A 40-fee Dita Tree became a refuge for 36 members of 7 families in Barangay Bagong Silangan (New East Village), Quezon City, Metro Manila as flood waters rose last September 26. The flashflood was caused by a record rainfall unleashed by Typhoon Ketsana which hit the Philippines last September. It was the worst flooding in the country in the past 40 years.

There are only few Dita Trees left in urban Metro Manila. Barangay Bagong Silangan is an urban poor community located in the northeastern part of the country’s capital. More than 30 individuals died in this community during the flooding disaster.

Arkibong Bayan provides more details:

36 members of 7 families climbed up this dita tree as the flood waters was rising and were saved. They stayed on the branches of this tree from 10 AM of Sept. 26 up to 3 AM of the following day when they climbed down with the waters still waist deep because they were cold and hungry for 17 hours. The oldest was 60 years old and the youngest 2 weeks old

Moral lesson: Don't cut trees, they may save your life one day. (In this case, literally.)

Survivors recounted that there were many big snakes which also sought refuge in the Dita Tree.

Aside from the Dita Tree, there was another tree which residents claimed also saved the lives of other villagers

Sabi ng mga taong nakausap namin nung magpunta din kami dun, maliban sa dita tree, may isa pang puno dun na mas manipis pero mataas din. doon daw sumabit yung isang pamilyang nakasakay sa yero. Meron ding 2 month old baby na natangay ng agos sa puno kaya sinungkit din nila.

TASK FORCE: children of the storm was able to visit the village and the group also saw the “Tree of Life”

We were also shown what we now call the “Tree of Life”, the Dita tree where 7 families (34 individuals) sought refuge during the flood and were saved from the raging flood waters.

The surviving residents, who were surveying their homes for repairs, talked of how they climbed from roof to roof seeking higher grounds. They recounted how they rescued a 2 month old baby on floating aluminum roofing.

Arkibong Bayan received a comment from a reader who shared a similar story about how a mango tree saved lives during a natural disaster three years ago

During the onslaught of Supertyphoon Reming on November 30, 2006, a mango tree saved 5 lives in Padang, Legazpi City (Bicol Region in Luzon Island). One survivor had two choices: the mango tree or the slab roof of a house. She chose the tree; those on the slab roof were entirely swept away to the sea.

Lesson: Plant a tree. It may save your life

After surviving the deadly flood last September, residents of Barangay Bagong Silangan are facing a bigger challenge: rebuilding their homes and their lives. The community is a changed community. Houses were swept away and many basic infrastructure were damaged.

We were told that before Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana) the area was congested like any other urban poor area.

Now, only the relatively sturdy homes survived. And the area looks spacious with wide, open spaces — all because the homes had been swept away by rampaging and swirling flood waters.

Gary Graeme Jones is a prisoner in Bang Kwang Prison. The infamous Bangkok Hilton. So many people have heard of it but do not realise what a nightmare that name conjures

Gary’s supporters have set-up a blog to publish letters and other reports from Gary. Bang Kwang Prison is Thailand's central, high-security prison for men. Many of the inmates in this prison are foreigners involved in illegal narcotics trade. Who is Gary?

Gary is a British Citizen, Married to a Thai with four adopted kids. He was born in 1950 and is doing Life for the exporting of 2.4Kg of heroin. That’s the website info. We have found Gary to be articulate, intelligent and extremely outspoken in the treatment of prisoners, not just in the Thai jails but everywhere in the world. As we go on we will post stuff that Gary has written in letters, descriptions of his fellow prisoners, pictures where possible and gradually we will get a picture of him and his life.

Gary’s prison blog is not regularly updated. But from time to time, it provides important information about the conditions of the prisoners inside Bang Kwang. These blog posts were helpful in getting the attention of mainstream media, civil society groups, and the public so that the basic rights of the inmates will be guaranteed.

During the AH1N1 scare a few months ago, Gary notified journalists about the mild AH1N1 outbreak inside the prison:

News has started to reach us of an outbreak of H1N1 (swine flu) inside the prison and it there has been some fatalities. As of the 13th July, 2 prisoners have died as a direct result of the virus, one prison guard has also died and a second is in hospital in a very serious condition (hopefully by now having made a full recovery)

Reports have also been forwarded to me that the Thai Department of Corrections has issued instructions that face masks are to be worn by all staff and prisoners (non Thai prisoners have to pay 100Baht.)

This article was reprinted in many websites. Even mainstream journalists reported this issue. Gary said this helped in forcing prison officials to implement some crucial health reforms in the prison facilities to stop the spread of AH1N1.

