Perhaps it’s because I have personal connections to the tragedy of Typhoon Haiyan, but I can’t help but share this lovely piece from The Weather Channel. Normally I find The Weather Channel to have…well…somewhat sillier stories (“Saturn’s rings are HOW OLD?”), so I was surprised and moved to see “The Sea Washed it Away“: a thoughtful, inspiring story about the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan and the resilience of the communities. A few of my favorite quotes from the story:
“We were looking at all the houses and we can see how strong the winds were. Everything was destroyed. Even our appliances, the little we have, gone. The TV … everything is gone. All that’s left is the bed made of cement. Everything is gone. It’s like everything was just swept away with a broom.” –Retche Ycoy
“It’s difficult to get to the mainland where the relief goods are. We don’t know what to do. To cross in a boat from the island, it will take us four hours, and we can only use small boats. In those small boats, only men can get on because it’s so dangerous for women — the waves are so big. So for each family, only one person can ride to the mainland, and only men. I was one of them. I had to split up with the rest of my barangay; we split up to get help.” –Ray Gonzales
“[Us] Filipinos, even in times of hardship, we have to smile [to keep our morale high]. I am very much worried about this calamity right now but [I know I have to keep smiling to set an example]. That is our culture in the Philippines.” –Manuel Sia Que
Take a minute to read through the rest of the story here (and check out some of the photographs from after the storm).
