As Nguyen Hung set foot on the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HoChi Minh City, he almost cried. Along the 600-km journey from the cityto his hometown, the central province of Phu Yen, he could not close hiseyes for even a second, although he was completely exhausted.
He could have died in the Philippines, after being washed away by thefierce Typhoon Haiyan. But now, he was back in his homeland and on theway to meet his family. The former soldier, who used to serve in anartillery unit, said his unit defended the Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reefin Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago in 1988. Many of hiscomrades went missing, while some died. Yet, he managed to stay alive.
But returning home now had greater meaning, he said.Back then, he was single; now, his wife and twin daughters were waitingfor him. He arrived home at three in the morning. His parents, his wifeand daughters were all awake, waiting for their loved one. He wasunable to stop his tears of happiness at seeing them.
"I won't be able to forget my near-death experience in Tacloban," Hungsaid, recalling the time when the typhoon made landfall. "I wassleeping when the house's roof was blown away by the fierce winds. When Itried to hold on to the stairs, I was lifted up. I fell on the floorand was injured," he said as he revealed deep cuts on his wrists.
But he survived thanks to the helmet he wore at the time. Four hourslater, the storm had passed, but the house had been destroyed, leavinghim and his nephew, Tran Van Quyen, with no food or water. They couldnot go outside because looting was rampant after the storm.
Filipino neighbours who knew Hung for years eventually came and gavehim some water and biscuits they had received as part of food aid. "Atthose moments, all I thought about was death. And my family," he added."I will never forget that when I had nothing left, it was humankindness that saved me," he remarked. After five days, anotherVietnamese found Hung and his nephew and helped them reach theVietnamese Embassy in Manila.
As he recounted hisexperience, Nguyen Duy Duc said he couldn't believe that he is stillalive. When Haiyan struck, he, his son Nguyen Nhat Duy and son-in-lawHuynh Tien Phat were inside their home in Tacloban. The powerful typhoonripped apart the house's roof. They had to hang on to heavy furniture,and wear motorbike helmets on their heads to protect themselves.
Along with the winds, torrential waters rapidly flooded his house. Thethree men were forced to flee outside and climb a coconut tree. Butstrong waves started slamming against the tree, which was lateruprooted. Mountains of debris slammed into the tree as it fell, and themen were pushed towards a neighbour's two-storey house, which had alsolost its roof. The three men managed to jump onto the second-floorbalcony and clung on for their lives.
For fourhours, they endured winds as fast and strong as a speeding train. Theycried and howled. When the storm passed, they saw that everything aroundthem had collapsed except for the two-storey house which had savedthem. Most of their neighbours had died and there was no clean water orfood left.
They swam through the high waters,crossed piles of debris with their shoeless feet and navigated their wayaround hundreds of bodies as they walked towards the centre of Taclobancity, where they found other Vietnamese. From there, they embarked on adifficult trip to Ormoc, where they stayed with a Vietnamese family fora short while before catching a ferry to Cebu. There, they waited fortheir exit clearance and air tickets to go home.
Like Hung and Duc, 24 other Vietnamese have also lost everything to thesuper typhoon. The situation for them is even worse because many of themhad arrived in the Philippines on a tourist visa and had been tradingon the streets without a permit.
Nevertheless, youcould say that luck has still been on the typhoon victims' side. TheVietnamese Embassy in Manila, members of the Vietnamese community in thePhilippines, as well as international organisations joined hands tohelp the victims.
Officials from the embassytravelled to Ormoc and Tacloban to search for Vietnamese victims andprovided them with initial support. The embassy quickly issued newpassports for those who lost theirs to the typhoon and lodgedapplications to request the Philippines Bureau of Immigration to waivetax and fines for the typhoon victims.
Humankindness shone through even in these dark times. Vietnamese families inOrmoc, Cebu, Surigao, Tagbilaran and Manila opened their homes toprovide free shelters for the victims. To prepare for the victims'repatriation, Vietnamese living in Manila started to raise funds topurchase air tickets for them. Within a few days, there were people whocame forward to buy 18 international tickets for the typhoon victims.The rest was donated by the family of Jonathan Hanh Nguyen, who alsofunded domestic air tickets, which helped several victims to reachManila.
As an "eventful" year comes to an end,Nguyen Hung said he plans to enjoy the new year with his family. He saidhe would really miss the Philippines, where he had made several goodfriends and had neighbours who taught him how to live a better life. Heeven recalled one incident when a man ran after him to return the moneyhe had dropped.
