Cherie one year after the tsunami

Five days from now (on Dec. 26), the world will (hopefully) pause to ponder the tragedy that hit Phuket, Thailand, and a few other countries, a tsunami so unimaginably overwhelming that an estimated over 200,000 perished (most of them unaccounted for up to now) in its wake.

Cherie Gil and her husband, Roni Rogoff, and their two children Bianca and Raphael were among the lucky survivors of that unprecedented tragedy that wiped out the city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, sending shock waves around the world and making everybody aware of his own mortality. You know, in a wink of an eye, you’ll never know...

"That was how I felt," Cherie told Funfare in an exclusive interview.

Cherie and her family were spending Christmas in Phuket.

"It keeps coming back... like a horror movie being replayed over and over again."

When that happened, recalled Cherie, her initial reaction was shock.

"I was frozen for a long while. I was totally affected."

That "horror movie" in her mind unreels more often with more impact as the first anniversary of the killer tsunami draws near, with every frightening detail as vivid in Cherie’s memory as the day the sea rose and washed away trees and houses and people.

"It was so surreal," said Cherie, "so unreal. It was unbelievable."

So unbelievable that, if she can help it, Cherie would rather not look back at it or talk about it.

On that fateful day, Cherie and Roni were having breakfast at the coffee shop at the second floor of Karon Beach Resort they were staying. Their two children were fast asleep.

"We saw the water receding. And then we saw two cyclones. I saw the expression in Roni’s face change. He said, more to himself, ‘It’s not just a low tide.’ Before we knew it, the water rose and it was all over the ground floor. As soon as I recovered from the initial shock, I thought of our children who usually followed us to the coffee shop. At that moment, I thought, ‘What if they have been roused from sleep and somewhere, looking for us.’ They had to pass through the ground floor to get to the coffee shop. As I ran to our room on the third floor, passing through the ground floor, there was stampede; everybody was panicking. People were stumbling over one another; furniture and other objects were being tossed by the giant waves. Up to now, I couldn’t imagine how I survived the stampede and reached the third floor."

At 11 p.m. the following day, the Rogoffs were on a plane to Bangkok from where they took a flight back to Manila.

"It’s behind me now. We have moved on."

Did she consult maybe a psychologist or a spiritual adviser to help her come to terms with the tragedy?

"No. I prayed in my own room and meditated for one week. I was kind of paralyzed, immobilized, for a week."

The experience radically changed Cherie’s outlook in life.

"But I’m a bit disappointed with myself because, even if I feel that I’ve done enough, I promised to do something more in terms of helping others. You know, when you’re caught up with your other responsibilities – family and career – you tend to forget your other activities. I did plan to do community work but I never got around to doing it."

Asked how she feels when she reads about similar calamities that followed (the floods in New Orleans, the killer earthquake in Pakistan, etc.), Cherie said, "I can’t help but go back to my father’s (Eddie Mesa) evangelizing when he used to tell us back in the ’70s when he was among the first to be a Born-Again Christian – you know, fear of God... you know, that Somebody is in control of your life and not really yourself... you know, that you never can tell what will happen to you tomorrow. I’m such a control freak. Minsan, ang tapang-tapang ko. But I’ve realized that we are not in control of our lives, of ourselves. It’s so humbling."

This year, after spending noche buena with family and relatives, Cherie and Roni, again with their two children, are flying on Christmas Day to Sydney where they will spend the rest of the holidays.

"Friends are reminding us to stay away from the beach," said Cherie. "We’re visiting my relatives, including my mom’s (Rosemarie Gil) brother who has been living there for so many years. I’m thankful that I am still with my family and we are spending another Christmas together."

The tragedy brought the Rogoff family even closer to each other.

"And I’ve also become more sensitive to other people’s needs."

What’s the best lesson that Cherie learned from it all?

"As I’ve said, we are not in control. We should never lose faith. We may be so busy sometimes but we should never forget Somebody Up There."

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