Burned.

December 23, 2009, 10:00 AM. All hell broke loose. It is a day to be remembered by more than 500 hundred families in the Makati-Pasay Area. Particularly affected were the shanties along the creek in Barangay Bangkal Makati and Malibay st. in Pasay.

The fire started somewhere in Makati, which ended at around dusk after ravaging the neighboring Pasay Area. According to news reports, around 600 families were burned down. Click <here> and <here> for more details on the blaze.

The news is more or less accurate. I just visited the place today. After helping out in our church’s annual gift giving for the poor, our Adventist Community Services team led by our church pastor went immediately to the site of the fire. We were going to survey the area so as to send in some help from the Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency (ADRA).

As we were traveling along EDSA, signs of the recent catastrophe were imminent. People were taking refuge along the streets and on the over pass. Relief groups were scattered distributing food and clothing to those affected. From a few meters away, you could instantly smell the fumes of smoke. Blackened iron which used to be the roofs of some houses scattered along the streets. Others were piled up on trucks.

The smell of burned things became stronger as we neared the area. Still more scrap metal, blackened by the inferno, were scattered all over the place. We entered a large clearing which used to be the BLTB Bus Station, which burned down several years ago. A long line of men, women and children filing for relief goods from the local government greeted us as we penetrated the affected area. Still more were trying to salvage what scrap metal or objects they needed to rebuild their burnt down houses.

Being one of the two who had a camera, I went straight to the area most affected by the fire and took pictures. Some men were walking in the waist deep waters of the creek, trying to salvage some scrap metal. Other women and children were trying to continue on living. Some were trying to conjure a passable meal for their families with what little they were able to save plus some relief goods from donors. Still others were trying to arrange and safeguard their belongings. Television sets, gas stoves, kettles, pots, pans, and some clothes were the only possessions they saved. All the while, few people still seemed to be in a state of shock, unable to accept the fact that their homes were burned down.

The adage still rang true. It really is better for your things to get stolen than burned.

The sad part was that so many people won’t be celebrating Christmas tonight the way they used to. I hope those people could recover their losses. They may be squatters and the like, it is true. Yet we couldn’t leave these now-homeless people alone while we drown in the merriment of the season. After all, Christmas is for everybody, isn’t it?

At the moment, we’re waiting for the goods that will be delivered soon to be given to these victims. The best thing that we could give to them at this moment is our prayers. Let us not forget them as we pray for blessings this Christmas season.