Hundreds lost their lives, billions worth of property lost, and the sheer amount of grief the typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) caused us will continue to worsen as the days go by. Augmented with the unimaginable insensitivity of some people, it can break you at times. It did, every single time I tried writing a blog post during the storm proper.
Despite all this, we Filipinos, as a people, learned something important. That we are capable of change in our own capacity. Just look at how netizens became both real and virtual life-savers, how we were able to assemble a large decentralized relief effort with minimal government support, how a large numbers of volunteers were more than willing to help*, I hope that we realize what we are capable of. I know, every person that helped in whatever form they were able to are at peace with themselves. I know I am. There is no more feeling of frustration and helplessness. I don’t feel my arms too, though, but that’s okay.