Waves and Spells

In the Beginning

My name is Belen. My family is from the Badjao tribe in the Philippines; we live near the sea. I love my home. Without it, I would lose who I am. My life is quite simple. My father is the head of a sustainable fishing group. Many people in my tribe purchase his fish and use it to feed their families. It is the only meat available in my area seeing as there is little to no cattle. My mother does housework and instructs yoga. She doesn't make much money doing it, but she says that she enjoys making people's lives a little calmer.
There is quite a bit of rainfall throughout the year, mostly from June to September. Unfortunately, the effects of the climate crises have found their way to my tribe. Every year, the country as a whole experiences around 25 storms and typhoons, but last year, we received around 50. The government has set aside 5% of their revenue to combat and deal with these storms and typhoons, but with the increase of these events, the government has had to consider revising the allocation of funds.
Today is February 23rd, a year from the day that Wutip, a typhoon, intensified to become a super typhoon. It was the strongest February typhoon that we have ever had and the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in February in the Northern Hemisphere. Although Wutip did not directly hit us, it gave us a warning - you may be next. The hard part of it all is that our island doesn't have the resources to deal with horrible storms or torrential rain spells. But, we cannot harness the wind; we cannot control the weather.

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At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Farah, one of my neighbors, tells me that my father is calling me. I unhook a boat from the dock and start rowing to the other side of the village. I begin to see him. I maneuver around some mangroves and then start to hear my father yelling at me.
"Come help me!" he calls to me. I can see that he needs help hauling fish out of his boat and into a cart for selling.
"Right now!" I reply. I secure the boat to the dock and hoist myself up.
"We had to catch a lot of fish today because people say that there will be a lot of rain coming soon," he explains. I pray that the rain doesn't come down too hard.

~ · ~ 

Shortly after we finish selling the freshly-caught fish, rain begins to pour down without any intention of stopping. My mom fetches several old cloths and puts them under the windows to collect any water that comes in. "Wow, what heavy rain for February!" my mother remarks while putting the last cloth under the kitchen window. It rains quite a bit, but less in February since it is not in the wet season. "Yes, it's not common," my brother replies, looking up from his sewing project. Since it is raining heavily, my family stays inside for the rest of the day. My brother sews, my mom cooks, my father prepares fish, and I sleep and read.