The city of Tacloban was one of the worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan (“Yolanda”) in November 2013, when the term “storm surge” was first introduced in the most violent way possible. This writer remembers the sense of helplessness as we in Manila, saw on primetime news, hours after the storm struck how the tsunami raged its way through the city, sweeping houses and destroying roads and buildings. Families got separated, children were swept away, and elderly people were buried under debris caused by floods, rains and wind. We always had typhoons so it was easy to think that Typhoon Haiyan would be like any other. It was not.
Visiting the city and other calamity areas a few days after the super typhoon struck, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Ambassador Philip Goldberg that he had not seen anything like the devastation that greeted him outside of war zones.
On Oct. 20, non-government organizations, local governments, top officials of the US Embassy, and the International Organization on Migration (IOM) launched the Victim/Survivor-Centered Counter-Trafficking Project at Patio Victoria in Tacloban City. Mayor Alfred Romualdez said in his welcome remarks that he almost lost his life in the very hall where the launch took place when flood waters reached its ceiling and the mayor had to cling to an overhang to survive the tsunami. Patio Victoria faces the sea, now picturesque and serene — and harmless.
When asked Mayor Romualdez about the trauma that his constituents suffered through as an aftermath of the storm, he said that the trauma was still there, but everyone is trying to move on. The city plans to have a solemn memorial service on Nov. 8, the first anniversary of the dreaded storm surge.
Nearly a year after Typhoon Haiyan, there is still much work to do in ensuring the protection and welfare of calamity victims. One of the main problems that confront these victims is the lack of job and livelihood opportunities in their respective areas. The need to earn forces some victims including children to the deceptive arms of human trafficking syndicates.
IOM’s chief of mission Marco Boasso noted that counter-trafficking efforts in disaster areas require not just protection but also prevention, which is why there is a need to focus attention on raising awareness about human trafficking.
Boasso said the counter-trafficking project launched jointly by the US embassy and IOM, will have a two-year implementation phase funded by the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP). It will focus on victim centered counter-trafficking awareness in the areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
For civil society leader Aida Santos of the Women’s Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO), working to deliver immediate relief and recovery services in typhoon-hit areas was extremely challenging. “We were among the first non-profit organizations to respond after Typhoon Yolanda. What I saw on the ground was surreal — dead bodies everywhere, no roads, and no facilities. It was terrifying.”
It is heartening to see that new and old partnerships continue to be sustained and strengthened a year after disaster struck Tacloban City. We must continue to learn from past disasters because that is the best way to protect our communities from the dire effects of climate change.
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