Signs of Life
Rescuers in Leyte has just reported hearing signs of life from underneath the mud covering what used to be a public elementary school. Wishfully, some of the kids have survived. Even after 3 days of being buried, some hope must remain.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country are showing signs of life as well. Why does it have to take a disaster to get people to do something? Volunteers abound in the area. People from nearby communities are digging to recover what they can. The US Marines have momentarily suspended their war games and lent a hand as well. Media grabbers such as politicians and their wives spend hours on the field to join the cause (and the publicity). Donations are pouring in from everywhere. This disaster has become a Filipino thing.
But where were these politicians when they should have been implementing stricter laws against burning forests for charcoal? Who listened when their dire future was foretold by the town lunatic? I am not saying we deserve what has happened. I cannot even imply that those children did anything to deserve to be buried in mud. My only lament is why do we have to do things too late? Why can't we be, just for once, do something in time or even way before situations reach the critical level? So many lives could have been -- and still could be -- saved.
I pray that someday it will not take so many deaths anymore to awaken this slumbering nation. Take a pulse, choose a move and do what you can now.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country are showing signs of life as well. Why does it have to take a disaster to get people to do something? Volunteers abound in the area. People from nearby communities are digging to recover what they can. The US Marines have momentarily suspended their war games and lent a hand as well. Media grabbers such as politicians and their wives spend hours on the field to join the cause (and the publicity). Donations are pouring in from everywhere. This disaster has become a Filipino thing.
But where were these politicians when they should have been implementing stricter laws against burning forests for charcoal? Who listened when their dire future was foretold by the town lunatic? I am not saying we deserve what has happened. I cannot even imply that those children did anything to deserve to be buried in mud. My only lament is why do we have to do things too late? Why can't we be, just for once, do something in time or even way before situations reach the critical level? So many lives could have been -- and still could be -- saved.
I pray that someday it will not take so many deaths anymore to awaken this slumbering nation. Take a pulse, choose a move and do what you can now.
It is always frustrating to think about our country's struggle for unity. Of course, it doesn't help that we were not one country before the Spanish came. Filipinos are a conglomeration of many nations banded together by a colonial power that did not have any intention of encouraging unity, but instead, division.
ReplyDeleteBut there is hope, though. I am not sure how nor when but I know there is.
I really, really hope you're right.... I know the way our past was molded influences our present a lot... but a lot of us are aware now that the only future we can ever have is the one we make for ourselves, here, now.
ReplyDeleteHope the future's bright.