But he pointed out that he is happynow, since he can be closer to his loved ones. "I lost all the money Ihad earned and saved in the typhoon. Life is certainly difficult now,but money means nothing if my wife lost her husband and my daughterslost their father," he said. "I'm back. That's all they will ever need.And as a soldier, I will be fine," he added, smiling.-VNA
He could have died in the Philippines, after being washed away by thefierce Typhoon Haiyan. But now, he was back in his homeland and on theway to meet his family. The former soldier, who used to serve in anartillery unit, said his unit defended the Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reefin Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago in 1988. Many of hiscomrades went missing, while some died. Yet, he managed to stay alive.
But returning home now had greater meaning, he said.Back then, he was single; now, his wife and twin daughters were waitingfor him. He arrived home at three in the morning. His parents, his wifeand daughters were all awake, waiting for their loved one. He wasunable to stop his tears of happiness at seeing them.
"I won't be able to forget my near-death experience in Tacloban," Hungsaid, recalling the time when the typhoon made landfall. "I wassleeping when the house's roof was blown away by the fierce winds. When Itried to hold on to the stairs, I was lifted up. I fell on the floorand was injured," he said as he revealed deep cuts on his wrists.
But he survived thanks to the helmet he wore at the time. Four hourslater, the storm had passed, but the house had been destroyed, leavinghim and his nephew, Tran Van Quyen, with no food or water. They couldnot go outside because looting was rampant after the storm.
Filipino neighbours who knew Hung for years eventually came and gavehim some water and biscuits they had received as part of food aid. "Atthose moments, all I thought about was death. And my family," he added."I will never forget that when I had nothing left, it was humankindness that saved me," he remarked. After five days, anotherVietnamese found Hung and his nephew and helped them reach theVietnamese Embassy in Manila.
As he recounted hisexperience, Nguyen Duy Duc said he couldn't believe that he is stillalive. When Haiyan struck, he, his son Nguyen Nhat Duy and son-in-lawHuynh Tien Phat were inside their home in Tacloban. The powerful typhoonripped apart the house's roof. They had to hang on to heavy furniture,and wear motorbike helmets on their heads to protect themselves.
Along with the winds, torrential waters rapidly flooded his house. Thethree men were forced to flee outside and climb a coconut tree. Butstrong waves started slamming against the tree, which was lateruprooted. Mountains of debris slammed into the tree as it fell, and themen were pushed towards a neighbour's two-storey house, which had alsolost its roof. The three men managed to jump onto the second-floorbalcony and clung on for their lives.
For fourhours, they endured winds as fast and strong as a speeding train. Theycried and howled. When the storm passed, they saw that everything aroundthem had collapsed except for the two-storey house which had savedthem. Most of their neighbours had died and there was no clean water orfood left.
They swam through the high waters,crossed piles of debris with their shoeless feet and navigated their wayaround hundreds of bodies as they walked towards the centre of Taclobancity, where they found other Vietnamese. From there, they embarked on adifficult trip to Ormoc, where they stayed with a Vietnamese family fora short while before catching a ferry to Cebu. There, they waited fortheir exit clearance and air tickets to go home.
Like Hung and Duc, 24 other Vietnamese have also lost everything to thesuper typhoon. The situation for them is even worse because many of themhad arrived in the Philippines on a tourist visa and had been tradingon the streets without a permit.
Nevertheless, youcould say that luck has still been on the typhoon victims' side. TheVietnamese Embassy in Manila, members of the Vietnamese community in thePhilippines, as well as international organisations joined hands tohelp the victims.
Officials from the embassytravelled to Ormoc and Tacloban to search for Vietnamese victims andprovided them with initial support. The embassy quickly issued newpassports for those who lost theirs to the typhoon and lodgedapplications to request the Philippines Bureau of Immigration to waivetax and fines for the typhoon victims.
Humankindness shone through even in these dark times. Vietnamese families inOrmoc, Cebu, Surigao, Tagbilaran and Manila opened their homes toprovide free shelters for the victims. To prepare for the victims'repatriation, Vietnamese living in Manila started to raise funds topurchase air tickets for them. Within a few days, there were people whocame forward to buy 18 international tickets for the typhoon victims.The rest was donated by the family of Jonathan Hanh Nguyen, who alsofunded domestic air tickets, which helped several victims to reachManila.
As an "eventful" year comes to an end,Nguyen Hung said he plans to enjoy the new year with his family. He saidhe would really miss the Philippines, where he had made several goodfriends and had neighbours who taught him how to live a better life. Heeven recalled one incident when a man ran after him to return the moneyhe had dropped.
But he pointed out that he is happynow, since he can be closer to his loved ones. "I lost all the money Ihad earned and saved in the typhoon. Life is certainly difficult now,but money means nothing if my wife lost her husband and my daughterslost their father," he said. "I'm back. That's all they will ever need.And as a soldier, I will be fine," he added, smiling.-VNA
