IN Visayan Mythology,
Magwayen the formidable goddess of the waters and seas was also the deity of
death and the underworld. Calm, vast and tranquil, but with the potential to
raise violent hurricanes and cause widespread havoc when angered. She
represented not only a caring mother, provider of plentiful harvests at sea and
nurturer of livelihood and nourishment, but also a bringer of destruction,
levelling villages to the ground with her waves and storms, swallowing whole
towns with her floods.
Often
pictured as a beautiful woman in a gown that flows like streams and adorned
with an elaborate crown of gold and jewels, Magwayen was also believed to be
the ferrywoman of the dead, guiding souls to the watery depths of the ancient
Visayan hell. She was both loved and feared, worshipped for her care and
benevolence, feared for her ruthlessness and power.
Magwayen’s rivers and shores allowed
our ancestors to thrive and build growing communities and Barangays but with a
snap of her fingers she could easily take it all away. This is a lesson we
learned the hard way nearly two years ago, Yolanda ramming through our eastern
coasts, the Filipino people unprepared for the calamities that were upon us.
As connections were gradually being
rebuilt in the days after that unfortunate November day, and as news and
communications started to trickle into the media, we found ourselves a nation
united in awe. Shocked by the images flashed on our screens and saddened by the
stories we heard and read about. Orphans roaming around in search of their
families, body bags lining the streets, a mother and child who hid inside a
refrigerator thinking they’d be safe there found dead, mass graves, rampant
looting, endless wreckage and chaos.
You’d think a country that faces more
than twenty typhoons every year would be more or less used to these disasters,
but used to it, we are not. Every new hurricane still manages to catch us
unguarded. Sendong, Milenyo, Frank, the list goes on and on, each new typhoon
serving a hard blow to the spirit of the Filipino people. Thousands of
casualties each year, but instead of building better awareness among citizens
and owning up to their mistakes, politicians take to pointing fingers after
every national calamity, not wanting to be weighed down by the blame for masses
of deaths and millions in property destroyed.
The Philippine archipelago has one of
the longest coastlines in the world, the ocean is a great source of our
people’s livelihood and many of our economy’s driving products are from the
sea, tourism in our country is bolstered mainly by our numerous beaches. But we
sit at a very precarious area, at the vanguard of the Pacific Ocean where most
hurricanes originate and gain momentum, our islands always in the path of
storms and typhoons. Studies have shown that we may not be among the top
contributors to climate change in the world, but we are one of the most
susceptible to its harmful effects. The Super Typhoon used to be a rare
occurrence, now we are subjected to major Tropical Cyclone Alerts annually.
The first step in the right direction
is always education. Lack of disaster preparedness and awareness is one of the
reasons why typhoon after typhoon continues to bring the Filipino people to
their knees. Citizens need to be properly oriented on the steps that need to be
undertaken prior to storm signals, the kits and supplies that need to be stored
for emergencies, and how to safely transfer to the mandatory evacuation sites.
The efficient dissemination of information and announcements could prevent hundreds
of deaths caused by ignorance and negligence. The internet has proven its worth
in this area and text messaging and local community disaster teams hold plenty
of potential.
A stockpile of necessary relief goods
should be ready round the clock for easy distribution to the people in need. In
past disasters, such cases have been reported wherein dehydration and
starvation in secluded areas after typhoons were the causes of death, and not
the storm itself.
And most importantly, our national
government needs to strengthen its resolve and plan of action for calamities
expected or not. Government channels have proven to be again and again slow and
ineffective in times of emergency, a lack of coordination, coupled with party
line conflicts and political favors being put in to play, bring disaster relief
operations to a screeching halt. These trying times should not be viewed as a
means to gain campaign leverage, instead it should foster unity and camaraderie
in the service of the Filipino people.
Climate Change adaptation and
mitigation should also be an integral part of our education system. If taught
at a young age the struggles we’ll face with our climate growing more and more
unpredictable, a new generation of environmentally-aware individuals could lead
the way to preventing even more damage to our eco-system.
Lastly, we all need to have a hand in
caring for our environment. At this point, every little contribution counts in
stopping climate change. Recycle, conserve electricity, develop new and
innovative ways to reduce the strain we put on our earth. Pledge to help spread
the need to combat pollution, participate in restoring our coastlines, and
discourage actions that have damaging consequences to our environment.
The Philippines is blessed with the
generosity of the sea, we are the Pearl of the Orient, once called the land of
the golden sunset, and our waters provide us with commerce, tourism,
livelihood, and nourishment. From our ancestors to today, we continue to reap
the bounty of the ocean. It is important we keep in mind to take care of her,
our waters, as she has done for us for all these years, because when angered,
she can very easily take it all back.
