Earthquake: the suffering people of Italy
The seat of the provincial government in l'Aquila courtesy of www.news.sky.com
This must stand in for the images I saw last night when I watched the news special on television. This is not the worst of the damages, but to me it represents the helplessness anyone feels in an earthquake. Everything topples and all power then devolves to those who can still stand up and do something, anything to relieve the suffering of those who cannot.
As in any situation of horror and general destruction, there are stories of small miracles of salvation and stories of tragic loss. A young mother died saving her baby by throwing herself over her. A young man died because he didn’t want his grandmother to be alone and frightened by the tremors they were experiencing before the shock and went to sleep at her house.
Last night’s special included footage shot from a helicopter. It looks like a war. l’Aquila has been an important center of culture and education since Roman times, and almost nothing remains whole. At least one Medieval mansion is only a pile of rocks guarded by a lonely sheepdog who anxiously awaits his master’s return and will not leave.
It would be very difficult not to be moved to despair by the images and the stories. The grief of parents sobbing in public over the loss of their children of all ages, the even more desperate grief of parents who dully report the facts and whose suffering is too great to express. Lines of people walking out of their city towards no one knows what, the lucky ones wheeling a suitcase containing some of their belongings.
Public safety film via youtube
If you can see videos, which I cannot, look at the Youtube film above. It’s still not as compelling as the helicopter footage, but it’s moving.
I am deeply touched by the many phone calls and messages I received yesterday asking if I were alright. Some of it was because of a faulty decription of the location of the quake, some because Italian geography isn’t taught that widely. I live about 120 miles north-northwest of l’Aquila. Umbria and Judith in Umbria are OK, but very sad and on the way to the post office to contribute a bit of help. A donation to the Italian Red Cross can be earmarked for this earthquake. You don’t have to change it to euro, your card will do it for you. Terremoto is the word to use. Remember, 80,000 people have lost their homes or their lives. I would be thrilled if just one person donated from reading about it here.
You know we’re glad that you are safe and well, and we grieve for the losses…
LRuthers’s last blog post..Loving normal days
I very glad too to hear that you are safe and sound. You never know, you could have been visiting friends up in Abruzzo. Thankfully, you were not.
It is a tragedy.
Warm regards from Milan,
Alex
What a horror. The grief, the loss of human life and the loss of history. I’m glad you are safe Judith.
Very very sad; I watched a bit as they tried to dig out 15 students buried under the rubble of student housing. Just heartbreaking :(
Michelle | Bleeding Espresso’s last blog post..NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund for Victims of Abruzzo Earthquake
My thoughts are with those who survived this latest example of the forces of nature. I hope the government helps out now, as much as they possibly can.
The earlier political actions that attempted to minimize the danger of multiple pre-shocks and the increases in radon gas emission are inexcusable. I hope the mayor of L’Aquila is held to account for his actions in suppressing information tht could have saved lives.
On the one hand, this post is really old, but on the other hand, not that much has changed there. Loads of publicity for the few who have been rehoused, none at all for the thousands still without a roof. If you could see the castigation the scientist got who tried to advance a view that a quake was coming, you’d see why no one bucked the official word that there’s no such thing as earthquake warning. That poor man was accused of being insane and a megalomaniac.