From Iran to Taal: From the frying pan to the fire
We have shed tears seeing our people in a state of shock, fear, and confusion because of the Taal Volcano episode these last few days. As I was helping them, I could imagine a reenactment of the exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. But the people in Batangas have no land to go to, and they are not even certain when they are going back, if at all.
We volunteered to help instead of staying in the safety of our homes in Metro Manila. We were in the vicinity of the eruption site, particularly in Lemery, Calaca, Tanauan, and in Tagaytay, and we have seen with our own eyes the exodus of thousands of our countrymen led by the military and police to their evacuation sites. Children, PWDs, seniors, women, men, and children, walking not knowing where to go. We interviewed some of them while helping in the evacuation, and our hearts bled with compassion and empathy. Many of them have lamented the destruction of their homes and farms, and the death of their farm animals. We could only listen with mercy and gestures of being with them in their hours of need.
What specifically hit me was the saga of some OFWs who are working in the Middle East, either in Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, or even in Iraq and Iran, and spent Christmas in the Philippines, but are now stranded here due to the Taal Volcano eruption. They are in a quandary, a state of confusion and indecision. They badly need experts to help them process their misery and anguish. Should they insist on going back to the Gulf even when the government is on an evacuation mode? Or should they stay here and disrupt their only means of livelihood? They have children studying, and they need income to sustain their family. And should they leave for abroad and leave their spouses and children in the evacuation centers?
Aside from helping in the distribution of food and medicines, clothing and blankets, I lingered in the evacuation site to give psychological counselling as well as legal advice to the distressed evacuees. I met Ka Senyong (not his real name), who worked as an electrician in Kuwait. His house in Balete, Batangas, was completely inundated by mud and lava. He was so overcome with sadness and anger because he worked for more than seven years to save enough money just to construct that house. Now, he has lost everything, including his passport, as he was in Manila to visit his sick parents when the volcano erupted.
I also met Aling Naty who is a household service worker (euphemism for domestic helper) in Qatar. She was on Christmas vacation, and was already in the airport to board her flight back to her place of work. But all flights were cancelled and she had to go back to Agoncillo only to find out that the military had already cordoned the whole town. She had to run from one relative to another in Taal, Lemery, and Cuenca to find her family. But she could not find them. Their cellphones were not usable, had no charge, or were lost. We helped her and she finally found her children and sick husband in Mendez, Cavite, a few kilometers from Tagaytay. Aling Naty has decided not to go back to her employer and opted to stay with her family, but how will they live with a sick spouse and six children all schooling?
Both Ka Senyong and Aling Naty asked me why God is allowing all these to happen to his people. I could only shed a tear and hold their hands. Honestly, I do not know the answer. But deep in my heart, I believe that the Lord will never abandon his people. Senyor Santo Niño will deliver us to some promised land.
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