Closure

They’ve temporarily stopped the rescue of the remaining dead of the capsized ship here, due to typhoon “Frank”. Apparently, the ship carried a dangerous pesticide chemical that could harm the rescue divers so it’s been put on hold indefinitely; an additional agony for the relatives waiting to see their dead. The sooner they recover the bodies of their loved ones, the sooner they see their lifeless corpses, the sooner they’ll be able to move on.

Closure is an integral part of moving on, whether it’s from the death of a loved one, a broken relationship or an unconquered promotion. Without it, you can’t or would have some difficulty doing so. Filipinos, specially, tend to hang on till the last drop of hope. Unless it’s biting us in the face, that it’s truly over, we won’t let go.

So you can’t just tell a Filipino to forget his dead. It will take him years to realize the missing loved one won’t be knocking on the door and coming home any day. You can’t just turn your back on a Filipina without talking it out and clearing the reasons why you’re ending the relationship. You give her closure.

You give the grieving families their dead even if the remains are merely bones, so then, they can bury their dead. And there, it truly ends.