Typhoon Haiyan Transformed Me from a Tourist to a Medic

All photos courtesy of Mark Dashwood

This fall Mark Dashwood, a doctor from Devon, England, did what thousands or millions of Western tourists have done before him and went backpacking through Southeast Asia. Only Typhoon Haiyan went through Southeast Asia at the same time, killing thousands and destroying the homes and livelihoods of tens of thousands more. Needless to say, my friend Mark's vacation was ruined and he decided to put his medical skills to good use, assisting the victims of the disaster as best he could. I called him up to see how he was doing.

VICE: Where were you when the storm hit?
Mark Dashwood: I was in Boracay; it’s quite a touristy island in the central Philippines.

Did people know how bad it was going to be?
I read about it on the BBC website two days before it was due [to hit], but no one else had heard about it. I told the owner of the hostel I was staying in, and he set up a meeting to inform the rest [of the guests]. I read as much as I could online, and as soon as I realized how big it was going to be I booked a flight to Manila for the next morning. There were a lot of people who wanted to stay, claiming it wasn't going to be that bad, but I wanted to get the hell out of there.

Understandable. Did you get out?
I went to the ports the next day and tried to leave the island but they’d closed [the ports]. There were hundreds of people trying to do the same thing and no one could get off.

Shit. Why did they close the ports?
I think it was on government orders. They get these signals for how bad it’s going to be and Boracay got a signal 4, which is the worst. The orders from the government were to close everything. At the time it was really frustrating because I had a flight on the mainland, only a ten-minute boat journey away. In hindsight, I see it as a good thing because I know people who got across [only to have] their flights cancelled. There’s a lack of infrastructure on the mainland, which means loads had to stay in huts and just wait for the typhoon to pass. It kind of makes sense that they tried to contain people.

I guess. Where are you now?
I’m in Cebu right now, which hasn’t been massively hit by the storm; the worst hit areas are in the north of Cebu and the eastern islands, like Tacloban. There are a lot of more rural places that no one is really sure about at the moment. Cebu has kind of become the hub from where the whole relief effort is being coordinated. Places that have been badly hit are only two or three hours drive from here.

Are people heading for Cebu, then?
Yeah, the airport is pretty busy. Lots of aid organizations have started coming in, [and also] the military. Despite that, it’s still quite difficult for people to get here; a lot of the roads are closed.

What role is the military playing?
The military has mainly been deployed to try to control the situation—there’s been looting in places like Tacloban. I’ve heard reports that the military have shot people. People worry a lot. Cebu wasn’t too badly hit but there are so many people coming in from the remote places—people who have lost their entire families. It's pretty tragic.

I’ve spent the last few days trying to find ways to help with medical organizations. Yesterday I was at one of the government buildings and we helped package food and rice—tons and tons are coming in. Tomorrow I’m traveling north for that and I’m not really sure what to expect.

So foreign aid is getting through?
Yes, it’s getting through. There’s an airport in Cebu but it’s a lot more difficult getting [aid] to the remote areas. All the roads are down, there’s debris and shit everywhere. I went down to the airport and sat next to someone from the UN. The World Health Organization is arriving—so yeah, people are really starting to flood in. Even in Tacloban, planes keep coming in. It has taken a long time, though—I mean, it’s been more than a week now. People are hungry and desperate.

You’re not a tourist any more, are you?
It’s been very surreal, getting wrapped up in the whole thing. Because Boracay wasn’t that badly hit, sitting on the beach I ended up feeling a bit useless. There’s a Danish guy here who’s getting money from home and has hired a truck and he's just driven off with a few more people trying to aid hard-hit areas on their own. A lot of people have gone home, but there are also those who are still here trying to make a holiday out of it.

Are you planning to stick around?
I’m here till December, so I guess I’ll be helping until then. Once you get involved it’s very hard to leave. You see and hear about disasters like this all the time, but when you actually experience such a thing yourself it’s worse than you ever imagined. I’ve got a bit of medical experience, and that makes it my obligation to do something.

Follow Tristan on Twitter: @tristanjamesme

More stories about Typhoon Haiyan:

What We Shouldn't Be Doing in the Wake of Typhoon Yolanda

A Doomsday Prepper Explains How to Solve the Philippines' Typhoon Crisis

How Remote Islands Are Coping with Typhoon Haiyan's Devastation