Prayers for the community
In situations where families and lives are involved and Christmas is just around the corner, the heart should speak loudest?
Way past midnight in the early hours of Dec. 23, 2017, our social media updates were still ongoing as people were being rescued. Davao City was spared by tropical storm Vinta when it made landfall in Davao Oriental the day before, but as it traversed the land toward Bukidnon, that was when it poured tons and tons of water. Thus, the normally quiet and meandering Davao River, the city’s longest and widest, overflowed and deluged communities along its banks and floodplains.
Things quieted down by morning, anyway, as those who were stranded were already brought to safety, albeit with very few of their possessions. It was time to work early so we could also go home early. After all, the morrow is Christmas Eve.
But even before any page could be finished at 9:30 in the morning, social media was again busy with reports of a fire at NCCC Mall in Ma-a. It was 2:35 p.m. and the fire raged on. It was time to bid goodbye to any plans of going home early. We just had to wait and pray.
That time, we could only share the grief of the families of those who were believed to have been trapped. We could not even confirm things yet, as we waited. Yes, we had the list of those trapped, but we did not release them. It was a list by the call center agents and their team leader; it wasn’t ours. And so we waited some more.
Times like this, prudence is called for. We’d rather be accused of being slow in giving updates than releasing unofficial information. It was not just a fire; it was about lives and families and the Christmas eve.
We could never claim we understand how the families felt as they waited and grieved and prayed. It was a situation we would not wish to happen even on our worst enemies; it is a situation we would not like to add more agony to.
In the live streaming of the fire, interviews and conversations could be heard from the reporter in the field and the people around. It was a nice touch to the live streaming, except that, what streamed in the media account were speculations and that is where sensitivities and sensibilities should be sharpened. On a media platform, what is overheard is considered official information.
In situations where families and lives are involved and Christmas is just around the corner, the heart should speak loudest. And the heart said: temper the news and do not multiply the agony with unverified speculations. Shut that darn mobile phone down when people around you are speculating.
But of course, we have to understand the adrenaline rush in the field, and the drive to get to the news could easily overcome the thought of a family grieving by the sidelines. “Get the heart,” I said. “We can never get the latest kasi ugma pa ta mugawas (because our publication will only be released by tomorrow). Find the heroes. Talk about life. And don’t forget the flood stories.”
When distress is at its peak, we as chroniclers and storytellers of our time and community need to reinforce our people’s resilience by focusing on their strengths and the tiny flicker of hope that springs eternal, their prayers, their acceptance of fate, unfair as it may seem. It was past 3 p.m., and we were still waiting... and praying.-- from SunStar Davao