Anderson Cooper thanks Filipinos for ‘showing us how to live’; Says Filipino Honoured in CNN Typhoon Haiyan Broadcasts
CNN broadcast journalist Anderson Cooper expressed gratefulness to the Filipinos for inspiring the world on how to overcome the seemingly insurmountable trial that typhoon Haiyan brought the country.
In a broadcast on Saturday morning, Mr Cooper said:
“Mabuhay Philippines. Maraming salamat for showing us all how to live.”
“Not just to survive this storm but they’re strong to have survived the aftermath of the storm for a week now with very little food, with very little water, with very little medical attention,” Mr Cooper added.
He echoed this through his tweets.
"Mabuhi Philipines, Maramay salama for all you've shown us. Maramay salama for showing us all how to live" @andersoncooper. #AC360
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 16, 2013
"They will make it through. They've already survived the worst" Anderson's Reporter's notebook from #TyphoonHaiyan http://t.co/fwPvVVep3t — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 16, 2013
Mr Cooper wants the Filipinos and the world to know that they honour the Filipinos in every CNN broadcasts of typhoon Haiyan devastation in the Philippines.
“Can you imagine the strength it takes living in a shack, to be sleeping on the streets next to the body of your dead children? Can you imagine that strength? I can’t. And I’ve seen that strength day in and day out here in the Philippines and we honor them in every broadcast that we do,” Cooper said in a CNN broadcast on Friday.
He said that more than anything else, their coverage of Tacloban City aimed for accuracy.
“Accuracy is what we strive for. I certainly pray to God that it is a better situation there. Two days ago the President of the Philippines has counseled foreign journalists that they should be accurate in their report. We certainly appreciate that counsel. I would actually say that in every report we’ve shown how strong Filipino people are, the people of Tacloban, Samar, Cebu and all these places where so many have died,” Mr Cooper added.
This came in response to Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s call to the international media “to uplift the spirits of the Filipino people to find stories of resilience, hope and faith and show the world how strong Filipino people are.”
On Thursday, Mr Aquino, through an official statement, appeal for greater accuracy in reports from the international media.
“We can all do more, and today, I would like to make an appeal for greater accuracy in reports. In the same way that you have used your media coverage to give this tragedy a very real and human face, and to move others to action, you can also use your role to uplift the spirits of the Filipino people — to find stories of resilience, hope, and faith, and show the world just how strong the Filipino people are,” the President said in the statement as broadcasted by a local news radio.
The president’s plea came as a result of international media criticising his government for poor relief operations and lack of leadership in the wake of typhoon haiyan disaster.