Adversity? Or Opportunity?

An Australian disaster management expert recently visited Iloilo as part of a team from the United Nations Development Programme, International Labor Organization, Food and Agriculture Council and Habitat organization to explore how foreign assistance could be mobilized to help the province get back on its feet following the massive devastation caused by Typhoon Frank.

Andrew (I forgot his last name) shared his experiences as point person for the UNDP in arranging for aid packages for disaster-stricken places all over the world. Name a major earthquake or flood or cyclone or tsunami, and Andrew was always among the first persons on the ground to assess the damage and develop a program for rehabilitation assistance. He has many stories to tell about these calamities.

One common theme that emerged from his experience with disasters is “early recovery”, a concept that is not yet firmly developed, but one that he feels deserves a deeper look by disaster management organizations. He is advocating for a well-organized and thoroughly studied approach to bringing rehabilitation assistance to make every dollar from donor organizations count in helping people in disaster areas get back to a life of normalcy.

During our discussion, Andrew pricked everybody’s minds when he threw the question: Is this disaster adversity? Or opportunity?

Clearly, the typhoon and huge flood brought a period of adversity to the province and its people. The loss of lives and damage to property brought pain, suffering and financial setbacks that will take a long time to heal. Many people have been traumatized by the experience.

But I agree with him that life will have to go on, and we shouldn’t linger too much on the pain and suffering. The mourning will have to end, and we have to focus on rebuilding what we have lost. It is this aspect of the tragedy that presents an opportunity.

There are lessons to be drawn from the tragedy. Mistakes have been made in the past, particularly in the infrastructure for housing, health services, power, irrigation and other areas. These mistakes contributed in one way or another, big or small, to the tragedy. Of course, the fundamental reason for the flood is still the unusually huge amount of rainfall that poured on the entire island of Panay.

The task of recovery should definitely involve avoiding the mistakes and making sure that we do things right. After all the pain and losses, we should not now squander the opportunity that it brings to make things right.