Popular Posts

Resilience after Typhoon Haiyan: Reflections After the Storm




According to USAID, as of January 29 2014, 16 million people were affected by Typhoon Yolanda
- 6,201 deaths
- 4.1 million people displaced
- 1.1 million houses


I want you to look at those number and then stop yourself from doing the inevitable: looking at them as just numbers. Each person in that count was someone’s child, someone’s father, someone’s mother, sibling, community leader and friend.


But as time passes, the media stops circulating the faces of the victims. We begin to lose the human aspect of the devastation by reducing it to a numerical figure.This is why I was incredibly impressed by this idea of hosting The After the Storm Event well after the media attention had come and gone.


For after the rubble has cleared and the news cameras are gone, what is there left to do when Typhoon Haiyan and the people of Tacloban are but a somber memory--a byline in the history books and stock images on Google of a devastation we knew but no longer feel?


After the attention passes and social media quiets down, when you are more redundant than you are “cool” for sharing stories of the victims months (and maybe years) after the event itself, we must remember that the people remain and their lives--as painful as it may be--continue. That though the world has helped to rebuild their homes we have a duty to help rebuild their lives. We can clear the rubble and erect houses for the victims, but the devastation continues after the storm.


These people must find jobs amidst a land ravaged by the elements.  
They must send their kids to schools that have been torn down completely. 
...and above all else, they must find the bravery to venture out of their homes and the strength to wake up each morning despite knowing there is one less person at the breakfast table.  


We must remind them that we will not forget them. We need to continue to send donations and maybe set up a google calendar alert to remind us to donate a few dollars every month. We must demand both domestic and international political support for restoration projects to revitalize their livelihoods and education. We should continue to ask questions about the situation from the media, from the politicians, and from ourselves.


We must be careful to not let this typhoon leave the wrong legacy--to not give it the space in our history, when scholars and politicians can point to it as the exact moment when the people of Tacloban and the Philippines suffered and never recovered. The days after the typhoon were a testament to the resilience of the Filipino spirit, but also a hopeful reminder that humanity is still capable of uninhibited hope and unselfish giving. That while the victims are, and will always be the true heros, Filipinos like you and me all over the world add their voice to this testament.


This typhoon was the most devastating storm in the history of man. 
While we praise resilience in the victims, we must demand resilience from ourselves.


Resilience is not strength. This implies an embedded capability to handle particular situations. I think we can all agree that no matter how strong someone can be, there is no human strength that can allow you to withstand seeing your best friend being crushed by the roof of her home or having your child swept away (quite literally) out of your hands and into the cold hold of death.


So what is resilience? I believe that true resilience is faith. Resilience is a blind belief that things will not be easy and you may not feel strong now or then, but despite that there is a reason and ability to continue. Resilience necessitates a painful understanding of the difficulties ahead, a realistic perception of your own capability, and a courageous move forward despite all of it. Resilience is brave, actionable, and inspiring faith that we must continue to act upon, build on, and share.


It is without a doubt that the Filipino people have approached this situation with resilience but we must continue. Amidst the fallen glass, the broken homes, and the shattered lives they have found hope--for many a hope in God and divine providence, but for all a hope that there is a reason to keep going.

No comments:

Post a Comment