Rice and fish are the lifeblood of Leytenons, or the proud
people from the island of Leyte, Philippines.
Groups of thin, sun-dried men and women stand in muddy fields all day,
pulling single stalks of rice from wet clumps, replanting them at sufficient
intervals to ensure a hearty return on their toil. Or, fishermen mend nets in the sand, under
hot sun, and endlessly ready their boats for daily fishing, trusting the ocean
to give them another sufficient helping of fish, prawns and fat shells to keep
their families fed and pockets jingling.
These staples keep bellies full and muscles lean with sinew. All the while, shade is provided by tall
gangly coconut trees, and a backdrop of mountains full of the fruit trees is
always on the horizon.  |
| I speak with a village captain who just wants to know how he can help his community get better after the storm's wrath |
Recently, however, with the devastating wind and rain of
typhoon Haiyan, wind tore at leaves and flicked the tall trees down upon the
steep slopes of Leyte mountains. So
shade gave way to sunlight and the thick green backdrop became a scattered mess
of brown leaves, broken coconuts, and strewn trunks of downed trees. In some areas, every coconut tree for miles
is barren or has fallen to the ground.
Men and women who would have been gathering mature coconuts for the
copra industry to be converted into coconut oil now sit on stoops and have no livelihood, no way to achieve new skills. The coconuts are gone, fields have been
washed clean of tender rice stalks, and fishermen fear the ocean since the
bodies of so many loved ones still lie upon its sandy bottom.
 |
| A dangerous and slow process, men cut lumber with large, unwieldy chain saws |
 |
| Men stock their shelves with coco lumber from recently fallen trees |
This is the story behind the typhoon relief effort. Short-term food relief and housing is
difficult, but simple to achieve.
However, long term recovery, including relief from psychological trauma
or a return to the livelihoods that so many have known, is not a future
reality, but a distant hope. Coconut
trees take between 7 and 10 years to mature, and even in those areas where the
trees still grow, collection of their fruit is futile since mills and
refineries lay in ruin along the tropical highway. Some villagers have taken to make the best of
the situation, and cut the trees into lumber for new houses. However, with 1 chainsaw usually shared
between hundreds of families, the strong trees rot on damp soil before they’re
cut.
 |
| A municipal employee calls off names of recipient families who will each get a 50-kilo sack of rice, donated through a Norwegian organization |
Most of the coastal communities visited by Brethren Disaster
Ministries reported that it would be about 5 months until they felt safe to go
fishing again. These people would rather
starve than desecrate the bodies of their countrymen that may still lie on the
0cean floor.
 |
| "Please don't throw trash here" reads a sign in town. A feeble attempt to curb illegal dumping of the copious amounts of waste from the storm. |
There are other crops, and other waters where these people
could work. Coffee and cacao will bear
fruit in the same soils as rice and coconut.
Seaweed and cargo vessels are carried on the same currents as Tilapia
and Mud Crabs. But, here, to tell a
copra farmer to sow coffee, or a fisherman to grow seaweed is like asking a
banker to bind books, or a teacher to raise cattle. Generations have carried these traditions and
skills, and change is hard. Without a
home, or the money for education, helping Leyenons to change their way of life
in Haiyan’s wake will be difficult. Time
will clean the waters here, and replace brown hilltops with lush green, but in
the meantime, help is necessary, vital, help is everything.
