It’s been a week since Anderson Cooper left the country. In a few days that he stayed here to cover the super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that left the central Philippines devastated, his tiff with ABS-CBN broadcaster Korina Sanchez earned him both fans and haters.
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| Respect those who passed because of Yolanda - Anderson Cooper |
Cooper was in Tuesday night’s episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, as a last minute guest to fill in for the sick Jennifer Lawrence aka Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games series. The night before, Letterman had plenty to say about Rob Ford, the Toronto mayor who admitted that he smoked cracked cocaine. Cooper and Letterman talked about Ford before the latter asked him about his coverage of the typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
Letterman asked if they have learned something new with this typhoon which is the strongest that ever hit this year, Cooper compared the response of the Philippine government again on how the Japanese military came to aid a day after the tsunami hit.
“In Japan after the tsunami, which is obviously much more organized than the military there — they had soldiers out the next day with sticks just going block by block in an organized way trying to look for survivors in the wreckage. There was none of that for five to six days that I saw,” Cooper said. He also stressed that some people died of broken legs because it got infected.
Letterman added that what happened was “a typical of every meteorological event these days”, but Anderson said that part of the problem was that “the government is not set up to provide relief for this kind of way.” He also shared that there are people who came up to them asking for water.
What’s heartwarming was what he said on the latter part of his interview about being the voice to those who didn’t have voice and honoring those who passed.
“I honestly think it’s an honor to be there and to be able to give voice to people who don’t have a voice, who don’t have access to power and to be able tell that woman’s story.”
“You know there’s nothing bad things all around the world but there’s nothing sadder to me than a person lived a good and decent life whose family ends up dying on the side of the road, dissolving into nothing and nobody even notices their passing, and nobody in authority helps in the search for them, and nobody tells their story. So I don’t believe it really changes much but I do believe in the power of just of honoring those who have passed and learning their names and learning who they are in the life they’ve live.”
Watch the video here:
The AC360 host also had a piece of his Reporter’s Notebook for the victims of the typhoon Haiyan in which he emphasized the strength of the Filipino people. He said that amidst the hunger, thirst, chaos, and confusion, “we’ve seen the best of the Filipino people.” Cooper said that he can’t get the victims’ strength and courage out of his mind.
“We’ve seen people with every reason to despair, with the right to be angry, but instead find ways to laugh, to love, to stand up, to move forward,” he continued.
The segment ended with him speaking in Filipino, “Mabuhay Philippines! Maraming salamat for all you’ve shown us.Maraming salamat for showing us all how to live.”
Do you agree that we should honor those who passed because of super typhoon Yolanda? If so, what is the best way to honor them? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
