Update on the situation in Mindanao
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Email16.01.2012
I arrived in Cagayan de Oro in the early afternoon on Monday, January 2nd. Signs of calamity, (since disastrous Typhoon "Sendong" hit the area on December 17th last year), were visible from the air as we approached the airport. But the full extent of the damage hits you when you stand on the river bank or visit those places where whole neighbourhoods were simply washed away.
The damage to the water system was such that most of Cagayan still did not have running water when I arrived. On the way from the airport we saw groups of people surrounding trucks or fire hydrants where water was being dispensed while others were coming and going with all kinds of water containers. Drinking water was also being dispensed at points set up by the Red Cross and others who had large water purifying machines. Over the next few days I saw people standing near or in their damaged homes trying to do something but not really knowing where to start. It is a combination of shock and uncertainty about the future, but it is also the lack of water. Water was restored to the western side of Cagayan by Thursday, January 5th – a big help.
Holy Rosary Parish, which is served by the Columbans, was affected but when compared to other parts of Cagayan and Iligan, only relatively so. Fr. Paul Finlayson estimates about 100 families are affected with about 30 homes destroyed. Food and other immediate necessities have been provided for these families. At a meeting on Tuesday, January 3rd attended by most Columbans in Mindanao, it was agreed that we will continue to cooperate with the Archdiocese of Cagayan who are doing a very good job of coordinating the relief operations, without prejudice to the specific needs of the parish. Alot of aid is in fact arriving in Cagayan and Iligan but it is not clear how it is being distributed. However, what is more pressing is rehabilitation including relocation for most of those affected. There is little point in rebuilding homes in damaged areas that could be hit again. Getting this right and utilizing all the help that has been promised by the government, foreign governments, aid agencies and private individuals is both a priority and a challenge. In the meanwhile, there is a need for some kind of "intermediate" accommodation so that people can get back to some normality. The Columbans agreed that we will wait a little while to see how this is going to pan out and then see how we can be part of a larger project or fill in "gaps" where some genuinely needy people may be missed.
"There is little point in rebuilding homes in those areas that could be hit again in the immediate future. Getting this right and utilizing all the help that has been promised by the Government, foreign governments, aid agencies and private individuals is both a priority and a challenge. In the meanwhile, there is a need for some kind of "intermediate" accommodation so that people can get back to some normality."
The effort now is to get people out of the evacuation centers which are mostly schools and churches and into temporary accommodation. Archbishop Ledesma in his pastoral letter, just before Christmas, urged those who were not affected to "adopt" a family and care for them not only during Christmas but also in the coming months until that family can go to a more permanent home. Of course, relatives are already doing this for their own families but one of the fears is that if they leave the evacuation centers now they might loose their status as genuine claimants on the aid that is promised. There are also a number of tent communities being set up to give families some way of being together. In Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, where Fr. Perseus Cabunoc is parish priest, there are around twenty tents set up in the Church compound. There are forty seven families living in these tents and they do their own cooking, having been provided with the necessary equipment as well as food. One of the advantages is that this allows them to continue as a community. In fact one of the real needs now is for people to be able to talk about the trauma, share their story, grieve and be comforted. A large group of religious sisters from many congregations together with some teachers and Church lay leaders have already begun this process, sometimes using massage to help people get rid of the bodily symptoms of stress. Mick McGuire will be going to Cagayan in the near future as part of an effort to train others in simple techniques in this area.
There is a lot of pain not only for those directly affected but also for those who heard the cries of others and were unable to do anything. The story is more or less always the same. People awoke around midnight or shortly afterwards with water rushing into their homes and had to swim inside their homes frantically pushing out window shutters or screen doors and scrambling onto the roofs of their houses and pulling others up. Then there were those who had the further trauma of listening to the desperate cries of people trapped in their homes and being powerless to respond as the water cascaded down sweeping away people and houses, all the while terrified that they too would be swept away. Those higher up on the banks of the river who woke to the commotion (as for instance the priests of the Cagayan Cathedral) looked out and saw people clinging desperately to bits of their houses or other floating items as they were swept down the river towards the open sea. As one person described it to me: "they were moving like jet planes" such was the speed of the water. I’m not sure that time will heal all this, but certainly God can and the faith of many of these people is both challenging and humbling. One eight year old boy who lost his mother and two of his siblings had found a photo of her and would look at it and say: "I will see you in Heaven Mommy".
One sixteen year old I met in Iligan stopped speaking when I asked him how he had survived – his house and all those of his neighbours were simply swept away with nothing to indicate that any house had stood there. He and his eighteen year old brother began swimming together and tried to help other members of the family. His brother is still missing; he stopped talking and just looked out towards the sea - unbearable grief and painful memories. A father was holding four of his children until struck by the galvanized roof of a house that was being swept by him which severely injured his legs that he could no longer swim. He tried to put the children onto some debris believing that was their best chance. He survived, the children did not. Another father clung tenaciously to his two children and got them to safety but both died shortly afterwards because of water inhalation.
There are the "happy" stories too: the child who was saved by riding on the back of a neighbour’s Labrador. The owners of the dog were not at home when the tragedy struck. Or my little friend Cedric, who is all of four years old, who clung to a floating refrigerator when he got separated from his parents. He was found by fishermen several miles away later that morning still astride the fridge. He is one of seven children. One, younger than Cedric died and decapitated by a log that hit him; the other, older than Cedric is still missing. The family is now staying in the compound of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Iligan, part of whose convent was also flooded. It was only when one of the Sisters got him to draw some pictures that he was able to express what had happened to him. Some survivors were washed as far as Camiguin Island, which is a considerable distance away.
The parish of San Lorenzo Ruiz, which serves the area of Hinaplanon in Iligan, was one of the most affected areas. The parish priest, Mons. Leo Laviste, a wonderfully affable man fortunately escaped harm and managed to open the Church which became a refuge for many who were running to escape the water. The Church became an evacuation center though most families are now moved into tents or gone to relatives.
There is much more that could be added to this but I simply want to give you some snapshots of the situation as I experienced it. In truth it reduced me to silence or more accurately perhaps it called to silence. In so many ways it is overwhelming and yet people do what they can and many have sent help. At times I felt like a voyeur or an intruder but as I listened to the stories and simply held a hand or embraced a person, I was glad I was there and privileged to be with such people.
On a more practical note: to date we have given PhP200,000 to Holy Rosary Parish and PhP20,000 to the Maranao Community in Cabaro, Iligan through Sean Martin. We are ready to help in both places again when needed. PhP100,000 will be sent to Mons. Laviste and I am awaiting information to send another PhP20,000 to another group there.
I want to thank all those who have kindly donated money to our fund and to assure you that we will continue to monitor the situation in both Cagayan and Iligan. For now, we see the greater need for rehabilitation and that is where we will use most of the money left in the fund and any that will get added to it. I hope that this is acceptable to all of those who have generously donated.
Finally, on this Feast of the Epiphany, may Jesus show his face to all those who are still suffering so terribly. May He also show his face to those who by the help they send, the prayer they make or their work on the ground, have become that face of Christ for others.
Blessings.
Fr Pat O’Donoghue SSC is the Columban Regional Director for the Philippines.
Read another article by Pat O'Donoghue titled, 'Situation in Mindanao since Typhoon Sendong'
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