Oyayi sa bagyo

Aking mundo, ihimlay ang pagal mong katawan
Sa duyan ng kalawakan…

In English, the title of this blog post translates to: A lullaby in a storm, inspired by Buklod’s song Oyayi sa Mundo. I heard its familiar, melancholic guitar intro as I was watching the news a few minutes ago. All week I had been thinking of a song for the moment to help me articulate my thoughts about Ondoy and its aftermath. But the sheer barrage of dire news, panic-filled online posts, and the experience of being in one of the worst hit areas drove all the music from my head.

My family and I were spared from the worst of the storm. Okay, my dad is bewailing the flooring of his car which got soaked in floodwaters, but it still works so that’s a minor problem. Soon, the common sense of staying in the comfort and safety of home was defeated by the text messages and news pouring in.  Of how numerous friends spent the weekend on their rooftops or cleaning up after waist to chest deep floods ruined their property. Of people walking for hours just to fetch loved ones stranded in the monstrous traffic jams. Of the urgent need for supplies, volunteers, and rescue for the people affected by Ondoy. So, over loud parental protests, out I went.

Hayaang maghilom ang mga sugat sa iyong dibdib
Na likha ng mga tao…

A wounded earth, a wounded people. These words echoed in my head as I watched the almost constant stream of news broadcasts on TV. They also rung true when we went to Marikina last Tuesday to distribute relief goods and check on a close friend. Three days after the storm, mud coated every surface, while the dust-filled air made everything look sepia. The piles of trash and debris gave a forlorn look to a city that prided itself on being the cleanest in NCR. And despite my allergies, I could detect the faint, cloying smell of dead things in the air.

At itigil ng isang saglit ang iyong paggalaw…

I now associate Ondoy with the lost weekend. Events were cancelled that Saturday and Sunday because 80% of the metropolis was inundated. The whole city literally stopped in its tracks, unprepared for a month’s worth of rain coming down in less than a day. In that pause, 300 lives were lost as well as the foolish security of “that will never happen here.” And it also broke through the general apathy of my generation; as a friend put it in her twit: It took a storm for most of us to get over ourselves. I seriously felt ashamed. The world never runs out of people who need our help.

And help we did. Students did not treat the week long suspension of classes as a holiday, but went en masse to relief centers to help pack goods. Professionals went there as well after work hours and gave from their end of the month salary. Even those affected directly by the floods volunteered. The news was not just filled with destruction, but with stories of heroism, of neighbor helping neighbor, of communities taking care of not just their own but others as well. Indeed, people did not just give generously, but gave of themselves until it hurt.

Pagkat sa muli mong pag-inog ay may bago nang buhay…

We are a nation used to storms and all forms of natural (and sadly, man-made) disasters. There are numerous lessons that we have yet to learn and plenty of blame to go around. In Ondoy’s wake, I am thankful that we still have these: the ability to smile in adversity, a bayanihan spirit, the faith to respond in prayer, and hope unshaken.