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CHRISTMAS SHOCK
by Yes Tirol Dumagan
Published: December 03, 2006 by The Bohol Standard

Christmas is in the air. Of course, it should be. It’s December. And we all know what happens every December. We all share the same notion about what this month is all about – a time to celebrate, to be happy and a time for families to be together. But as much as we want to adopt this line of thinking, we can never hide the fact that while some of us are already celebrating the season right now in terms of how we decorate our homes with Christmas lights and all these paraphernalia, many of our brothers and sisters in our country, in Luzon to be particular, are actually facing dilemmas right now on where they should stay and where they should spend their holiday. Whether they will celebrate their Christmas or not has turned out not a question anymore for them. Their attention has been focused on their survival per se.

Just this week, another super typhoon hit some crucial areas in Luzon. Super typhoon Durian, locally known as Bagyong Reming, had entered the Philippine area early Wednesday this week. The situation had become worse because of the intensity of the typhoon. When PAGASA called for a press conference to announce to the public the possible outcome of this typhoon, everyone already knew what was this all about. After hearing the forecast of PAGASA that Reming may be twice stronger than Milenyo, everyone knew that this had to be taken a lot more seriously than the previous typhoons. Everyone knew what happened after the shock of Milenyo – total black out to many of the places here in the metro, a number of casualties and it was just terribly awful. I understand that many people really cooperated in the preparation for the coming of this typhoon, but sometimes, there are just certain things that are made uncontrollable for mankind. Maybe, it would be better if I will describe this appalling calamity as nature’s way of refreshing itself, to maintain its balance and to keep it sustaining all throughout these years and the years to come.

Everyone wants a happy life, and of course, when Christmas comes, everyone wants a momentous and remarkable experience with families and friends. We realize that all of us share this very exact sentiment that when it’s Christmas, it’s always good and beautiful things happen during Christmas. But how about to our brothers and sisters who are now caught homeless because of the outrage of Reming, our folks who are fighing for their survival right now?

We always want the best for ourselves, no problem with that. But as human as we are, it’s our nature that we feel something for others. In this time that our fellow Filipinos need help in whatever way we can, let’s make them feel that we acknowledge our capacity to reach out to them even in our little ways. We can always make everyone’s Christmas as happy as we all desire. As the cliché goes, let’s give and share love this Christmas, not just on Christmas though, but for always, for good.

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