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Whale
shark town cries for Julia Campbell
DONSOL,
Sorsogon (April 19, 2007) - This coastal town, which
calls itself the whale shark capital of the world, was
shocked to hear that Julia Campbell, the friendly US
Peace Corps volunteer who used to walk and ride bicycle
daily around the town proper to teach children and lecture
on saving the habitat was dead.
"I
cried when I heard about what happened," said Mayor
Salve Ocaya, referring to her friend Julia whose lifeless
body was discovered at the Rice Terraces in Batad, Ifugado
province on April 18, several days after she was declared
missing on a trip to Cordillera. Donsol was celebrating
the Butanding (whale shark) Festival on the same day,
but the festivity was met with sadness on the news of
her passing.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, who was actively
promoting the Philippines as a safe and beautiful destination
for international visitors, said he was saddened by
the fact that Campbell died while on a trip to a famous
tourist spot.
Campbell a former New York Times journalist, who took
the time to learn Filipino dialects in less than two
years she was in the Philippines, taught at the Donsol
National Comprehensive School last year and organized
an eco-tourism center in Barangay Dancayan, the jump-off
point for whaleshark interaction that caught the attention
of international tourists.
"Almost
everyone knew and liked her, because she was friendly
and always smiling," Ocaya said. "She greeted
the people with smile and hello. She felt safe here."
One of her students described Ms. Campbell as a kind-hearted
woman who dedicated her life to teach about protecting
the natural habitat.
The 40-year-old Campbell, a native of Virginia, USA,
was a frequent visitor to the Donsol municipal hall
where she walked in slippers. She spoke Tagalog, learned
to dance some native dances, and loved travelling to
different tourist destinations in the Philippines particularly
Donsol, Ocaya said.
Whalesharks have brought thousands of foreign and international
visitors to Donsol, which have been upgraded from a
fifth class municipality to a third-class municipality
in 2006, because of its booming tourism industry.
There
were concerns, however, that the influx of tourists
could affect the habitat of the whalesharks and drive
them away from Donsol.
Ocaya said Campbell loved Donsol so much that she convinced
her parents and about 20 members of the US Peace Corps
to visit the town and experience the whale shark interaction
in the summer of 2006.
"She liked it very much," said Joel Briones,
the Butanding interaction officer, who guided Campbell
when she first dived to see the awe-inspiring gentle
giants of the sea.
People here said Cambell built a house in Barangay Dancayan,
where she stayed for about a year, and left it to a
family when she transferred to Legaspi City to teach
at the Divine Word College.
Ocaya
said Cambell asked the support of her friends to build
a library in Donsol with donated books. Her project
earned the respect and admiration of the people whom
she touched with deep concern.
Campbell was supposed to return to finish another project,
her eco-tourism center in Barangay Dancalan, which will
have materials and books about protecting the natural
habitat of whalesharks.
That project remains unfinished, and Ocaya said this
will be left to the barangay for completion.
This town will miss her, said Ocaya. Roderick T. dela
Cruz
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