Reactions to the Glorietta Bombing
I've just learned that a suspected bomb attack in the Philippines has left eight people dead.
Pause. Eyes widen in shock. The Glorietta shopping center in Makati. That's home turf, less than half a mile from my grandmother's house. She shops at the supermarket beside it. My aunts go on shopping sprees there, my teenage cousins hang out there practically every weekend. Heck, I used to hang out there practically every weekend.
Then come the rush of questions. Is my family safe? Are my friends alright? Do I know anyone who was there?
A quick call to my mother soothes my worst fears. But my heart still sinks. How awful! I know that in the grand scale of things, 8 dead and 100 injured is , but these are people's lives we're talking about. And being so close to home makes it more personal. When they say the explosion "left a deep crater at the foot of the escalator" and had "cars outside the mall were covered in debris", I can close my eyes and picture exactly how it would look like.
Then comes a niggling little fear. We're going home for Christmas this year. I've been looking forward to strolling around that very same mall, checking out the beautiful (and cheap!) things they have for sale (and no doubt buying a lot of them), to having my kids play at the playgrounds and eat at the restaurants. Now what does this mean? Will it still be closed? Will part of it be? Is this a one-time event? Or is this just the beginning?
Then comes anger. If it was a bomb, that means someone decided to set it off. Someone didn't care that a man would soon be left without a leg, a woman without her store, a son without a mother. Stupid terrorists -- they don't care how many people's lives they mess up, just so they get their message across. Go take your fight to the people you're angry with, not the innocent ones, okay?
Bonggamom also blogs over at Finding Bonggamom and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
3 comments:
I really wish this government would get rid of the terrorists once and for all.
I too got worried when I heard the news. I got home from work after midnight and turned on the tv out of habit... I thought I was hearing old news. After making sure that it's all current, I texted and emailed all my friends that I know frequent that mall specially during lunchtime. I just wish there was more that can be done.
There was no bomb - according to the PI news, there was an explosion due to gas accumulating underground in a poorly and misshapen shaft. The PI is so corrupt, the inspectors probably recieved a payment to sign off on the construction whc lead to "poor construction" and an explosion which not only killed people but jeopardized many lives. When watching PI news, corruption is so rampant and evident that it is really scary to think about going to the PI for any kind of visit. Shame on those who approved the construction in that mall. They have to live with the deaths of the innocent.
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