SMALL LAMP | PHILIPPINES

FRANK MARBA

After Super Typhoon Odette battered their island in 2021, Frank and his family had to endure many nights with only a small lamp as their source of light. Even after three years, they still haven’t fully recovered. Experiencing these injustices, Frank bravely fights back to hold climate polluters accountable for their loss and damages.

Super Typhoon Odette, was the second most destructive typhoon that hit the Philippines. Report says that about a half million families were affected.

Among the worst hit were the families in Dinagat Island, where Frank lives. With strong winds, heavy rainfall, and a storm surge, Frank and his grandmother were almost killed. Many houses in Dinagat were damaged, and power lines were toppled following the onslaught. Being an hour away from the island, it was also more difficult to get the essential supplies they needed.

Object of Memory

Their nights were filled with darkness for months, with only a small lamp as their source of light. Three years later, scars brought by Odette still remain, as more typhoons have threatened the safety of the people of Dinagat. Every time a typhoon comes, Frank’s grandmother would still shake in fear, being reminded of their ordeal from Typhoon Odette.

To stop these injustices, Frank took a bold step and fought against a Goliath—big oil company TotalEnergies. Together with other scientist-activists and other individuals impacted by the climate crisis, he filed a criminal case against TotalEnergies in France to hold them accountable “for deliberately endangering the lives of others, involuntary manslaughter, neglecting to address a disaster, and damaging biodiversity.”