Philippines: Ooberfuse sing with typhoon survivors ahead of Papal Visit

In advance of Pope Francis’ meeting with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban on 17 January, Ooberfuse has been rehearsing with local musicians. Their song Mercy has been adopted by the organisers as one of the official songs for the Holy Father's visit.

Lead singer Cherrie Anderson’s return to her birth-town Tacloban was an emotional home-coming. Many of the families are still rebuilding their homes over 12 months after the trail of devastation left behind by typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda).

Cherrie, front-woman of the band, said: “When I stepped off the plane rain was falling from angry clouds in the skies. Locals were preparing for another tropical storm expected to strike on the Wednesday before Pope Francis’ visit. Whilst Leyte is a region accustomed to extreme weather conditions, being exposed to the winds sweeping across the Pacific, no-one was prepared for the ferocity of typhoon Haiyan. The term ‘storm-surge’, used by civil authorities in forewarning, meant little more to the locals than yet another tropical storm. Most people we have met lost family members to Haiyan.”

Hal St John from the band added: “Tacloban, although a city, is nevertheless economically very poor. It stands at the crossroads with Mindanao, the Muslim south of the Philippines. Over 12 months after the drama of the storm, there is a definite air of expectation building in the town in the days leading up to Francis’ visit. Whilst the official events are ticketed, restricting the audience to 200,000 people, they are expecting millions to assemble in the region. Pope Francis’ presence amongst the traumatised survivors is seen in prophetic terms as a concrete expression of the shepherd’s love for his scattered sheep. The president of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, today reminded the public ‘Let us not forget that the primary reason for the papal visit is to console victims.”

See the new song on Youtube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKVkQ82LJMQ

And the acoustic Filipino version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2DHL5Rjhy4