More than a week after the typhoon pass that has been nearly 400 dead and hundreds of thousands of homeless, survivors cling to their family and their faith after their homes were swept away and The planned festivities, canceled.
Le Monde with AP and AFP
After the passage of the typhoon Rai, who ravaged the archipelago on December 16, hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines have passed Christmas Eve in more than precarious conditions: without roof, without food, no drinking water , without electricity and without telephone network or internet. The Islands of Mindana, Siagao, Dinagat and Bohol are among the most devastated by this storm that has been nearly 400 dead and hundreds of thousands of homeless.
In the Philippines, a Catholic majority country, families generally meet to share a meal for Christmas. But extended destruction caused by RAI limited celebrations. Standing in a puddle, in his San Isidro Labrador church in the city of Alegria, at the northern end of the island of Mindanao, ravaged by the typhoon, Father Ricardo Virtudazo celebrated Mass in front of a few dozen Faithful which, this year for Christmas, would like to receive a roof, food and good weather.
“The important thing is that we are all safe,” said Joy Pare will, who came to attend the Christmas Mass with her husband at the San Isidro Labrador church. A fine rain has sobbed the benches and the white tile of the damaged church, whose ceiling has been pierced with a gaping hole since the typhoon passage. The faithful gathered inside, wearing masks, prayed for a better year. “We still have hope,” says Father Virtudazo at the France-Presse agency (AFP). “Despite the calamities they undergo, [the Filipinos] have always faith in God,” he says.
Call for international help
The magnitude of the damage, the absence of a telephone signal and the Internet in many regions as well as the depletion of the crates of the state due to the pandemic have hindered the arrival of the aid. Arthur Yap, governor of the province of Bohol, hard hit – where more than 100 people perished in the typhoon and where about 150,000 houses were damaged or destroyed -, asked, on Saturday, December 25, to foreign aid agencies To help provide temporary shelters and water filtration systems to complement the help of the Philippine government.
For Christmas this year, all that Nardel Vicente would want to help you buy a new roof for his Alegria house, destroyed by the typhoon. Unemployed and with little money, Mr. Vicente recognizes that his family can not afford a party meal. “In previous years, we had spaghetti, pork, chicken, all we could afford,” says this 38-year-old man. But, he adds, “It does not matter, we are alive.”
Sotis Maritites usually serves meat, spring rolls and salad to his family. But not this year. “We will not have it because it is very expensive,” explains to the AFP this 53-year-old woman, who lives in the coastal municipality to place where the storm has shot down most coconut palms. “We will content ourselves with spaghetti,” she says.
Some survivors of the neighboring town of Superigao City have been held on the roads for days, begging money and food to passing motorists. They did not receive any help from the government. Inaca Edulzura, 41, hopefully only get a spaghetti package to cook for his family. Otherwise, they will be content with slices of bread “. “Our only wish is that there is good weather on Christmas day to give us a little joy. That and food.”