Concerning Typhoon Haiyan

[White_Rain]

It's not as big of news as the tsunami that hit Japan a few months ago, which is upsetting to me. As many of you know, considering many of you live in the Philippines, a typhoon hit. Typhoon Haiyan has killed currently under 4,000 - so it's been counted. Chances are, no one will ever know how many died because it's such tedious work finding all of the bodies. As well, power lines are down and telephone outages are most certainly about. Power is also out in many locations, roads and airports are destroyed, food and fuel are scarce... it's a high possibility nobody will be able to get a full total on all the dead bodies because survival itself is a more important issue. Aside from the thousands dead, 13 million people are affected somehow - 4 million of those have been displaced, 1 million homes have been destroyed.

I, White_Rain, one of the newer people here and an American, am sadly unable to do anything about this - I'm one of the many Americans living in poverty too. All I got on my 16th birthday was a US$20 bill (871.54 Philippine Pesos) and a birthday card, and I got a few games one or two weeks after, so I haven't really much that I can do. Though, I do send my deepest, heartfelt condolences to those affected by the typhoon, and that they may survive in such hard times. For those that have not been affected, I will continue to hope for your continued safety.

May the higher deities you believe in, if any at all, be with you, and if you believe in no higher deity, then may whatever forces that be in control be with you.

Sincerely,

[Grim]

Thank you for your words of kindness and solidarity. We here in RR are based mainly in Manila/Quezon City (which is in Luzon, the large northern island of the country), and some from Davao (which is in Mindanao, the large southern island of the country). Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as we call it locally, hit the Visayas region the most (which is the large island in between Luzon and Mindanao). So as you can imagine, the majority of us were spared from having to actually experience the ravages of the typhoon.

However, as Filipinos, I think we are all saddened and bothered by the huge devastation and loss of life, and I think everyone is doing their part in their own small way, whether it's donating food, water, or money, or volunteering their time and strength to the very real requirement of packing relief supplies. I'm not really the type to be overly emotional, in fact I'm a rather cold person when it comes to the hardships of others, but I must admit watching the news and seeing the MISERY of my countrymen stirs something in me, each and every time. I was once a victim during one of the rather bad floods in recent history, but in all honesty I cannot fathom having no home to go to, no food to eat, and having my family's dead bodies line the streets since they cannot be buried yet. The fact that some of the survivors can smile in the face of this adversity speaks volumes about their spirit.

We are thankful for all the help that has poured in from all the countries of the world. We really are. I was really pleasantly surprised to see the people of the world come together and give what help they could give. As the cliche goes, it restores a bit (OK, actually a lot) of my faith in humanity.

I speak for myself though when I say that I do not want to feel good about helping out - not yet. Because feeling good, for me, leads to the thought that I've done enough, and that I can stop. This is not true. The hardest hit areas will require help for the next six months to a full year since they basically have to rebuild from the ground up. For a region, and truthfully a country, that still hinges on the fruits of agricultural seasons to supply its population with food, it's a real problem when all the crops have been destroyed. When all the storage facilities have been destroyed. When all the farming implements have been destroyed. But to go back to my point, I do admit there is a tinge of happiness that comes with volunteering. But I must not forget.

There are, sadly, some shades of politics coming to the fore in terms of power struggles for control of the region. I am aware of them. The stories of the structures in Leyte being built because of bribes despite not being up to typhoon-wind level standards irks me (Haiyan was really another beast entirely - if there was a Category 6 type of typhoon it would have been that. But in the end it's the same: when people don't listen to engineers, people really die). And on top of all this, the ongoing trial of a criminal who siphoned all our rightfully-paid taxes into her bank accounts has been nearly forgotten. However, as angry as it all makes me, for now I will focus on helping out. But like helping out, I will not forget to hold people accountable. We must if we are to move on.

I do not mean to sound preachy. If I do, I apologize to anyone offended. I'm just sounding off on what I've been thinking of all the events since the start of the tragedy.

There is still so much more to be done.

[White_Rain]

Speaking your mind makes you seem wholly human, Grim, and not like one of those wretched, corrupt drones that exist within my very nation's capital. Despite that, at least they have the kindness in their blackened hearts to provide relief efforts.

I know it really doesn't seem like anything at all, but as a small way of showing that I care, I will duplicate my normal Armored Core 2 file and paint ALL of my ACs with the Filipino flag's colors. I can't do much else except speak here on RR or do THAT.

Take care, my fellow Filipino Ravens. If I could, I'd be there with you to provide all the help and support I can. In times where my family is tearing apart, and I have limited friends to go to, you all have seemed like an incredibly-welcoming second family, so my heart goes out to all of you, your families, and your fellow countrymen and their families.

EDIT: There, I did it. The emblem is even a little recreation of the white triangle, sun, and three stars from the flag itself, plus an "RR" for Raven Republic in the top-right corner. Anyone wanna see? If so, can someone tell me what to do? Because I do NOT know how to post pictures into a post. (I bet HayWire could teach me, what with all those gifs...)

[clonezero]

Even kind words mean something, and thank you for giving yours. Being in the same boat as boss Grim (and pretty much everyone else here at one point or the other) in that we fell victim to another storm I can tell you that experiencing something like this is no laughing matter.

I for one feel that a lot of the damage could have been prevented if the people got their priorities straight and weren't overconfident. But none of that matters now as it already happened. My older brother answered my retort in a very good way, putting me in the right perspective:

"What's important now is getting help to the people that need it and begin the process of rebuilding. People obviously have made big mistakes and they should answer for it but not now, because right now the priority are the victims."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll send you a pm on posting images, hopefully it helps

[White_Rain]

I agree wholeheartedly on everything you've said, clonezero, as well as everything Grim has said, even if I'm not a Filipino. Regardless, you are welcome for the kind words - after all, I enjoy being kind for the sake of making everyone's days - maybe lives - a little brighter.

Also, thank you for offering help in posting images in posts.

[clonezero]

Please tell me if the pm has been sent as I don't see it in my sent folder.

[White_Rain]

Thanks, clonezero.

Alright, guys. Here you go. My tributes to you guys here in Raven Republic, and every Filipino in the country. I could only use a crappy little webcam, but I hope you guys enjoy.















There you guys go. The last one looks like a young kid's drawing, and admittedly I could have made it easier with a USB mouse, but alas I did not.

[Lord_Leperman]

Thank you very much for the help you're sending. If I'm doing the math right (based on numerous infographics, I can't do the actual math right now), that $20USD will be able to feed maybe 5-8 families along with a set of meds for disease prevention and cure. Assuming an average family of 4-5 people, that'll up the survival of as much as 40 individuals. To help that much people is already pretty awesome. You might not get thanks from them directly, but I'll say thank you again instead on their behalf .

[White_Rain]

Thank you very much for the help you're sending. If I'm doing the math right (based on numerous infographics, I can't do the actual math right now), that $20USD will be able to feed maybe 5-8 families along with a set of meds for disease prevention and cure. Assuming an average family of 4-5 people, that'll up the survival of as much as 40 individuals. To help that much people is already pretty awesome. You might not get thanks from them directly, but I'll say thank you again instead on their behalf .

I never DID say I was sending it - quite frankly, I don't think my mom would approve of sending $20 to someplace. I really wish I could, though. Sorry, everyone... I'd help if I could.

[Lord_Leperman]

Oh sorry, I was under the assumption that you already sent it. Anyway, the thought was nice enough.

[White_Rain]

Not a problem. The only problem is that I can't send the money to help you guys... I just hope my little tribute to you guys in Armored Core 2 is likeable.