Last month Gary wrote about the alleged executions of prisoners in Bang Kwang. He also exposed the corrupt activities of prison authorities.

Now that the prisoners have been shown that executions can happen at any time “Life Insurance” is now being paid to the Building Chief, Bunlom Conwichet by most of the 24 names listed below. This is a bribe paid so that the poor unfortunates names are not next on the list for the lethal injection

Human rights activists and bloggers noted the significance of this expose. They are now demanding an official investigation on this issue.

Gary’s blog does not only provide a rare glimpse about the life of prisoners in Bang Kwang. It is also a proof that blogs can be used to force policy changes even in prison cells.

“We have also already sent an SOS to the international community because this is the one of the biggest outbreaks not just in the Philippines but in the world…”

This was the statement of Philippine Heath Secretary Francisco Duque III who announced a Leptospirosis outbreak in the flood-affected areas of the Philippines. More than 30 towns are still submerged in floodwaters one month after two strong typhoons hit the country’s capital and nearby provinces.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection affecting both humans and animals. It is acquired through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or by contact with a urine-contaminated environment such as floodwater, soil, and plants. The bacteria enter the body through broken skins, eyes, nose or mouth.

As of October 26, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded a total of 2,158 cases including 167 deaths. Leptospirosis cases in Metro Manila have increased by as much as 174 percent since last year. Leptospirosis cases reached its peak from October 14 to 19, with hospitals reporting up to 350 cases a day.

Health authorities believe that more than one million people in the provinces south of Metro Manila are at risk of exposure to Leptospirosis, while 700,000 people are vulnerable in Metro Manila.

The government has drafted and distributed the “Interim Guidelines on the Prevention of Leptospirosis through the Use of Prophylaxis in Areas affected by Floods” to guide hospitals in areas vulnerable to Leptospirosis. Bloggers have started reposting relevant articles to inform readers about detecting symptoms of Leptospirosis.

Achieving Happiness warns that aside from Leptospirosis, other diseases are spreading in flooded communities and even in evacuation centers.

Imagine wading and swimming through polluted water. Then imagine your own children doing the same. It’s horrible. It’s dangerous. And now people are sick.

Besides leptospirosis, there’s cholera and the whole gamut of respiratory diseases because of the terrible living conditions in the evacuation centers. Skin diseases also proliferate.

The D Spot hits the delayed information drive of the government about the danger of Leptospirosis. The blogger also emphasizes that Leptospirosis is more dangerous than AH1N1

A large number of patients that consulted and continue to consult the hospitals’ emergency rooms have already developed grave complications—liver, kidney and lung failure. And what does this signify? The illness is already in its late stage.

These complications of Leptospirosis are mostly preventable had these patients been advised properly to take prophylaxis or seek early consult. The sad part is that we have not seen any massive information from DOH or the local government when clearly, Leptospirosis is more deadly than AH1N1, not until lately when the newspapers and television have picked up the stories.

Unlike AH1N1 which made too much noise and controversy, Leptospirosis is an illness which nobody is treating seriously, especially here in the Philippines, probably because it is an old case.

People have suffered enough, losing kith and kin, damage to properties, leaving the scars of Ondoy and Pepeng for the rest of their lives. They should not lose their lives now and those of their remaining loved ones just because of poor information campaign.

Surviving LUPUS observes that Leptospirosis cases went up because residents were forced to walk on flooded streets last month

During the wrath of these two typhoons everyone is focused on saving properties and lives that they have ignored the possibility of getting sick through flood waters. But what choice do you have at that moment, right? Flood water kept rising up, if you don’t move then you’ll get trap for days in your home with a short supply of potable water and food. So now as an aftermath a lot of people are in the hospital because of this disease.

The Paradoxic Ley Line blames the garbage of Manila for the Leptospirosis outbreak

After the flood, the plague came to wreak havoc to the people affected by Typhoon Ondoy. The plague came by the name of leptospirosis.

The back to back attack of the flood and leptospirosis is the end result of the waste mismanagement and blatant throwing of garbage to the streets and waterways. The flood is partly caused by the drainage system rendered useless by garbage. On the other hand, leptospirosis is caused by rats that live on garbage.

The sudden rise of leptospirosis cases and deaths only points to one thing and that is our continued wasteful lifestyle

Allena hopes the government will provide health insurance to flood victims

I really feel sorry about my fellowmen. For sure they do not have enough money for the medication and the hospital bill. I hope they have low cost health insurance to help them pay the medical bills. But it would be much better if the Philippine government would help them.

