A ferry named Princess of Stars with more than 800 people on board capsized in the Philippines due to a strong typhoon. The search and rescue workers are making their efforts to save as many people as possible. At the same time, a central city called Iloilo was severely flooded for the first time and lots of houses were seriously damaged, leaving a lot of people homeless, because of the torrential rains caused by the typhoon. The electricity was cut off and residents in that area are holding their breath for the aids from the government and waiting for first-ever floods in the region to recede.
When I watched the news on TV, I couldn't stop worrying about my Filipino friends and godson in Iloilo. It's extremely difficult to get a hold of them in the first place. However, after a while, I received a text message from my good friend, Michael. One part of me felt relieved because they were safe and things seemed to fine with them. The other part of me was anxious and concerned after he told me about the level of the water in his house was as high as his waist. It was 9:00 pm already. I started to wonder if they had other places to stay overnight and if they could go through the rough night with non-stop heavy rains pouring out from the sky. Good thing is that he could stay on the second floor with his family. However, all he could do is to cross his fingers for the best because the house was not strong and robust enough to resist the natural force. They were caught off guard by the floods. They didn't see it coming because this had never happened before in their lives in that region. What makes me feel even more upset is that they didn't hold out any hopes for their government to reach out for them by giving enough food and water supplies. In my book, when people are suffered, the government has to shoulder the responsibilities and do whatever it takes to help its people. Unfortunately, it's not the case in Myanmar after the hardest hit by the cyclone a couple of weeks ago. However, compared to the junta in Mynamar, I believe the Philippines government would relate to its people's feelings and act accordingly to get them out of trouble - although my friends have lost faith in their corrupt government and blame it for the poor quality of living in the Philippines. All of my Filipino friends are so caring and nice. They do deserve a better life.
I do hope that more and more people will be rescued from the rough sea and the life in Iloilo and other disaster areas can return to normal ASAP. Before that happens, I'm sure they have to go through a lot of hurdles and inconvenience. People in Taiwan have demonstrated the international community how generous and empathetic we are in the horrendous earthquake happening in China by continuous donations. Due to the global warming problem, more and more natural disasters break out here and there in the world and take a toll on people's lives. If you are also one of the people who care about humanitarian aids, let's show our love and care to those people in need across the world instead of wasting our time and breath on the endless partisan fights.
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