2 years after Yolanda: The wounds that even time can’t heal

 Arman Librea, Palo Leyte, 44 years old, 

fishpond care taker, Brgy San Joaquin Palo, Leyte

(Photo by: Humans of Haiyan) 

“Sa pagpikit ko sa mga mata ko tuwing gabi, naririnig ko pa rin ang tawag ng mga anak ko na “papa,papa”. Maaring may bahay na nga ako, pero kahit kalian hindi ito magiging kumpleto kasi wala na ang buong pamilya ko.”

by: Lottie Salarda

“Sabi nila ang mga anak daw ay ang pinaka importanteng yaman ng mga magulang.” Their smiles, giggles, and playful attitudes give us an inspiration in each day to work hard for their future. Parents spend their whole time rearing their children. But what if your family died in an instant leaving you no chances of saving them?

It has been two years since the strongest storm struck the province of Leyte and the rest of Samar provinces. It killed thousands of people and destroyed millions of properties. Thousands of them were still missing and some of them are innocent children who didn’t know how to save themselves.

The storm surge wiped out the City of Tacloban including the coastal towns of the province of Leyte. Last month, I met Arman Librea of San Joaquin, Palo, Leyte. His village was one of the biggest in the said town. They have the highest number of casualties and fatalities recorded after the storm.

He is a fishpond caretaker and now living in his small hut which materials were donated by an international organization. I noticed that the man is quiet and I can see in his eyes that there something bothering him--until I learned his story.

He lost his two sons and his wife during the storm. When he narrated his story of survival and on how he tried to save his family, my tears fell. I knew that deep in his heart he has lots of questions and regrets. 

He managed to bring his family to the Brgy Hall to evacuate thinking that the place is safe for them. But the water covered the whole village and drowned lots of people including his family. He holds his children to the best that he can but because of the strong impact of the waves he was able to release them unintentionally.

He was hit by a log in his head that made him unconscious under water. Luckily, while still unconscious he remembered that someone had whispered to him to swim back and survived. He managed to collect his thoughts and wake up under water. He immediately swam and looked for his children.

Unfortunately, they were gone. He looked after them but to no avail. At the moment, he managed to save himself and try to recover. When the water had already subsided, he looked for his family. He found his youngest son’s dead body near the brgy hall.

He felt nothing when he saw the dead body of his son. It was a nightmare for him. He brought his son inside the Brgy hall and kept him safe in case another storm surge would hit. He found his eldest and his wife almost three days after the storm.

These sad events brought by the disaster that caused the life of his family have never been erased in his memories until now. Librea admitted that there were times when he tried to close his eyes to rest, he still hears his children calling him “Papa”. That is the most painful reality that he faced every time he sleeps.

Although, two years after the disaster he was provided a decent shelter, he still feel the pain of the wounds that even time can’t heal. He thinks of them every second of the day. He devotes his time working at the fish pond where he earns a small amount for living.

Librea doesn’t notice that he was experiencing the thing called “depression”. Members of the family who survived the storm were not prioritized to be counseled to overcome the trauma and the depression that they felt.

Despite on what happened to Librea, I still feel the courage in his eyes that is trying to prove the resiliency of true blooded “waraynon.”