Philippines typhoon aid appeal get Sinn Féin activists’ support

Typhoon Haiyan left an estimated 6,000 people dead, 26,000 injured while almost 2,000 people are missing

SINN FÉIN activists in Belfast and Dublin have weighed in to the all-Ireland appeal by the Filipino community in Ireland to help those affected by the massive typhoon which tore though the central Philippines islands.

Typhoon Haiyan left an estimated 6,000 people dead, 26,000 injured while almost 2,000 people are missing. The devastation saw entire villages washed away while the city of Tacloban saw 90% of its buildings reduced to rubble. Aid agencies on the ground described the devastation as “apocalyptic”.

Filipino activists with the St John of God’s charity – Jessaree Cabalonga, Eladia Mercado and Ronaliza Laron-Quintin – recently met with Sinn Féin representatives in Leinster House to speak about the situation and receive donations of foodstuffs and medical equipment collected by Sinn Féin Oireachtas members and staff.

In Belfast, Sinn Féin activists raised thousands of pounds through collections and benefits as well as sending containers full of relief aid to the Philippines. Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said he was very proud of the people of Belfast for all their help.

Sinn Féin activists including West Belfast MP Paul Maskey and the Belfast Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir turned up at the Broadway Towers to help load a 40-foot container with aid for the Philippines.

The packed boxes containing mostly clothes were collected throughout the North and stored in Broadway.

Shipping company LBC transported the aid free of charge.

Working with members of the Filipino community and workers from the Royal Hospital, a number of Sinn Féin activists gladly gave of their time to load the container.

DUP Mayor of Lisburn Margaret Tolerton and party colleague Jonathan Craig came along to add their support to the aid effort with Paul Maskey and members of the Filipino community.

Sinn Féin organised Saturday collections at the Kennedy Centre and Westwood Centre in West Belfast while the Andersonstown Social Club organised a fund-raising event.

Back in Leinster House in Dublin, Jessaree Cabalong told An Phoblacht:

“We’re a country that is used to typhoons and I’ve never seen this amount of devastation. We could not even grasp how strong this typhoon is. The provinces it hit are ones with more disadvantaged families, many living in very remote areas.”

Eladia Mercado said she was amazed at the generoisty and wanted to thank Irish people for all they are doing to help. Speaking of one incident she told how one of her elderly neighbours knocked on her door and handed her a large Bushmills tin filled to the top with coins and spare change. “I don’t know how long she saved it. She is 73 and she couldn’t even lift the tin.The gesture itself was so lovely.”

The activists said it will take a long time for the people in the affected regions of the Philippines to get back on their feet. “They have nothing: no food, no jobs, no homes.”

Sinn Féin TD and International Affairs spokesperson Seán Crowe said he hoped that governments across the world will live up to their aid commitments and follow through. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD noted that this isn’t something that can be fixed overnight. Aid will be required for a long time as the Filipinos rebuild their communities and their lives.

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