Supporting Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors

I don't usually use this blog as a platform for soliciting aid, but the recent calamity in the Philippines requires me to relax my "blog rules". There are many local and international organisations that are and will be providing immediate disaster relief and medium to longer term recovery and rehabilitation aid. Please consider supporting one of these initiatives.

The letter below is a call for support from Kalikasan- People's network for the Environment, one of the Philippine NGOs that I have worked with since 2010. Kalikasan and their partner organisations do excellent work. Their extensive network and presence "on-the-ground" means they already understand the local context, customs and needs, and can reach some of the most vulnerable people quickly. When they did a similar outreach with the Typhoon Sendong survivors I worked with in CDO, the support extended beyond the short relief period into longer term advocacy, livelihoods and sustainability initiatives.

KALIKASAN PEOPLE'S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

26 Matulungin St. Central Dist., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 1100

Tel./Fax; +63 (2) 924-8756     E-mail:  secretariat@kalikasan.net    Website: www.kalikasan.net

12 November 2013

Dear friends, allies and partners,

Our brothers and sisters in the Philippines are in urgent need of our help!

On November 8, super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) ravaged several provinces in central Philippines, with the provinces of Samar and Leyte as worst hit. Considered the strongest storm to hit the country and the world in recorded history, Yolanda decimated whole towns in a matter of hours. It left in its wake thousands of deaths which authorities fear to rise to up to 10,000 individuals as many others remain missing.

Communication and power lines are still down, while transportation is still impossible in many towns preventing relief and rescue missions. Around 620,000 people were displaced and 9.5 million individuals were affected by the super typhoon, according to Philippine government estimates.

In these trying times, let us express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines. BRIGADA KALIKASAN (Bayanihan ng Maka-Kalikasan para sa mga Biktima ng Disaster) appeals for your material or financial support to the survivors of Yolanda. Food (rice, canned and dried goods, coffee, milk, among others) water, and medicine (for cough, colds and diarrhea, paracetamol, antibiotic) are much needed. Sleeping materials such as mats and blankets, tents for temporary shelter and clothes are also appreciated.

For material donations, please drop them off at the BRIGADA KALIKASAN headquarters located at #26 Matulungin St., Brgy. Central, Quezon City.

For cash donations, please see details below:

Bank Account: Center for Environmental Concerns

Branch: BDO Matalino Branch (G/F J&L Bldg., Matalino St., Diliman, Quezon City)

Peso account number: 3640008876

Dollar account number: 103640033382

Bank Swift Code: BNORPHMM

BRIGADA KALIKASAN is being organized by the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, Computer Professionals' Union and AGHAM-Advocates of Science and Technology for the People. For more information please contact us at +632.924.8756, email: kalikasan.pne@gmail.com.

In solidarity,

Clemente G. Bautista Jr.

National Coordinator

Canada's response to Supertyphoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

Photo: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

It is heart-wrenching to listen to the stories of survivors of Supertyphoon Haiyan (or Yolanda as it is known locally in the Philippines), and to the stories of Montrealers who haven't yet been able to get in touch with their loved ones in the affected parts of the Central Visayas. At this point, I feel like the only things I can do are to continue trying to get in touch with my friends and acquaintances in Tacloban, Cebu and St Bernard, to donate to disaster relief efforts, and to urge the Canadian government to strongly support relief and recovery efforts. So, I wrote to my Member of Parliament, Mr. Marc Garneau, this morning. Here is that letter.

Dear Mr. Garneau, 

As one of your constituents in the riding of Westmount - Ville-Marie, I strongly urge you to take an active stand in Ottawa in pledging more and immediate support for the communities affected by Supertyphoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The disaster affects me personally and professionally, and I am extremely disappointed by the paltry response of the Government of Canada thus far.

My doctoral research explores how Filipinos rebuild their lives and livelihoods after a disaster. Since 2010, I have spent nearly a year in the Philippines visiting communities affected by disasters, interviewing survivors, and learning about critical issues and challenges. Everywhere I went, I was received with warmth, kindness and generosity. Everywhere I went, the resilience and ingenuity of Filipinos emerged as common strategies for living with uncertainty. I expect that the survivors of Haiyan will exhibit these same traits, but the effectiveness of these traits in rebuilding lives and livelihoods will be limited without significant and thoughtful financial assistance in both the short and long terms.

As of Monday November 11, the Government of Canada has announced support for two funds to help relief efforts in the Philippines: one fund of up to $5 million for humanitarian relief (14 cents per Canadian), and another fund that matches the donations of Canadians to registered Canadian charities between November 8 to December 8. Yesterday,  it committed to deploy Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). I think Canada's promise to help is grossly inadequate and ignores the importance of the Philippines to Canada. Please permit me to explain.

