Survivor’s tale Evacuee still longs to return home someday

CEBU, Philippines - A father, survivor of super typhoon Yolanda, said that out of desperation and left with no choice, he committed a crime by joining the looting in just to save his one-year-old daughter who suffered an asthma attack at the height of the storm surge that killed thousands in Tacloban City.

 Jonas Tandinco, with his wife Hayde and their children, were among the 300 families who sought refuge in Cebu City after their traumatic experience in the city they still call home.

Hayde told this reporter their bitter experience; she said the retelling still brings pain  and melancholy to their shattered hearts.

“ Niadto akong husband sa airport kay ingon naay relief goods and medicines pero wala. We were desperate to get the medicine for my child, gilakaw namo about three kilometers padung downtown kay we heard open ang Gaisano. To our surprise, open kay gi-loot gi-ransacked na diay ang mga tindahan, malls and pharmacies,” Hayde recalled.

Under cover of darkness, her husband entered forcibly the muddy pharmacy to try his in finding the medicine for their child while she waited worriedly outside with dazed “zombie-like” people.

She said while she waited outside, a man in his 40’s who was bringing two bags of medicine approached her and asked “Ngano naghilak man ka?”

“Ang akong anak gi-asthma tapos wa mi tambal kay ang fridge namo kundiin gibutang ang tambal gianod sa baha. We are hoping nga makakita mig tambal diri, akong husband naa pa intawon sa sulod,” Hayde replied to him.

The old man offered the bags full of medicine saying “oh, pangitaa diri ang tambal basi naa ra”. But, she didn’t found the medicine.

The man voluntarily offered to check the medicines inside the pharmacy, asking for her the watch over his looted medicines.

“Wa nako naka-thank you niya kay ang akong husband nabalik na with the medicines my child needed. But I was really thankful kay these looters, including us, nag-looting because of desperation.  We have nothing and those people as well have nothing; no to food to eat and no water to drink.  We were all desperate,” she said.

“I know it was definitely wrong and walay justification ang looting. But if naa mo sa among sitwasyon, you will do the same. It’s hard when you have no choice, di ka kasabot sa imong feelings because what you are thinking is to save your loved ones and to salve your rumbling stomachs due to severe hunger,” she added.

Hayde said two days after the typhoon, bodies were still left lying on the streets and the smell threatened the health of her children considering that her four-year-old son had undergone an open-heart surgery.

“Wa man tuod mi mamatay, mamatay pud mi sa baho o sa mga tawo nga desperate sa pagkaon basi mandunggab na or worst basi ang isigkatawo na ang himuong pagkaon.  Ang mga baboy na patay nga naglutaw-lutaw sa baha ila pa gani gipahimuslan. Unsaon nalang kung wala nay makaon, people will resort to kill their own kind just to live,” she said.

Hayde said it was hard for them to see her home, her city where she and her family were born and raised, ravaged and reduce to rubble and debris.

She said they considered Tacloban a gem before the calamity happened.

“I’ve seen the city when it started, sa time nga na-develop, ni-grow ug karon nga mura’g war zone, ang ang mga tawo murag zombie. Sa una ang Tacloban crowded pero karon hawan na kaayo gumikan wa nay nagbarog na mga structures. This was the first time I felt hopeless, kaingon ko mamatay na mi,” she said.

Two days after Yolanda pounded Tacloban, the family decided to leave the city with just one backpack for their clothes and another backpack for their children’s belongings. Their journey leaving the destroyed city was never easy.

“The looters eventually would resort to targeting house nga nagpabiling nagtindog. Dako ang posibilidad, and we fear for the safety of our kids. Thank God niabot ang mga kauban namo sa church from Abuyog, ni-travel sila 10 hours para tabangan mi. Gihatod mi nila sa airport, naay mga politicians, pobre, foreigners, nga naghuwat sa C-130 (airplane).  Hapit magka-stampede. Ang mga tawo wala nay respeto sa mga tiguwang o mga naay bata kay desperate mohawa sa Tacloban,” she said.

The couple asked the military to let them inside the place. She said they initially planned to go to manila, where her aunt resides, but the army told them that they cannot be accommodated anymore.

Arriving in Cebu last Sunday brought new hope for the family. They are currently residing with their fellow church mates.

“Nalipay mi kay nakulog na mi og insakto, nakakaon nami og kan-on ug naa napud mi tubig ug pagkaon,” she said, adding that they received a report from their neighborhood that there house was ransacked by unidentified men.

Despite the devastation and tragic incidents, Hayde said they still want to return to their hometown.

“That’s our home, ngadto mi nakabuo og pamilya, naa didto among mga amigo, akong kasing-kasing naa didto. Hopefully makabalik mi didto two months after kanang naa na mi strength, ma-restore na ang peace and order, mabalik na ang water, power, mobalik mi didto. Mag-start mi og tigom, to rebuild our home,” she said. (FREEMAN)