When Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines, battering the archipelago with wind speeds nearing 200 miles per hour, the devastating storm surge left an apocalyptic wasteland in its wake. At least 3,974 people were killed and a further 1,186 remain missing, with about 500,000 now homeless, according to the latest official figures. On November 28, in a citywide show of solidarity, one of the capital’s most loved Filipino musicians – touched personally by the tragedy – will host a benefit concert to raise much-needed funds for survivors.
Jerby Santo, lead singer with Jaworski 7, says Filipinos based here in Phnom Penh have been quick to react to the disaster and there are a large number of similar initiatives underway. “We were all worried and deeply wounded,” he says. Efforts are being coordinated under the JUAN HELP banner and all activities with this logo are being supported by the Philippines Embassy. “It helps when you have lots of NGO experts and ad agency people,” Jerby notes.
There are around 3,000 Filipino expats in Phnom Penh at present. Like other expats, they’re here working as teachers, engineers, with corporates and NGOs and in business. But like all Australians are surfers, and all Americans are lawyers, is it true that all Filipinos are musicians?
“I am not sure about that, but yeah, the arts are very much ingrained in the daily lives of people,” says Jerby. “Doctors, engineers, politicians, teachers: almost everyone has a performance group affiliation, a choir, a band, a hip hop dance crew, a folk dance group, a community theatre, a festival street dancing group. I guess this is the result when you stay 300 years in a Spanish convent and suddenly party for 40 years in American Hollywood and are then compelled to follow the rigid Japanese bushido for four years.”
The typhoon has had a particularly personal impact on Jerby. “The most devastated city, Tacloban, was where I went to college and established my career just before coming here to Phnom Penh. I left a really interesting city and was looking forward to seeing it again then the storm hit it. I spent sleepless nights thinking about my family and friends because I could not contact them and the images on the news networks and social media compounded my situation. Thankfully they survived the storm, but some of my friends did not make it. Two musicians from our scene both got engulfed in the storm surge, promising young musicians… snapped out in a flick, just like that.”
The full extent of the damage is still to be calculated. “There are close to 5,000 people dead, others are still missing. Thousands do not have shelter, and livelihoods are gone. It will be a long and arduous journey for the province and Tacloban to get back to where it was, but I am sure that the city will get back to its feet sooner than expected. I will go home soon; I need to rebuild our house, as well as my community.”
Entry for the concert will be $5, says Jerby, “but we encourage people to give more because $5 won’t buy a single corrugated iron sheet. The goal is to be able to buy corrugated sheets and other building materials for my town, Dulag, where 98% of homes were destroyed. December till February will be rainy and people don’t have homes right now.”
And what do you get for your donation? A good sampling of the many expat bands that feature Filipino musicians, including Vibratone, Moi Tiet, Adobo Conspiracy, and Jerby’s original music project, Dancing with the Indios.
WHO: The expat music community
WHAT: Typhoon Haiyan benefit concert
WHERE: Equinox, #3a Street 278
WHEN: 9pm November 28
WHY: Show some love for our Filipino friends and help rebuild a shattered nation