The Philippines provides a lot of human capital to Canada. It is now the number one source country for immigrants to Canada. Manitoba, Saskatchewan,  Alberta and British Columbia all have formal labour agreements with the Philippines. A similar agreement for the Atlantic provinces is underway. Many of the caregivers who care for Canadian children and elderly are Filipinos, providing a vital service that Canadians are unwilling or unable to do. Many more Filipinos or Canadians of Filipino descent work in engineering, health care and other sectors of the Canadian economy.

The strong interests of the Canadian mining sector in the Philippines vastly outweigh the pledged humanitarian response. The latest (2008) published statistics from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Philippines indicate Canadian mining companies invested more than 1.2 billion dollars in Philippine mining projects (table 1). Although these mining sites do not lie within the path of the supertyphoon, maintaining goodwill between Canada and the Philippines is important to the social license Canadian mining companies require to operate overseas. Moreover, the revenues and repatriation of copper, gold, silver, nickel profits to Canada are surely worth hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to Canadian companies. A donation of up to five million dollars and an undetermined amount of matching dollars is minute in comparison to the mineral wealth mined and repatriated to Canada. A significant response to the current disaster would indicate Canada cares about the people and not just the mineral wealth of the Philippines.

Table 1: Canadian Mining Companies Operating in the Philippines

Source: Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Philippines

LOCATION	TENEMENT HOLDER/ PERMITTEE/ OPERATOR	TOTAL DISCLOSED PROJECT COST (million $)
Sitio Canatuan, Bgy. Tabayo, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte	TVI Resources Development Philippines Inc.	57.57
Maco, Compostela Valley	Apex Mining Corp. Inc (Crew Gold)	36.58
Victoria, Mindoro Oriental	Crew Minerals	1,100.09
Jabonga, Santiago, Tublay, Agusan del Norte*	MRL Gold Phils., Inc.	3.15
Balabag, Bayog, Zamboanga Sibugay	TVI Resources Development Philippines Inc.	2
Bgy. Camanlangan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley	Philco Mining Corporation (Sur American)	5
Sitio Capcapo, Licuaan-Baay, Abra	Jabel Corporation (Kadabra Mining Corp., Olympus Pacific Minerals, Inc.)	48
Bgy. Balibago, Lobo, Batangas	MRL Gold Phils., Inc.	4.45
Bgy. Balibago, Lobo, Batangas	MRL Gold Phils., Inc.	2.02
Camanlangan, Panay and Fatima New Bataan, Compostela Valley	Philco Mining Corporation (Sur American)	0.1
Bgy. Camanlangan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley	Philco Mining Corporation (Sur American)	0.1
Malimono and Mainit, Surigao del Norte	MRL Gold Phils., Inc.	0.1
TOTAL		1,259.16

Source: Isa Lorenzo and Philip Ney. 2008. The Canadian quandary. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. 28 December 2008. http://pcij.org/stories/the-canadian-quandary/

While I laud the government's pledge to match the generosity of Canadians supporting disaster relief efforts, I expect that the amount the government pays out will be drastically lower than what Canadians actually contribute. This is because the majority of money sent by people with a direct Philippines connection will not go through a registered Canadian charity. Instead, the money will be channeled as remittances sent directly to family, friends and Filipino organisations working at the grassroots level. Thus the GOC will pay comparatively little to the money wired through global payment service companies like Western Union, MoneyGram, WorldRemit and others.

Finally, why did the government wait until 11 November, three days after Haiyan made landfall in Eastern Samar on 8 November, before deploying the DART? The Tropical Storm Risk website began issuing alerts about Haiyan on 4 November. The DART should have been deployed last week to Japan, to be ready and in the Philippines on Saturday, right after the storm passed. It would not have cost Canadian taxpayers any more money, and most importantly, it could have helped to mitigate the emerging crisis due to clean water and food shortages, and severely damaged communication and infrastructure systems. With storms becoming more and more destructive, I expect my government to adjust its response to effectively deal with disasters, which requires a proactive stance. Stephen Harper claims his Conservative government is the best option for managing money; delivering food and water after the people have died is not effective. As such, the current government is living in the past; I want a government that is prepared for the present and the future.

Given the strong existing ties between Canada and the Philippines and what I understand as the moral obligation of Canada, I strongly urge you to speak up on behalf of Canadians who want their federal government to take more and immediate action to support short-term disaster relief and long-term recovery in the Central Visayas.

