Filipino Facebookdom in a time of tragedy

SAN FRANCISCO— We use it to keep updated, to find out what’s going on back home, even for tsismis.

We use it to vent, to express joy and pride and outrage. It’s annoying at times. It can even be a total waste of time for many.

But Filipino Facebookdom, one of the biggest and most dynamic in the world, can also be a powerful force of compassion and solidarity.

It became one during the Ondoy disaster two years ago. It is a force once again today as the nation reels from the Sendong tragedy.

It’s been particularly heartening for those of us overseas. Who wouldn’t be moved by the images of the suffering in Cagayon de Oro? By the photo of a man holding what appeared to be the body of a child? By the videos showing families who lost everything? Or even the individual prayers and personal reflections on what happened?

Years ago, we had to rely on e-mails, overseas newspaper, expatriate newscasts, or visitors from the homeland. Today, the information, the images, the video footage, the insights flow in real time. And so do our reactions. And our desire to help.

One can spend the whole week just posting and reposting the pleas for assistance from different groups and individuals working to help those affected by the disaster in southern Philippines.

The Rural Missionaries of Mindanao quickly launched the Help Northern Mindanao relief operation. (http://www.rmp–nmr.org) Xavier University also led the way in the effort to aid victims. (www.xavier.edu.ph)

In Manila and overseas, the campaign quickly gained traction. And it took different forms. The most prominent are the calls to donate to the Red Cross and other relief organizations.

Others focused on more specific needs.

The “Keep Mindanao Warm” (led by my goddaughter Tippy Kintanar) asked people to donate blankets, slippers or money to buy these supplies.

The Yakapin: Batang Hilagang Mindanaw asked for toys and stuffed animals. The campaign is for children, but as the group leading the efforts says on a Facebok post, “Toys are effective tools in helping children heal from the trauma of loss.

“Stuffed toys are effective comfort givers in times of stress and trauma. To children, stuffed animals are more than toys, they become the vehicles by which they are able to tell their stories and release their pain. Stuffed toys or teddy bears are able to provide some degree of comfort in a scary world.”

For, indeed, a corner of our archipelago suddenly became a scary place — but also one brimming with hope and compassion.

On the “Help CDO: Let’s Bring Christmas to the Streets” page on Facebook, a compelling call: “Give up fireworks for Sendong victims.” After all, the campaign says, the money spent on fireworks by 50 families could help build a new home for a family who lost theirs in the calamity.

“How do we bring Christmas to the streets?” the campaign asks.

The campaign has an answer, a detailed game plan. It is asking people to form groups, focus on an area in the devastated city, prepare food and gifts.

“On Dec. 25, go out and share your Christmas with the Sendong victims.”

It’s a great idea. It could even be applied to the Filipino social media realm.

For one can get overwhelmed by the information, the images, the pleas for help. There’s even the typical dilemma faced by overseas Filipinos: How can one be sure that a group claiming to help the victims is for real? There have been reports of scams.

But social media offers a way. Like the Help CDO campaign, Filipinos on Facebook and other networks can form teams, small groups. They can join other people they know and trust to help — to send money, to aid the many campaigns already being waged.

And donors won’t have to wonder if the money they sent, the clothes and goods they donated really made a difference. Groups now typically post updates, sometimes even photos of the relief effort.

An update on the Help CDO campaign says, “As of today, we have 1 team of Secret Santas ready to troop the streets on Christmas day with a target of 150 Sendong victims to share their Christmas with!:) Hope all 334 of you guys, join us and make your own teams! We’ll see you in the streets! :) Let’s make this happen, kids!”

Amid the suffering in the southern end of the homeland, rays of hope.

“We’re not going to let Sendong take away Christmas from our friends!” another post said. “Lets bring Christmas to the streets!”

On Twitter @KuwentoPimentel. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/benjamin.pimentel