|
 The marchers sang "We shall overcome" as they toured parts of
Tacloban, at one point skirting some unburied corpses in bags by the
roadside.
The Rev. Robert Reyes, an activist priest known for running long
distances across country to draw attention to social issues, said
the marchers were living in a church and a sports stadium.
"This is not an ordinary march. We call it the walk to overcome,"
said Reyes. "This is part of what we call psycho-social therapy
where you listen to the victims of the disaster but you also make
them believe that they can actually heal themselves."
Typhoon Haiyan cut a path across eastern and central Philippines on
Nov. 8, with some of fastest wind speeds on record. It killed or has
left missing more than 5,000 people and displaced an estimated 4
million people. A major international relief mission is underway to
help the survivors, many of whom will be dependent on aid for months
to come.
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The airport in Tacloban, which was almost entirely destroyed in the
storm, has emerged as relief hub, with scores of aid flights
arriving each day carrying food, water, medicine, generators and
heavy lifting equipment. The pace has picked up markedly in recent
days compared to the chaos in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
"It looks completely different to when I came in last week," said
Valerie Amos, the United Nation's humanitarian chief. "I'm really
delighted that so much progress has been made, so much more aid is
going out, and the people are getting the vital supplies that they
need."
[Associated
Press; TERESA CEREJANO]
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