Thank you.  Sincerely, 

Christine 

CC: Justin Trudeau (Liberal Party Leader), Thomas Mulcair (NDP Party Leader), Stephen Harper (PM), Elizabeth May (Green Party Leader), Daniel Paillé (Bloc Québecois Party Leader), Christian Paradis (Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie), John Baird (Minister of Foreign Affairs) , Tobias C. Enverga Jr. (Conservative Senator), Jean François Bouthillette (Radio Canada reporter), Leslie Gatan (Philippine ambassador to Canada), Robert Desjardins (Canadian ambassador to the Philippines)

Catching pisos

I hesitate to write this post, and to upload these photos and video. Have hesitated for almost four months. Why? I don't want to reinforce "us and them" attitudes, or to create/perpetuate an orientalist (mis)understanding of the Philippines. 

(In 1978, the Edward Saïd published a book called Orientalism. In it, he describes orientalism as the subtle and pervasive prejudices against people of the Middle East. These prejudices romanticise (and caricaturise and even daemonise aspects of) Arabic culture, and are used to justify the colonial and imperial goals of Europe and the USA. The current US 'war on terror' is one example of how (neo) orientalism has real-life consequences today.)

Technically, from a geographical standpoint, harbouring 'subtle romantic yet harmful prejudices' about the Filipinos and Filipino culture cannot be orientalist because the Philippines is in Southeast Asia and not the Middle East. But, creating or reinforcing simplistic stereotypes can be just as detrimental.

So, with these caveats, here are some images snapped from aboard a ferry in Cebu City. 

In the hour between boarding and departure from the port an economic (and cultural) exchange takes place. 

Over the ferry intercom, an authoritative voice reminds passengers that they should not throw money at the people in the bangkas. Such actions can cause injury. The warning falls on deaf ears. Rather than dissuading passengers from engaging in such activity, the announcement seemingly has the opposite effect.  A large crowd appears on the starboard deck. The passengers empty the coins from their pockets and slip rolled bills into empty plastic drink containers. They scan the water below.

Ten bangkas putter up alongside the ferry, each carrying two to six people. They wear little and very lightweight clothing. No bathing suits. Most of the boats have both children (including infants) and adults. One young woman pauses during the exchange to nurse her baby.

Each boat has one or two 'catching tools'. These tools are made of an old rice sack or plastic canvas poster attached to two strong sticks, which enable a person to manipulate the catching tool. 

When a passenger tosses a coin or bill from the ferry, there's a flurry of activity. Often, the passenger makes a show of preparing to throw down money. One, two or three of the bangkas glide through the water nearing the passenger. The people below try to make eye contact with the passenger and unfurl their catching tool. The coin is tossed. If it lands in the catching tool, the catcher tilts the tool so the coin slides into the boat. If the coin misses, then one or several people will dive into the water to retrieve it. The water retrieval success rate is surprisingly (to me) high.

The exchange lasts thirty minutes. The ferry horn blasts. The passengers head back into their cabins, the cafeteria or the karaoke bar. The bangkas depart; some propelled by human paddling, others by motor.

What is your response to the images. Is it pity or guilt? Amazement or incredulity? Or nothing at all? What stories do the images tell? Tales of poverty and desperation? Or tales of creativity and ingenuity? Or something else entirely?

Chocolate hills, butterflies and rainbows

The title sounds like a Lucky Charms cereal knock-off, doesn't it? This post, however, is not about a sugar-overload cereal, but rather about a day spent playing tourist in Bohol. Bohol, according to the Rough Guide to Southeast Asia, is the place where even the carabao (water buffalo) chew slowly.

The day begins at the Tagbilaran airport, a small one-room (+ comfort rooms) airport in Bohol's capital city. The young woman at the tourist desk offers a binder listing accommodation options. She suggests a one-day tour package that includes all the major land-based tourist sites. I accept.

First stop is at the "blood compact" monument where Miguel Lopez de Legazpi of Spain and Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol signed what is considered the first treaty of friendship between different ethnicities, religions, cultures and civilizations on 16 March 1565. The blood compact part entails mixing a few drops of each man's blood in a cup of wine and drunk by both men.The visit should be a somber experience, but the hot sun, warm sea breeze and vendors hawking overpriced souvenirs is jarringly incongruous.

Blood compact site

A short drive away is the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Baclayon. It is one of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines. It was built of coral stone shortly after the arrival of the Spanish missionaries. The workers used bamboo poles to position the stones and egg whites to cement the stones together.

Bell tower of the historical Baclayon Catholic Church

The old man's face and bushy beard on the left-hand side only appears through the camera's lens (not with the naked eye)

The usual lunch spot is aboard a boat on the Loboc River. I opt to delay lunch and walk around the town instead.

Floating restaurant on the Loboc River

One of Bohol's main attractions are its tarsiers, the world's smallest monkeys. Very few of them are left in the wild so a tourist's best chance of seeing them is at the Tarsier Centre. While the tarsiers are considered adorable must-sees, you can't help but feel an uncomfortable and guilty pleasure in your visit. Tarsiers are nocturnal (active at night). Tourist centres are diurnal (active during the day). Tourist wishes (and dollars, pesos, euros and yen) trump animal behaviour. I know that zoos can play a key role in teaching people about biodiversity issues and in instilling an "ohhhhh, we must protect [insert charismatic species name]" commitment in people, but the whole experience at the Tarsier Centre is too Barnum and Bailey sideshow-ish for me.

