Wednesday, February 22, 2006
To deal with tragedy: from chocolates to Christian hymns
By Joseph C. Tubilan Of Sun.Star Superbalita
St. Bernard, Southern Leyte – Lyka Madrigal, 8, was chest-deep in mud when an uncle saved her life last Friday. She is safe now, but still too stunned to talk.
She stays at the evacuation center in Cristo Rey Regional High School, waiting for news of the grandparents who took care of her.
They are among the hundreds who are feared dead.
Young survivors like Lyka get stress debriefing and counseling sessions with government social workers, to help them deal with their losses.
The uncle who saved her, 39-year-old Jaime Libaton, was doing his daily chores when he saw parts of Mt. Kan-abag slide towards Guinsaugon, a farming village.
He scampered home to his wife, but didn’t make it there in time. He saw Lyka as he ran back, and dragged her out of the muck.
Yesterday, US Marines working with Lt. Cmdr. Mark Diconti tried to help Madrigal and the other young survivors, bringing them food and chocolates, and playing games with them.
But for Rolando Canico, 32, the games bring no comfort. He waits for news of his wife and two children, ages nine and 10, whom he has not seen since Friday morning’s calamity.
“I still can’t believe what’s happened,” Canico tells Sun.Star Superbalita. He was working in the convent of another town, Hinunangan, when tragedy struck.
Coping
A tent city has sprouted in St. Bernard, housing rescuers that include Filipino soldiers and volunteers from the United States, Malaysia, Taiwan and Spain.
Every morning, Lance Corp. Christian Carney from Long Island, New York, plays “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes.
Some Marines applaud, then grab shovels and communication gear, line up and board the back of dump trucks for a short ride, then walk up in the mud to dig or clear a path for payloaders approaching the devastation.
“It’s real wet, so it’s better if you keep walking,” said Lt. Col. Mark Deluna, from San Diego, California.
Language is a problem for the US Marines, but they have specialists and interpreters. A few are Filipino-Americans.
Yesterday, Capt. Mark Paolicelli, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, looked for a Spanish-speaking Marine to talk to the Spanish team about getting the dogs to the site of a school—the focus of the rescue effort. He found one within minutes.
Morale
Gerry Brown was attending a pastors’ conference in Samar Island when he heard about the landslide.
“This is just horrific. I jumped on a truck and drove down here,” he told the Associated Press.
Now the bearded pastor from the U-Turn for Christ evangelical church based in Perris, California, wades through waist-deep mud, like other volunteers.
His Filipino followers have set up a counseling center for rescue workers trying to find survivors of the landslide.
Keeping hope alive is difficult.
“With every day gone by, chances of finding people alive are slim,” said Brown, who is affiliated with the foundation of evangelist Billy Graham.
“Morale is down,” he said. “But we’ll stay here as long as necessary.” (With AP)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 22, 2006 issue)
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