Guinsaugon recalls pain but old wounds healing

Under a light rain, intense emotions flowed in yesterday's commemoration of the February 2006 landslide in barangay Guinsaugon, St. Bernard Town, Southern Leyte, as some survivors apparently still found it hard to accept the fate of loved ones who perished in the tragedy.

Members of the Emergency Rescue Team had to carry a weeping woman whose senses failed her the moment she and her fellow survivors offered flowers by the river meters away from where the farming village once stood. Margie Navos lost her child in the incident.

Tears of loss also consumed another woman during the flower offering and her fellow survivors had to support her from the river back to the shrine near the riverbank.

The survivors, mostly in white, held each other as they either laid flowers at the river's edge or threw petals into the water, the intimidating mountain from where the killer landslide dropped standing silent before them. Several of the survivors braved their horrible memories and went to the covered village to also offer flowers and prayers.

From above, the once lively barrio now looks like a wide expanse of barren land. At least 100 people were killed in the landslide and hundreds were left homeless.

Authorities estimated yesterday's crowd at 15,000, including those from outside Leyte. The throng of people trooped to the site for a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Precioso Cantillas of the Archdiocese of Maasin to commemorate the incident.

The commemoration commenced as early as 7 a.m. with survivors and local residents walking and praying along the muddy road from St. Bernard town proper to barangay Guinsaugon seven kilometers away. Soldiers and policemen secured the route.

Makeshift tents were put up around the memorial shrine beside the river to shelter attendees from the erratic weather.

Present yesterday were St. Bernard Mayor Maria Lim, Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias, Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, Philippine National Red Cross Secretary General Corazon Alma de Leon, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Office of Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Anthony Golez, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham and his wife.

Three members of the US marines and several members of the National Council of Churches in Japan also took part in the commemoration.

As if to symbolize the bond that they have established through the incident, young survivors enrolled at the Cristo Rey Regional High School braved a downpour in the middle of the program that followed the Mass and sang the song "Hawak Kamay" a song speaks of the unyielding support a person gives another, especially during tough times. Unity in Adversity

In his homily, Cantillas called on the survivors and support groups to tighten the bond born out of the tragedy. The bishop said a unified community is what can make healing easier and faster.

Cantillas said that while the landslide took many lives and displaced families, people should also realize that the same landslide has brought many lives together.

"We were scattered but were united by the tragedy... we were one in those moments even though they were painful," Cantillas said.

After the disaster last year, thousands trooped to Guinsaugon either to help dig up bodies or aid rehabilitating those who survived the landslide. With constant coverage by both local and international media, donations, either in kind or cash, also continuously poured in.

Cantillas also encouraged both survivors and support groups to render succeeding efforts to God.

"Oneness in the Lord is the only real healing," he said, a sentiment shared by Lerias and Mercado who spoke after the mass.

"When he spoke, we were silenced and we were in awe...the gift of Guinsaugon is the gift of faith, hope and love," Lerias said.

The governor, who has survived several other tragedies in her province, also called on the landslide survivors to cherish the time with their remaining family members.

Mercado also encouraged the survivors to render their healing efforts to God.

"Let's honor God and we shall all heal...let us move on with the feeling that there is no substitute to unity, solidarity, and teamwork," he said. Steady Recovery

Col. Chet Jolley, Chief of Staff of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, said he has observed a significant improvement in the manner by which survivors are coping with the loss.

Jolley, together with his fellow US marine soldiers participating in the Balikatan exercises, were among those who rushed to the site last year hoping to unearth survivors from the ground.

He said the surviving spirit of the people was very apparent just by participating in yesterday's commemoration rites.

Among the Balikatan exercise's projects is to build more houses for families that have been displaced by the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Beckingham expressed Great Britain's continued support to the rehabilitation efforts. He said London, specifically, was very moved by the incident and many residents in the city have gotten in touch with the UK embassy here in the Philippines to channel their support.

Mercado announced that the government is working on putting up "river control" and irrigation facilities in Guinsaugon so that the flatlands that have been devastated by the landslide can also begin to recover. - /BRP