Rebuilding Time
by Oliver Carlos
World War 2 ended in Manila on March 3, 1945 when the US Liberation Forces overran the capital city of the Philippines after 1 month of heavy shelling and gun battles with the Japanese soldiers hiding in the buildings. So heavy was the bombings of the Americans that almost all concrete structures in Manila were pulverized. The beautifully architected pre-war buildings like the Senate building (now the National Museum), and the Manila City Hall were in shambles after the smoke cleared.
Incidentally, I found a very old photograph of my paternal grandfather Tomas Castillo, Sr. while he was in Manila right after the war. It gave me a glimpse of what Manila looked like during the rebuilding days.
The faded photograph had a date- 1947. That was 2 years after the war ended. Tomas was posing in front of the Manila Post Office together with 3 ladies. The said building was known for its majestic pillars that looked like the ones in ancient Greece. In the picture, the said structure was surrounded by scaffoldings. It’s very clear that it’s undergoing some repair work. It was one of the badly damaged buildings in the 1945 Battle of Manila, although not as worse as the City Hall, the Senate building, and the structures inside Intramuros.
One of the ladies in the picture was Tomas’ younger sister Corazon. The 2 other ladies were unidentified. I knew that Tomas evacuated his entire family from Manila to the hinterlands of Gerona, Tarlac during the Japanese Occupation. During the pre-war years, my grandparents had a dry goods stall in a market near what is now Legarda street. They had to abandon their booming livelihood at the outbreak of the war. They had 3 kids at that point in time- Angel, Rosa, and Jovencio. Their 4th child Cenon was born in 1943 while they were in hiding.
The Castillo family chose Gerona, Tarlac as their hiding place because my grandmother Ceriaca was from that town. Her father Catalino, a land surveyor, became their guide as they trekked to the wilderness. But sadly, Catalino passed away at the war’s end in 1945 due to a heart attack.
The 1947 photo showed the time when the Castillos went down from the hills to rebuild their life and business in Manila. My grandparents reopened their dry goods store in a new location- in the Pandacan market. They had a new home address too- no.7 Adonis street, Pandacan, Manila. Their 5th child Tomas, Jr. was born in 1946. Their livelihood blossomed once again and they were able to send all their children to private schools, which was a sign of affluence.
There were faint smiles on the faces of the people in the 1947 picture. I’m sure those smiles became bigger in the years that went by in the post-war period. This is similar to the time of Nehemiah in the Bible. His nation Israel fell as their walled capital city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading Babylonian Empire. The Israelites were taken as captives and were exiled to various places in the empire. Seventy years later, the new world superpower, Persia defeated Babylon and took over its territories. The Persians were more liberal rulers, and they allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their lives in their homeland.
Meanwhile, Nehemiah who was working for the Persian emperor, had a burden to rebuild the torn-down walls of Jerusalem. He prayed hard to God about it before approaching his boss for some practical help. God touched the heart of the Persian ruler, and he provided everything Nehemiah would need. God’s hand was also there when the Jews were able to complete the project in a record 52 days! Here’s an excerpt of Nehemiah’s fervent prayer:
“Lord, listen carefully to my prayer. I am your servant. And listen to the prayers of your servants who love to honor you. Give me, your servant, success today. Allow this king to show kindness to me.” (Nehemiah 1:11, ICB)
What aspect of your life needs some rebuilding? Lay it out at the feet of God. Ask for his favor and guiding hand. Just like the Jews who experienced God’s power as they placed the bricks one by one in their rightful places, claim the same thing to happen in your rebuilding project.