Lizard eying tourists at the Tarsier Centre

Sleep-deprived tarsiers subjected to yet another camera-happy tourist (including yours truly)

The next stop on the tour is the Butterfly Centre. After touring the Tarsier Centre I'm not too keen on visiting another tourist spot that objectifies wildlife. My misgivings quickly disappear. I am like a little kid in a candy store. The young guide cheerfully answers all sorts of questions about butterflies in the Philippines - their life cycle, migratory routes, preferred foods, toxins, predators, etc. Many of the exhibits are hands-on and under the supervision of trained staff: giant caterpillars crawling along your hands, walking through a covered butterfly garden, gently poking live pupae. Perhaps it is the educational focus that made the experience so much richer and enjoyable than the tarsier experience.

A caterpillar crawls along my bracelet

Pulsing chrysalis in the garden (when you touch it, it wiggles) 

Butterfly pupae at various stages of development (collected from the butterfly garden)

Butterfly feeding on nectar in the butterfly garden 

The drive to Carmen is broken up with a short stop at the "man-made mahogany forest." (Many of the Filipina women I've encountered have been involved in environmental and tree-planting activities so I imagine the forest is also "women-made" and the frequently used moniker is a misnomer.) 

Between the towns of Loboc and Bilar lies a two kilometer stretch of densely planted mahogany trees whose long limbs arch gracefully over the highway. The trees were planted to stem erosion of the steep hills lining the road. Every year groups plant more mahogany trees (no other species of vegetation). The forest a popular site for roadside picnics and movie backdrops. The atmosphere is remarkably similar to that of Vancouver Island's Cathedral Grove. 

Admiring the "man-made forest"

The penultimate stop is at the Chocolate Hills, the fabled Hershey Kiss lookalikes of Bohol. They consist of 1268 treeless similar-sized hills in an area of about 50 square kilometers. To determine the exact number of hills, the barangays located within the Chocolate Hills' area were tasked with counting the hills within their jurisdiction (sans-aide of satellite imagery). The site was nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Chocolate Hills (during the summer they're brown like Hershey Kisses)

Timing is key to visiting these gems. During the rainy season the hills turn a splendid green colour. In the dry summer months (March to May), they become milk chocolate mounds. At dawn and dusk it's easy to understand why the hills inspire storytellers. (In one story the giant Arogo fell in love with a mortal named Aloya. When Aloya died, Arogo could not stop crying; his tears dried into the Chocolate Hills. Another legend purports the mounds are the poisoned dung of a mischievous carabao that ate all the crops of the townspeople.) Light carves around the hills. Shadows dance. Morning mist glistens. I happened to visit mid afternoon in the middle of a gentle rain. A full double rainbow materializes after the rain ends.

A rainbow arches over the Chocolate Hills after a light afternoon rain

The last mandatory stop of the tour is a souvenir shop en route back to Tagbilaran. I hadn't planned on spending any money there. (I prefer to buy souvenirs from the artisans themselves after a lengthy conversation about their art, how they acquired their skills, etc.) But funky jewelry is my Achilles' heel, and the store has it in spades.

With a lighter wallet and a heavier backpack, my tour of Bohol ends.  

Bicycle benefits in Tacloban

Tied to the fence outside Tacloban's City Hall is a sign. It captures the small town, laid-back, joie-de-vivre atmosphere of Leyte's capital city. It made me stop, grin, take out my notebook and jot down some notes. My camera batteries had died and so, unfortunately, there's no picture to accompany this post.

*     *     *
Picture a one square meter sign. White background. Logos of the City of Tacoblan and the One Way Bike Club up top. A goofy-looking cartoon cyclist sporting lycra shorts, a striped tee and helmet sits atop a bicycle. Text written in black comic sans ms font surrounds the picture, labeling the various parts like an anatomy diagram. The text reads (copied verbatim from the sign):

• Gives you legs of steel 
• Zero emissions
• Slows down global warming
• Whizzes past traffic jam
• No need to pay for gas, parking fees or auto insurance ... hurray 
• Quiet as a mouse
• Faster and easier than walking
• It feels like flying
• It carries your goodies home [pointing to the basket]
• Put a big fat smile on your face
• Shapes up that bootie
• The Earth sends a lil extra luv to those on bicycles (this is scientifically documented)

*     *     *

I hope this short description evokes a smile from all cycling enthusiasts reading this post, and perhaps a small twinge of excitement for next spring's biking season.