Typhoon Haiyan Relief Effort: Relief Rejection

One hour passed by, then another. We had tried hiding behind our truck but the high noon-day sun was bearing down on us. Some of our Filipino friends had tried to spark up conversation with the other port inhabitants, most of who were US military. They were disappointed when they were rejected by them with "orders not to speak to civilians."

We were waiting for the boat from Manila to arrive with our second EMT unit and enough relief goods to resupply a small village for a few days. It was the goods that ZEDRU had been waiting for since the storm had first hit over a week ago. Finally they were going to arrive just in time for us to help the forgotten town of Tolosa.

Ultimately, after anxiously waiting at the port, our ship came into sight. As they pulled up ZEDRU and Olsen hurried on board to meet up with the Cebu team and to coordinate our next move. They returned to our truck with furrowed brows and pinched lips. Olsen was shaking his head. I asked what the problem was. Apparently a large company, after everything had been brought on board, purchased the entire boat's storage space. The workers removed everyone else's supplies and replaced them with this company's cargo. The Cebu team were only allowed to bring what they could carry. Beth was beyond frustrated with the way their humanitarian organization had been treated and the complete disregard for previous agreements and arrangements.

Our first seeming roadblock on our endeavors. You will see though how it played perfectly into the grander scheme. Fortunately the Cebu team had the foresight to know that fuel would be a valuable bargaining chip in the recently made wilderness. We loaded up our new team and the new gear and headed back out onto the road the way we came. It was a long drive back to Tanauan as two storms soaked us to the core. When we arrived at our chapel safe haven we communed indoors. A slight disagreement arose at how we were going to execute our next move. Tolosa was another devastated village small enough to pass under the radar of larger relief groups. It is a flat coastal town. The 15 foot storm surge (pause in reading and imagine that for a minute. A flat, coastal town, engulfed in 200+ MPH winds, and a fifteen foot WALL of water) washed out everything. The only remaining structures were two churches that had miraculously survived.

Anyways, the specific needs of the village were yet to be determined. To Olsen and I, it seemed blatantly obvious that they needed as much help as Tanauan did, if not more. Beth however felt that a scouting team should be sent ahead with the truck to determine the need and contact the city hall. The problem this posed was the fuel it would take to drive back and forth to scout and then pick up the remaining teams, then back again. It seemed like a redundancy. We came to a compromise. We packed up all of our equipment and moved out to Tolosa. We dropped off our gear and most everyone to conduct an immediate medical mission in the surrounding area of the remaining LDS chapel.

Olsen, Chantel, Beth, and I went with the truck driver to the municipal to talk distribution, needs, and possible arraignments to mutually benefit from one another's abilities. All we found was another politician seeking to horde what he could and execute authority over the inhabitants of the city. An agreement in exchange of transportation/goods could not be made so we once again headed out trusting in God to provide a way for survivors and relief workers to find one another.

A massive storm struck once again as Chantel and I huddled inside the cab of the truck trying to avoid the torrent. We chuckled as we saw 4 Filipinos chilling underneath the frame of a large truck, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Chantel and I were in a near delusional mentality because of the fatigue of the day, the constant storm soaking followed by brutal heat, and having eaten and drunk so little. We were laughing at the scene. Chantel squealed and giggled as she pulled out a massive bag filled with yellow crackers brought by the Cebu team. We ate so many crackers. They were so bland but so delicious.

This reminded me of another funny story that had happened earlier in the day. In preparation of the likely event of us foreigners getting sick I caused Chantel to purchase a large amount of immune system boosters (E-mergen C powder, Airborne, vitamin C stuff, etc.). We had been diligently taking our supplements about 2-3 times per day. During our long ride back from Tacloban Chantel busted out the Emergen C powder. We didn't have water to mix it with so Chantel and I poured small amounts into our mouth which would in great sourness foam up and fizzle causing us to flinch and
laugh. Walter and the others asked what it was we were eating so we shared it with them. Chantel handed them the packets and said to just put it in their mouths. Trustingly, and quite unknowingly, the Filipinos dumped the whole packet of Emergen C powder into their mouths. Their faces twisted and contorted in painful ways as we all started laughing at the reactions. Walter was coughing and tears came to his eyes as he, through coughs and laughs, asked, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Though grave the situation we truly inherited the Filipino way -- that is to not allow any change in situation or circumstance affect the way you live, the way you treat others, or how happy you are. We were close friends, family even, though we had been together only a few days. Our bond surely was strengthened by the ineffable experiences we went through, but more than that was all of our ability to just open up and be true with one another. No reservations, no insecurities, we just were, and we existed in harmony with each other. It helped us immensely to cope with the extreme conditions and difficult scenes. We were able to spread our light with others who were discouraged or downtrodden. That is the power of human relationships.

Finally we arrived at the Tolosa Chapel as darkness signaled the end of our day. We entered the edifice greeted by children's happy screams and parents' looks of relief. We had made it in time.