Hunger Awaits Filipino Families

Where Two Typhoons Struck - Philippines

Hunger Awaits Filipino Families

By Dr. Michael A. Bengwayan

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Manila, Philippines (October 5, 2009) – The Philippines will face nationwide hunger starting the end of this year and will worsen by the first quarter of 2010 because of the destruction wrought by typhoons Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng), the United Nations warned.

Paolo Mattei, UN World Food Program (WFP) regional officer for Asia said the country should prepare for possible widespread shortage of food after inspection was carried out. Two powerful typhoons in four regions of the country ripped through the Philippines destroying thousands of hectares of rice and corn.

Right after the warning, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered that rice will be imported to meet the impending food shortage even though rice importation in the past has often resulted in corruption like kickbacks and smuggling.



Billions Worth of Food Destroyed

Mr. Mattei traveled with agriculture secretary Arthur Yap who said almost 150 million dollars worth of rice and corn were destroyed in the Cagayan and Ilocos regions alone.

The Cagayan region, made up of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Batanes, is the country’s largest corn and rice grower. The expected harvest for this quarter, Yap said, is all but gone.

An estimated 400,000 metric tons of rice and 300,000 metric tons of corn have just been lost, Yap said.

In the province of Isabela, the nation’s largest corn grower, all of the corn planted was wiped out by Typhoon Parma, he added.

Agriculture infrastructure worth more than 30 million dollars were destroyed as well, and the government is hard pressed to come out with funds to mitigate the impact of such losses, Yap said.

Besides the Cagayan and Ilocos Regions, typhoon Parma wrecked havoc in the Cordillera, Central, Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions, displacing 170,000 families more besides the 2 two million families already made homeless earlier by Typhoon Ketsana.



Diseases on the Rise

The agony and personal loss of the thousands of Filipino families made victims by the storms are being made more painful by the fact that not only are many hungry, without enough clothes and belongings, but also sick and without enough medicine.

Red Cross Chief Richard Gordon said thousands are sick of colds, diarrhea, influenza, injuries caused by the evacuation, and fungal diseases caused by long exposure to the dirty water when people escaped the floods.

“There is medicine, but it is not enough, we need more and we are pleading to the international community to come to our aid”, he said.

Already, Canada, the US, European Union, Australia, Japan have poured millions of dollars to assist the impoverished country run by leaders perceived by many citizens as corrupt.

Majority of those sick are women, elderly and children and their immunity system is gradually deteriorating, he added.

The spread of diseases has been rapid, he noted, because thousands are crammed in limited spaces of evacuation centers, and there is widespread problem of water and sanitation.

“Toilets are limited, as well as water for washing and bathing”, 56 years old Inciang Denas said, who took a bath only once while many have not taken one yet.

“There are no separate toilet for women and toiletries like tissue paper, hand disinfectant and soap are nowhere to be found”, cried, Nancy Hista,

In many places, the stench of dead animals still lingers as well as the thousands of tons of waste and garbage that remains uncollected.


Hundreds of Flooded Villages Still Unreached

As the government struggles to cope with the gigantic task of evacuating, feeding, treating and rehabilitating towns that have been flooded, hundreds of villages in 26 provinces are still submerged, and thousands of isolated people have yet to receive relief and supplies.

According to Red Cross disaster expert Rene Sarmiento, many of these villages have not been reached basically because of lack of appropriate transportation like motorized rubber boats.

“Rubber boats cannot travel against flood waters with strong undercurrents, we need pump boats or rubber boats with motors”, he said.

Many of the rescue efforts done by boats were done by people with private yachts and personal speedboats.

Many villages also have become incommunicable because power and communication lines were cut, Sarmiento said.

“We lost contact with many local leaders and residents”, he said.



Blame Game

The disaster that struck the Philippines has made many people angry, especially the victims who lament how the government has been caught unprepared by the calamities.

The government, despite all its excuses, will be remembered for its corrupt and wasteful spending while no preparation has seriously ever been done to deal with a disaster of this magnitude.

However, it is the people, especially the rich and the government planners, who should share the blame. The country’s forests have been cut to almost just 20 per cent now from its original 75 million hectares of forests by the few elite rich families, many of whom are politicians. This has contributed to global warming.

Urban planners, likewise, have not looked into the probable environmental impacts of their plans that have been used to construct roads, housing, drainages, canals and sewer lines.

Garbage generated, especially by the many poor, find their way to rivers and canals and the government does not have an effective solid waste management programme

However, If at all, the two typhoons have taught the Filipinos a thing or two about caring for the environment. This time, hopefully, the Filipinos will learn after their bitter lesson.


