Thursday, December 26, 2013

Remembering


One of the first things I immediately noticed upon reaching the Tacloban City Hall was the innumerable posters of the missing. Their loved ones are clinging on tightly to their printed pictures, to the details of the clothes they were last seen wearing, and to the hope that somehow, they would find their way back.


And then there's the dead. I do not know them, but I am happy that they are being remembered. They do not deserve to be forgotten, because to forget them is to kill them once again.


Balloons



The children of Villages 88, 89 and 90 refused to back down from Yolanda. In a symbolic gesture of defiance and triumph, they used the balloons we gave them to adorn the root of a fallen tree even without our instruction. 


In this seemingly apocalyptic place where all structures have either been damaged or wiped out, this tree by the sea will always be an enduring symbol of hope.  


 Today I honor their resilience.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Back in Manila




As Ms. Pat Evangelista tweeted, "Odd ride home. Took a while to realize there weren't any cadaver bags to count along EDSA. And that buildings are meant to have roofs."