Iliganon’s in the Aftermath

It may take a very long time for the families who were greatly affected by the flood; the families who have lost their loved ones; and those who are still hoping that they can find the missing to totally disregard the disaster that happened in their lives.

                The debris of the wrath of the typhoon is still clearly seen in the affected areas thus making it hard for the people to forget what had happened. In relevance, the left-out of the tragedy has some prevalent negative effects on the environment. Outcomes that the Iliganons are suffering and is degrading them in terms of physical health; psychological well-being; and the worst is, economic instability.

                This economic instability the survivors are undergoing pertains to their current setting. This is the problem of where to relocate these families – and this is a problem that has to be addressed to. The evacuation centers in which the affected families are placed do not have enough amenities that can serve the people well.

                In an evacuation center, it is very inevitable that there will be outbreaks of epidemic diseases such as leptospirosis, tubercolosis, and etc. One main reason to this is that the great number of people staying in the same place.

                What is then the main reason that still now, the people who are greatly affected are not yet relocated into their new house?

                The Philippines’ present poor condition particularly in the northern part of Mindanao has been spread worldwide that there have been countries who have aided the country economically. These countries include Japan which donated a million US dollars; Indonesia gave 300,000 US dollars; the small country of Italy; the United States; and the United Nations association. With these help coming from other countries, this help should be enough in building new houses for the homeless.

                In retrospect, that was a bit of a blow of hopefulness there. We all know now that focusing on the really important is not something that characterizes the government of today. To be fair to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, focusing on the truly important cannot really be well thought-out virtues of any Philippine government for that matter, seeing that template disasters like these go beyond time, geography, and politics.

Water: Life saver or life stealer?

On the early dawn of December 17, 2011, a typhoon typically named “Sendong” – international name is “Wasi” – passed through Iligan City. It was a natural tragedy residents of Iligan had not expected to happen in their place.

                At the height of Sendong’s raging wrath, communication seems to be as important as the air the people use to breathe. It seemed to be their last hope to stay alive even though it came to the point where mostly of the affected people thought it was impossible. Communication served as an instrument — a instrument which the people only possess at the moment — for the people to survive against the water that took the lives of the many people in Iligan City on that night. Momentarily, a survivor and a resident of Brgy. Hinplanon, Iligan City Dean Jeremy Dagting said, “My situation, our family’s situation was not the kind of condition anyone would think it would be. Everywhere was covered with darkness; every angle your eyes would set upon was cloaked with the shadows of uncertainty. And that time, water was not a life saver, it was a life stealer.”

                Consequently, on the night of their worst plight, many lives perished because of the water everyone have thought as life saver but that time of the dimness of the night, it was otherwise – a furious life stealer. As Dean have described the night of the raging typhoon, he had heard the screams of the people drowning as the water had slowly swallowed their bodies into its deadly depth. Dean said, “I was more fortunate than the rest who have lost their lives because I was able to climb the second floor of our house. However I suffered the wrath of the water as I had slipped and been stumbled on by our motorcycle.” He further said that as he climbed the roof of their house, he was literally slapped by the water and for a second he felt dizziness. He said that he and his family stayed on the roof for almost six hours and waited fir the water to level down.

                As the level of the water had lowered down, they got off their roof and to their surprise, they saw a lot of dead bodies of the animals scattered in the muddy streets. And what’s worst is, a myriad of lifeless human bodies lying on the streets like a piece of trash. As they entered into their devastated house, it has been emptied and what’s left is a pile of odorous mud. “Our things were floating. Our newly bought LCD television was soaked in mud, our sofa, rice cooker, refrigerator, and our things that my parents had bought. The most horrible thing that had happened to me is that I lost all my application for the Philippine Military Academy and all my hope in applying again slowly faded,” Dean said.

                With their present condition now, their family has moved on and is living in his uncle’s house — the brother of his mother. He said that their house cannot be lived in because of its weakened foundation due to the wrath of the typhoon Sendong.

                What had happened on the fearful dawn of December 17, 2011 is not easy forget for the Iliganon’s have been badly decreased. The water that took away the lives of the many innocent people is printed on the minds of the survivor. Experiencing a tragedy like our fellow brothers and sisters had went through can serve a lesson for everyone of us that the things we think can save us can sometimes be the tool in killing us.

                Water: Life saver or life stealer?