The Zen of Zero Expectations identifies measures to prevent the spread of Leptospirosis

As for leptospirosis, avoiding flooded areas is key.

Wear protective clothing, gloves and footwear if you have an occupational or recreational risk for exposure to contaminated soil or water. Cover wounds with waterproof dressings.

In general, practice good general sanitation to control the rat population. Remove brush and trash from areas of human habitation and don’t leave food out, especially in parks. Avoid water that may be contaminated with animal urine as this is the primary means of transmitting Leptospira to humans.

Most of us are just being reactive now, but it pays if we practise preventive measures in the days to come.

In the past months, numerous news stories exposing the different scams experienced by tourists in Thailand further eroded the image of Thailand. Last September, the TV documentary entitled “Big Trouble in Thailand” aired on a British television channel. This show, which featured the bad behavior of foreign tourists and locals in Thailand, generated a heated debate in the cyberspace.

Here is the description of the show from the Bravo channel website:

Bravo’s cameras go beyond the idyllic beaches and tropical island life to capture a rare and fascinating insight into British holidaymakers as they party in paradise and discover the horrors that can happen when things go drastically wrong.

From adrenaline fuelled drug busts, organised tourist scams, scorned lady-boys, violent brothel disputes, bar room brawls, brutal murders, street robberies and sexual assaults, the series is filmed in the popular tourist hotspots of Koh Samui, Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya and Chang Mai.

Oneditorial, a Thai citizen, sees nothing wrong with the program

Personally, I see nothing wrong with the programme. Given the title of the programme it is guaranteed to feature scenes depicting the bad behaviour of some tourists and locals. To my surprise, many people have been making a big fuss about it.

Johnny is not happy that it portrays Thailand in a negative way:

The problem with this clearly that it paints Thailand in a less than flattering picture. Sure Thailand as corruption, drinking, sleaze, drugs and other nasties shown but there is more to Thailand than this.

Another issue is the alleged staging of events to over dramatise the series. If it is true, as evidence suggests, then this makes the documentary all the more worse for fabricating events, one of which involved a Pattaya-based gangster.

Monsicha Hoonsuwan, another Thai citizen, does not want the international community to view Thailand as a “gangster” country

I have watched a little bit of the show on Bangkok Diaries, and in deed I found it very interesting. Of course, it was outrageous. As a Thai, I do not want other people to perceive Thailand as a “gangster” country, like the way some countries are perceived. And if there are staged circumstances to dramatize the series, it definite would not gain my approval.

My problem with the series, though, isn’t the fact that they show the “real” Thailand. My problem is I don’t understand the intention of the creator of this series. Portraying a country in a different angle – that I can understand. But why Thailand specifically? Don’t the problems in the series exist universally – in every state? That kind of gets me thinking.

Bangkok Diaries uploads the episodes of the documentary. The blogger agrees that the issues tackled by the show are indeed genuine but doubts if they are often experienced by tourists:

On one level it does seem somewhat sensationalized which is to be expected of anything you watch on television but on another level this stuff does happen. The jetski rental guys are crooks. Dumb ass tourists take drugs in Thailand despite the ample warnings everywhere. Idiot drunks get themselves in trouble and get the crap kicked out of them by locals. So on that level, all of this stuff happens. The big question is whether it happens as frequently as portrayed in the program.

Thailand, Land of Smiles thinks the documentary is a fraud and that some scenes were staged

I think Big Trouble in Thailand is much more than a waste of time…I feel it’s a fraud meant to paint Thailand in a negative light. The journalism was so one sided and leaned towards sympathetic to all of the British nationals involved. I truly believe that parts of this documentary were staged.

The controversial documentary has caught the attention of Thai authorities. Some are angry over it while some promised to act on the tourist scams featured in the show

One good thing that has come of this is that Thai authorities seem to be cracking down on the jet ski operators and the scams they perpetrate on the tourist community

Leosia criticizes the reactions of the Thai police to the airing of the documentary

This is a fairly typical response from the police. Whenever there is a problem, it must have been “staged” or someone is being “vindictive” or there is a plot against national security. Lots of bland statements repeated ad nauseum.

The Police LT is of course speaking from experience, but he’s making the mistake of thinking that foreigners have the same motivations as the Thai police force. That is, the staging of cover-ups, falsifications and filming video evidence of the suspect “pointing” at the scene of the crime.

The producer/director of TV documentary replies to critics of the show.