Christmas 2013 is Just Around the Corner

The other night I went out and I was surprised to see so many Christmas lanterns on the streets.

Inspite a big earthquake and a category five typhoon, Christmas is still going to arrive in the Philippines afterall.

For many, this season will be a lot bleaker. Many lost their relatives, their home, and even livelihood. A lot has changed. And it will take years before anyone can recover and towns rebuilt. But that is life. Time moves and it waits for no one.

The Bad Side of Social Media

There is a lot of noise on the Internet nowadays.  When you log on to check what is happening you immediately see some people embarrassing themselves by doing something stupid. You browse further and you see a lot of people complaining about the most ridiculous things. And then you have some people currently emoting about how miserable lives are even though they seem to be luckier than most people. If your routine is to check the Internet during the morning, then you will find out that you've just ruined the rest of your day.

There is too much noise, too much nonsense.  Ahhh. There is a need to turn it all off.

Tragedy in Central Philippines

Before Super Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan hit Central Philippines I was thinking, Oh Filipinos won't feel the brunt of this typhoon. They would probably just shrug their shoulders and move on. Because we have been through this before. More than two dozen times every year.

Even here in Metro Manila we have suffered strong typhoons and extreme floods. We suffered some loses but people just move on with their lives as if nothing out of the ordinary is happened.

But Super Typhoon Haiyan is different. Before it hit land, I was among those who would think that “You are just a typhoon but we are Filipinos.” I'm referring of course to my countrymen's incredible resilience in the face of challenges.

But a day after the storm, when the images and videos from Tacloban started coming in, you can't help but cry at the sight of the devastation and for the people who are suffering.

You can't help but think – What if it has been me? How would I take losing love ones and properties.

To add to their misery, there is currently no working local government. Because everyone in the area is affected. There is no water, no food, no shelter, no electricity, and no means communication. Even if you have money in your pocket it is worthless because where will you spend it. Almost everything has been destroyed.

It is like the area has been knocked back to the stone age but there are no food to hunt.

It is really bad there. Some are saying it would take months for the area to recover. But I say it will probably take years. We all know that it takes decades for a community form. And everything has been wiped out by the Typhoon in just one day.