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Monday, November 11, 2013

Messages to and From Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan

People in Leyte, the Philippines, wrote messages on cardboard and torn-up paper plates to let loved ones know they were safe.GMA News People in Leyte, the Philippines, wrote messages on cardboard and torn-up paper plates to let loved ones know they were safe.

The messages to loved ones from survivors of Typhoon Haiyan were scrawled on paper plates and scraps of paper. Jiggy Manicad collected them as he reported on the devastation from Tacloban for a Philippines television station and took them back to Manila on Sunday. When GMA News broadcast and posted them online, he delivered what some families, unable to reach friends and relatives since Friday, were desperate to hear.

A message from the Palacio family simply said, “Alive.” Another read: “Our house and car were destroyed but WE ARE SAFE.”

In a note to “Keith,” a Palo woman wrote to an Ohio man, a former Peace Corps volunteer who had lived with her family several years ago: “This is Stephanie, our house was destroyed by the typhoon, baby almost drowned but thank God she is safe and we are all safe. We need help from you. We don’t have shelter we are in evacuation center this time. Thanks & God Bless, Stephanie & Bert, Palo, Leyte.”

Writing from Canada on Twitter, Pauline Bidlock thanked Mr. Manicad when she saw a message collected from one of her family members:

Since one of the most powerful storms ever recorded tore through the central Philippines on Friday, as my colleague Keith Bradsher reported, downed communication lines have made it nearly impossible for people to find out if their loved ones are among the survivors.

As many as 10,000 people in Tacloban alone are feared dead in the storm, known locally as Yolanda.

People have turned to the Red Cross, along with online tools, like Google’s Person Finder, to try and get information. They have uploaded photos on Facebook and Twitter with pleas for sightings or anything about the whereabouts of their loved ones. As my colleague Ian Lovett reported, members of the sizable Filipino community in Los Angeles have been left feeling helpless as they struggle to reach loved ones.

By Monday, a Google spokesman said that 47,000 records had been created in the Person Finder database.

Nearly 20,000 people have joined a new Facebook group, called Tacloban (and nearby Waray towns) Yolanda Update. On the page, people check a list of survivors and ask for information about missing relatives and friends. They also exchange details about specific neighborhoods and subdivisions and growing concern about the worsening conditions. And they provide updates when the news is not good.

One woman, who had asked for help to locate her mother’s younger siblings, wrote on the Facebook page Monday night: “Uncle Feloteo and his wife was included in that grave mass this morning while the rest of the family are missing. I mean name it, My cousins, nieces and Nephews. I can’t stop from crying as i drove till i got home. May they rest in peace.”

Many people have posted photos on Twitter of their missing mothers, daughters, friends and relatives, hoping for help in finding them.

Hansen Nichols posted his missing relative’s last text message, sent on Thursday, the day before the storm.

The journalist Erel Cabatbat, covering the aftermath of the tyhpoon in the Tacloban area, was trying to help people get the word out that they were O.K., as well as share the stories of a mother looking for her children.



Iran’s Foreign Minister Subtweets Kerry

As my colleague Mark Landler reports, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted on Monday that it was unfair to blame last-minute objections from his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, for scuttling a potential deal with Iran over its nuclear energy program last weekend in Geneva. “The French signed off on it, we signed off on it,” Mr. Kerry said of the final proposal presented to Iran’s negotiating team. “There was unity, but Iran couldn’t take it.”

Shortly after these remarks were reported, Iran’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, pushed back on Twitter, claiming that the draft proposal from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany, known as the P5+1, changed drastically after the French intervention on Saturday, as the Guardian diplomatic correspondent Julian Borger reported.

Since Mr. Zarif did not mention Mr. Kerry’s name or Twitter handle in that message, it fell into a category of gibe known as a subtweet on the social network, which is the rough equivalent of talking behind someone’s back, but doing so in such a loud stage whisper that you expect them to hear the criticism.

Just to make sure that his message was heard, however, Mr. Zarif addressed the secretary of state by title in a follow-up missive, in which he also appeared to complain about public comments from Mr. Fabius disparaging an early draft of the deal as “a fool’s bargain.”

The minister, who says that he enjoys reading comments posted on his Persian-language Facebook page, ended his brief flurry of Twitter diplomacy on Monday on a more positive note.

There was no response from Mr. Kerry on the official State Department Twitter account where the talks were documented, and the secretary occasionally posts signed tweets.

One day earlier, though, an American opponent of the proposed deal, Senator John McCain, posted a message saluting what some neoconservatives have hailed as heroic French resistance.



How to Help Philippines Typhoon Victims

As the full scale of the devastation wrought across the islands of the Philippines over the weekend by Typhoon Haiyan came into fuller view on Monday, governments around the world have pledged aid to the victims. The Pentagon has dispatched an advance team of 90 marines and sailors, and U.S.A.I.D. has pledged emergency shelter and hygiene materials and 55 tons of food. The American Embassy in Manila has donated $100,000 for water and sanitation assistance.

Below is a list of contact information for some organizations that plan to provide relief to victims of the typhoon, called Yolanda in the Philippines. The New York Times does not certify the charities’ fund allocations or administrative costs. More information about giving, for this and other causes, is available online from the GuideStar database on nonprofit agencies.

Philippine Red Cross

The Philippine Red Cross is accepting donations and coordinating disaster relief on the ground throughout much of the central Philippines. The organization is posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.

World Food Program

The World Food Program, which provides emergency food aid to families and children, is accepting donations online and through PayPal.

