"No words can do justice to the level of destruction we've seen in this entire community. . . . This is a devastation that is unlike anything I've seen at this kind of scale." So said Secretary of State John Kerry, as reported in the New York Times (December 19, 2013).
This statement and this whole one-third-page article are notable for at least two reasons. First, the Times is continuing its coverage of Haiyan six weeks after the typhoon's record-breaking winds slammed into East Samar. And secondly the top U.S. diplomat personally came to see what had happened for himself. He was clearly shocked.
The article, by Keith Bradsher, who has been reporting from Tacloban and surrouonding areas since Haiyan occurred, emphasized the continuing needs. Kerry promised an additional $24.6 million immediately. This amount is on top of the $62 million already supplied by Washington. Bradsher also quotes President Aquino saying that $13 billion will eventually be needed and that the damage will not be fully repaired before 2017.
On a lighter note, Bradsher quotes some of the older residents who commented on seeing the large number of American soldiers and airplanes coming to their aid. They said it reminded them of the return of the Americans under MacArthur in 1944 when they landed on the beaches near by to oust the Japanese.
In closing Bradsher talks with some of the locals who are starting to rebuild on the same sites where their dwellings were completely demolished by the typhoon. Unfortunately, as the ocean level continues to rise, future typhoons, even less vehement, would cause even greater loss.
Not to end on a down note, kudos to Mr. Kerry for showing up in person to lend his support, and also to the American soldiers whose assistance reminded the elders of the 1944 return of the Americans to help liberate the Philippines.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Taft's Heart Was in the Philippines
Ringing in
2014 Lightly and Positively
On
Christmas Morning I received a present, a book that has quite a bit to do with
the Philippines: Bully Pulpit. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the author, writes
about two presidents, Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. As I read through about half of the book, I
had mixed reactions about how Kearns Goodwin depicted the U.S. take-over of the
Philippines. My first idea for this
column was to take issue with her, but while I was taking my New Year’s Day
shower (I do get some of my best ideas in the shower) I changed my mind. My wife regularly chides me for being
negative, so a good resolution for the New Year would be to be more
positive. Several positive ideas
followed this thought in quick succession, and my mood lightened. I decided to start off 2014 lightly and
positively.
While I still have reservations about Doris Kearns
Goodwin’s Bully Pulpit, it does
contain a number of positives, particularly about William Howard Taft, the
first Governor of the Philippines as a U.S. colony (1901-1904). Unlike his friend Teddy Roosevelt who
pressured President McKinley into colonizing the Philippines, Taft opposed the
take-over from the outset. He accepted
McKinley’s appointment to lead the Philippines Commission and then to become the
first governor only because “we were there” and should do a proper job of
helping the people toward an independent and democratic government.
As
Kearns Goodwin points out, Taft and his wife and family were very
egalitarian. Taft crafted the expression,
“our little brown brothers,” without being patronizing. The Tafts’ positive attitude toward Filipinos
made them popular with the local population but created much tension with the
U.S. military. The U.S. Army was waging
a notably brutal and racist-tinged campaign in the Philippines. Despite this, Taft managed to get the U.S. to
buy the 400,000 acres of land held by the “friars” (Catholic Church) and
distribute the land to the people.
This entry is excerpted from an article I wrote yesterday (Jan. 1, 2014) for VIA TIMES Newsmagazine (see the link). RHB
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