Taking the Nation by Storm

TAKING THE NATION BY STORM

by Raphael Uy

I never really had the slightest idea that there would be another typhoon arriving last Saturday. When we attended our classes for CWTS, we all thought it was another day of heavy downpour. At dismissal time, we were shocked to see our school very flooded. We also thought that only our school was flooded but as we heard the news, we knew that another typhoon (by the name of Ondoy), already hit several locations in the country. It has already flooded two or three cities including Marikina and San Juan (where I live). We were fortunate that some of us were able to go home safely.

Days passed by. I listened to the radio and heard Mojo Jojo and Grace Lee talk about the typhoon and how it made many other people suffer. I was really moved and touched by their encouragement to donate relief goods [and better] if we can. I watched the news and I felt bad about what happened to some of the people and even the celebrities themselves during the aftermath of the typhoon especially when I saw that little boy who was working and selling his own toys to earn money, but there was one thing that made me realize something: UNITY. I've never seen such unity among our fellow Filipinos. After so much that happened in our country like corruption and protests going on, I'm deeply moved about how they managed to put aside their interests and help each other.

How I wished that I could be there to help around, but I could just simply donate clothes that I don't use anymore. Amidst all that praising of our nation's unity, I still am bothered by a few things like how people intend to sell relief goods to others for profit. Government agencies would "get" half of the relief goods that were supposed to be distributed to the victims if we give donations through them. Lack of updated technology led to this kind of catastrophe. I am not complaining about these things, but I just wanted to give my opinion on how we should be more prepared and be more secure in handling future calamities. I'm glad that we are more aware of our mistakes after many years of commiting the same mistake all over again.

Many years have we survived through different situations. May it be political, natural or economical, we are still standing tall as a united nation. I bet that our unity was the one who took over our nation by storm, not Ondoy itself. Even if I find some of the local music scene tastleless and I'm not favorable about some local shows today (I still watch teleseryes, you know), it's wonderful to see ourselves helping one another and caring for each other. Those are the things I want to emphasize about Bagyong Ondoy, how the people dealt with the situation and its aftermath.