceives from the survivors is a result of a government that dehumanizes its citizens. The State has took away the civility expected of them. The victims cannot be blamed for this. In terms of looting, Tacloban residents have been noted to share to the community whatever they got. It was never selfish act. Even local officials used looted goods in the loss of all their property. But in the advent of the Typhoon Ruby, malls in Tacloban have been heavily guarded by the military. Clearly, the government protects the merchandise of the rich from looters.
Despite the victims’ disastrous misfortune, the State forgoes speedy service over political pride. It even leaves overflowing donated relief goods to rot that to be consumed by survivors. Without question, the survivors are never a priority.
Truly, a storms’ aftermath is far more maleficent than the storm itself. It is as if the label ‘survivor’ comes to its testament. A tricycle driver sauntering around Tacloban’s downtown noted that there was no space for melancholy to the death of his daughter and son. “Kinahanglan ko pa magbiling hin ikabubuhi para mabuhi. Waray ako lalauman ha relief,” [I still need to work for me to survive. I cannot rely on relief goods.] the local shared. While the vast majority of underprivileged bear the inhuman tent city, the well-to-do families have deserted and went to places like Cebu or Manila.
Incontestably, a calamity espouses a striking polarity of the society. It explicates a grotesque dichotomy – the lavish few and the feeble majority. Thus, the status quo holds more rancor than any other typhoon. To an extent, it ferments the strict stratification of classes as the rich recuperates faster than the poor. Until now, people still live in tent cities. Children opted leaving school to help the families survive their daily life. Women are forcefully drawn to prostitution.
This is the true image of a natural calamity – social inequality.