Michael A. Bengwayan is a Journalist and environmental specialist based on Manila. He can be contacted through youth_campaign@iolteam.com.

My Family Is In My Scrapbooks

My Family Is In My Scrapbooks



By MICHAEL A. BENGWAYAN





Baguio City, Philippines – Where did you last see yourself and your family enjoying a happy get-together or bowing your heads in reverence to a passing relative?



For me, it is in my scrapbooks. They contain my family. A dried flower, a pressed rose petal, photos of kids with impish looks, a postcard from an unknown place, faded drawings of my grandparents chanting prayers—they are magic touchstones in my scrapbook that keep those I love with me forever.



I always love making scrapbooks. Once in elementary, I had the best one in my class.



Scrapbooks can be in the mind but it is best when you can hold and see them. You can’t do that to your memory.



Once, I thought of my father’s death. It seemed as if, everywhere I went, something awoke painful memories—the oil of his 1950 Ford clunker, the deck of cards which accompanied him for Russian poker and his piercing smile. But the memories are best preserved in my scrapbooks—when he hit a homer, the time hr brought me my first barbershop and when we grabbed frogs for dinner at a nearby creek.



Make Something Memorable



In making scrapbooks, remember that you are doing something once that might be turned into a family tradition. Choose family ceremonies for scrapbooks, they provide some of the most cherished memories.



I used to have a small fire outside our yard every evening of weekends and gather my children. While they roast sweet potato, sausages and burn marshmallows over the embers I read them stories of great and infamous men and people of the world—of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Kemal Ataturk, the wars between Mesopotamia and Greece and even the Peking Man.



Those stories are one reason our family outings remain so memorable. We have photos of those evenings. I have a burned page of the history book I read pasted in my scrapbook



To make the ordinary unforgettable requires only that we look at everyday events with eyes open to the symbolism they hold as a metaphor of love. Whether it’s lighting the first fire during the cold months or going for a forest hike on summer, it becomes memorable when we do it and capture it on scrapbooks because we do it with appreciation and self-ceremony.

Lock In Special Moments



Having nearly lost my life three times, I have learned to make an effort to capture the lovely moments of my life. Whenever I sense that a moment is perfect, I take a photo or pick up an object—a stone, leaf, flower, -- that represents that moment and take it home. I mark the object, putting the date, place and time of the even and add it to my scrapbook.



When my only son was born, for instance and it was his first time to be bathed by my wife in an open tub in our yard with a friendly sunshine, I captured the pungent smell of the soap and water, of the sun’s warmth on the baby’s face and his shrieks—all in my handy-cam and camera. The videotape and the photos are in my scrapbooks bringing to mind happy awareness that on that day, everything seemed perfect and free.



It is especially important to help children lock in their memories, because they seldom have long term recall of early experiences. You can do this by letting them write what they remember or by writing down what you have witnessed and recalling it to them after a few years.



Collect Reminders



My early childhood friend who soon became my assistant for 15 years in doing forest conservation work in the Philippines, now in Canada, keeps in his pocket a key holder that contains a fossilized insect. It was given by his father. The fossil reminds him where his great grandparents came from, Sagada—a beautiful tourist-frequented town north of the Philippines which has giant limestone formations with fossils.



“I remember my hometown and my parents when I feel the small stone in my pocket. I am reminded how much we were loved by my parents”, he quipped.



Special things mean special people and special l memories. Think carefully before you throw away drawings, letters, pictures, objects, postcards, greetings cards, call cards, or toys.



They maybe your children’s first scribbling, drawing or property. Don’t assume because you are not interested at 25, in keeping family treasures, that you’ll feel the same way later in life...



It is also important to invest in future memories. For instance, knowing that it will be your parents’ anniversary, prepare an occasion, a bunch of flowers or candies. Give it to them and capture the surprise and happiness in their faces with a picture and a petal, leaf or wrapping from the flowers or chocolates.



You may never know if you will be around or they will be around for the next anniversary.



Into everyone’ life comes such opportunities. Sometimes, it is a simple thing—a parent’s decision on a lovely morning, forego chores and the laundry to walk around the neighborhood with her daughter. Or an impulsive visit to sick neighbor you have never been in conversation with.



It’s the composite of such moments when you take time for another person that creates a kind of memory collage. Bits of kindness stick to pieces of caring and they’re all pasted together to form beautiful memories—and a scrapbook. /30