Unicef

The Philippine branch of Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, says that children affected by the typhoon need urgent access to drinkable water, medical supplies, food and shelter. It is accepting donations online as part of an emergency typhoon appeal.

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services has dispatched a team to the area affected by the storm, but said travel to the most hard-hit cities and towns was “extremely slow” because of damaged infrastructure and debris-clogged roads. It is accepting donations online.

Caritas Manila

The Philippine branch of Caritas, a Catholic charity, is accepting donations online and via wire transfers. It is posting updates on Twitter.

Save the Children

Save the Children is accepting donations online to respond to the needs of children and families. The group said that 10 percent of each donation will be set aside to help prepare for future emergencies.

Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development

The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development is seeking volunteers and accepting donations to respond to the typhoon’s destruction. Donations are accepted online. It is also posting updates about relief efforts to Twitter.

Gawad Kalinga

Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty, is accepting monetary donations as well as nonperishable goods such as children’s vitamins, rice, kitchen utensils and blankets. The group is accepting donations via credit card through its “give now” page. It is also posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.

The mGive Foundation Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund

The United States State Department announced a partnership on Monday with The mGive Foundation Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund, organized by the mGive Foundation, an American 501c3 public charity that collects donations for victims of the typhoon via mobile phone. Wireless subscribers can text AID to 80108 to give a $10 donation, which will appear on the donor’s wireless bill or be deducted from their prepaid balance.

Finding a Loved One

If you are looking for information about a specific person in an area affected by the typhoon, Google has set up a person finder page, which can also be accessed by mobile device or text message. If you have information about a specific person affected by the typhoon, you can also use the person finder page to share it.

As NBC News reports, there are more than three million Filipino-Americans and the community is actively raising money for disaster relief. New Yorkers can attend coming fund-raisers at Purple Yam, the Ditmas Park restaurant run by Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa, the former proprietors of Cendrillon in SoHo.

Ms. Besa is also organizing a series of dinners in Metro Manila. “The purpose of these dinners,” she explained on Facebook, “is not only to raise money for the people affected by Typhoon Yolanda, but to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, the need to be prepared for future disasters and how we can take control of how our taxes are being spent. The challenge now is how to rebuild what we lost and help restore dignity in the lives of our people in the south and the rest of the country.”



How to Help Philippines Typhoon Victims

As the full scale of the devastation wrought across the islands of the Philippines over the weekend by Typhoon Haiyan came into fuller view on Monday, governments around the world have pledged aid to the victims. The Pentagon has dispatched an advance team of 90 marines and sailors, and U.S.A.I.D. has pledged emergency shelter and hygiene materials and 55 tons of food. The American Embassy in Manila has donated $100,000 for water and sanitation assistance.

Below is a list of contact information for some organizations that plan to provide relief to victims of the typhoon, called Yolanda in the Philippines. The New York Times does not certify the charities’ fund allocations or administrative costs. More information about giving, for this and other causes, is available online from the GuideStar database on nonprofit agencies.

Philippine Red Cross

The Philippine Red Cross is accepting donations and coordinating disaster relief on the ground throughout much of the central Philippines. The organization is posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.

World Food Program

The World Food Program, which provides emergency food aid to families and children, is accepting donations online and through PayPal.

Unicef

The Philippine branch of Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, says that children affected by the typhoon need urgent access to drinkable water, medical supplies, food and shelter. It is accepting donations online as part of an emergency typhoon appeal.

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services has dispatched a team to the area affected by the storm, but said travel to the most hard-hit cities and towns was “extremely slow” because of damaged infrastructure and debris-clogged roads. It is accepting donations online.

Caritas Manila

The Philippine branch of Caritas, a Catholic charity, is accepting donations online and via wire transfers. It is posting updates on Twitter.

Save the Children

Save the Children is accepting donations online to respond to the needs of children and families. The group said that 10 percent of each donation will be set aside to help prepare for future emergencies.

Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development

The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development is seeking volunteers and accepting donations to respond to the typhoon’s destruction. Donations are accepted online. It is also posting updates about relief efforts to Twitter.

Gawad Kalinga

Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty, is accepting monetary donations as well as nonperishable goods such as children’s vitamins, rice, kitchen utensils and blankets. The group is accepting donations via credit card through its “give now” page. It is also posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.

The mGive Foundation Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund

The United States State Department announced a partnership on Monday with The mGive Foundation Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund, organized by the mGive Foundation, an American 501c3 public charity that collects donations for victims of the typhoon via mobile phone. Wireless subscribers can text AID to 80108 to give a $10 donation, which will appear on the donor’s wireless bill or be deducted from their prepaid balance.

Finding a Loved One

If you are looking for information about a specific person in an area affected by the typhoon, Google has set up a person finder page, which can also be accessed by mobile device or text message. If you have information about a specific person affected by the typhoon, you can also use the person finder page to share it.

As NBC News reports, there are more than three million Filipino-Americans and the community is actively raising money for disaster relief. New Yorkers can attend coming fund-raisers at Purple Yam, the Ditmas Park restaurant run by Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa, the former proprietors of Cendrillon in SoHo.

Ms. Besa is also organizing a series of dinners in Metro Manila. “The purpose of these dinners,” she explained on Facebook, “is not only to raise money for the people affected by Typhoon Yolanda, but to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, the need to be prepared for future disasters and how we can take control of how our taxes are being spent. The challenge now is how to rebuild what we lost and help restore dignity in the lives of our people in the south and the rest of the country.”



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