The survivors of San Miguel Los Lotes do not suspend the search for the bodies of their relatives among the ashes. (Photo Prensa Libre: Estuardo Paredes)
A month ago, the lava and hot ashes thrown by the Fuego Volcano on June 3 devastated not only the communities in the foothills of the colossus but also the dreams of its inhabitants
Approaching the ground zero, in San Miguel Los Lotes, to Escuintla, the most affected village, the desolation is felt. The remains of roofs of houses, sheets, tree trunks, clothes, shoes and even toys among the ashes come out.
The earth is warmer, because the rain fell in the last few days when they wet the ground and formed puddles in the holes that men and women opened with their hands, with sticks, piochas and shovels to find the bodies of their loved ones that have not been dug up.
Authorities report 113 deaths in the region, but residents like Otto Ramiro García say more: "Here, there are still many deaths, at least about 1400".
Read more The Lots is devastated by a volcanic eruption
The village was declared uninhabitable by the National Coordinator for the Prevention of Natural Disasters (Conrad), but this is n & # It did not stop people from continuing to look for their loved ones. [19659005] With the help of private donations from abroad, such as Pastor Joel Reinford, machinery services were hired to speed up the work, which awakened faith in the survivors, as their desire is to give a Christian burial to their people
The rain also cleared the leaves of the few trees left standing, and some shoots begin to bloom, giving color to the gray and sad image left by the 39; eruption.
But the rainy season can become a threat to the communities on the slopes of the volcano, because of the lahars that may be present, because of the accumulated volcanic material that would be carried away by the rain.
According to Eddy Sanchéz, director of the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh), these "can exceed up to one hundred events and the average of each would be 10 million cubes. "
On the day of the eruption, the column of smoke that threw the Fuego Volcano reached six thousand meters above sea level, and the following days it remained between 4 thousand 200 to 5,600 Yesterday we reported two to three weak explosions per hour, ejecting smoke plumes of gray ash at 4,000 meters above sea level.
"I have to dig up my family"
Eufemia García
His skin burned by the sun, his hands cracked by contact with the earth and ashes, are evidence of the days that Eufemia García has spent in removing the lands that belonged to his mother. There, he says, 40 of his relatives are still buried.
Eufemia Garcia searches for her parents where her house was. (Photo Prensa Libre: Estuardo Paredes)
She is one of the few women who, every day since the eruption of the volcano, works to unearth their families in San Miguel Los Lotes. In the middle of nowhere, you can see it with a shovel in your hands, without a mask or boots. The desire to find the bodies of her three children, her grandson, her brothers and her nephews, keeps her on the land devastated by the eruption of the volcano of fire.
The woman became from the first day of tragedy a symbol of perseverance and suffering that survivors of the eruption, because she did not leave the place.
She claimed President Jimmy Morales for
"They no longer want us to dig up our people, when I think we have all the rights because this property belongs to us, and here is our family," he says. without releasing the shovel that has become his companion for long days, which ends when the rain begins to fall.
Eufemia has a list with the names and names of the people who were buried. There were 50, but he has already recovered the bodies of 10 people, including his mother, June 10.
"I do not leave here because I have to dig up my family, I'm crazy, even though I'm a little bone, but I want to take them with me," he says with his eyes fixed on the
Yesterday, Eufemia worked tirelessly in front of a mountain of sand and ashes, surrounded by a ditch of several meters that was formed by the excavation of the earth in the place. has been filled with mud by the rain that has fallen in recent days, which makes it difficult, fortunately she is not alone, many people have joined her to support her.
"He is sad and scared of losing one to his family Loida Siquinajay
"I said I would never come back again," said Loida Siquinajai, where was his house, and the family survived miraculously
who was buried by the volcanic material Miraculously, she, her children, and her husband managed to flee.
Loida Siquinajay is one of the survivors of the tragedy that occurred on June 3 in San Miguel Los Lotes. (Photo Prensa Libre: Estuardo Paredes)
In his mind is indelible the scene of the pyroclastic matter that advanced towards where they were. It was lunch time and he was waiting at the door of his house for his daughter who was bringing the tortillas. Seeing the black cloud approach, he took his children and ran. He told a cousin who lived in front of them to flee, but he did not listen to his request.
In the streets, people piled up and it was impossible to run. So Loida made the decision to go get her mother and brothers who lived nearby. A truck was waiting to take them out, but they could not move on.
"We stay there at the will of God." When all was over, they broke a fence and managed to reach the roof of a two-story house. Her husband and brother made a bridge with sticks and managed to escape. Night had fallen. "We were not taking anything away from the house, if it was, I would not say it."
"Here, my house is buried"
Vásquez
Where it is, it is there is nothing but volcanic stone. He says that these are the bodies of his wife and children, who could not escape the volcano eruption.
Elmer Vásquez hopes to find his wife and children who died in tragedy. (Free Press Photo: Stuart Paredes)
His face is tired, he has been searching for the bodies of his family for days. With shovels and sticks, he removes the earth, because he wants to give them a Christian burial. But this time, he will not do the job alone. He has received financial support from a group of Americans to hire machines that will help him remove the land. "They charge me 225 Q / A," a money that he mentions that he can not afford if it was the help he gets. "The government did not help us, it rather complicates our work because it gave the order of the police did not let us in (to zero)," said somehow disappointed that, like the other residents he will not rest until they find their loved ones.
After swallowing a little saliva and taking a break, said, "I'm right where my house was, here is my house buried."
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