REFUSE TO GLORIFY RESILIENCY, DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY

Exactly seven years ago today, the Philippines was hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the history, which left more than 7,000 people dead or missing. And just last week, the country experienced the devastation of another super typhoon, leaving thousands of our countrymen homeless and in misery. 

Following any ill-fated event like a typhoon, Filipinos naturally emanate resilience－the ability to put their rubble of their lives back together after any deranged circumstance. Undeniably, we are the kind of people who transcend beyond our misfortune with humility and patience. 

However, until when are we still going to glorify self-transcendence while some continue to live in favor of their privileges, failing to see reality through the eyes of the disempowered because others’ misfortunes do not exactly concern them as they are not exactly involved in it? 

Now that we are at the helm of global health and environmental crises, those whom we call “resilient” are those who are barely getting by, the ones who have it the hardest, and worse -- the ones who were not able to recover at all. 

Through the years, we have seen how Filipino's resiliency has become over-exploited and romanticized by many and has been taken advantage of the people in power.

Resiliency should not be a reminder that ”there is more to life than suffering”, but a wake up call for the government to strive hard and shape up in providing a community of inclusivity, full of opportunities for everyone so that nobody is left behind, and become accountable for their misplaced priorities and policies in the past because Filipinos are not sacrificial lambs. 

We, Filipinos, are more than our stories of struggles and resiliency. We should be the reminder and the face of accountability. We deserve better.  

Words by Ella Hyacinth Golez
Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
Art by Marky Liac