Peru Update #2
Terremoto: An Insider’s Look at the Earthquake in Peru
Text and photos by Jorge Riveros Cayo
The following account was written by Lima resident Jorge Riveros Cayo, who experienced the earthquake in Peru firsthand and then became an instrumental member of the relief team that Crooked Trails helped to organize and fund. To date, Crooked Trails supporters have contributed more than $9000 in relief funds which have been used to purchase relief supplies that Jorge and his team personally delivered to communities in need.
Wednesday, August 15th. 6:40 P.M.
I’m working in front of my computer as usual, in my second floor apartment in Lima’s Barranco district. Suddenly a noise and an unusual shake blur all my senses. Probably one of those public transportation buses that drive every morning by the street in front of my building, I complain. But the movement increases and all the stuff on top of my desk start to shake. I can hear my neighbors going down the stairs of the building, some of them shouting and panicking. My apartment is moving like a small boat in the middle of sea storm. I fear that things will start falling down and seek refuge under a beam in my dining room. I can see through the window the high tension cables of the energy poles swaying like mad as if a giant were playing with them. I feel that I am confronting a completely unknown situation and start to be afraid. I look at my watch: 6:42 P.M. The earthquake starts to ease up, although the shaky sensation continues all over my body. I hear car alarms, sirens, and see people on the streets. I run to the telephone to call my mother but the lines are dead. On my computer I confirm that at least the internet is working, and the Messenger becomes my only means of communication. I ask my friends and neighbors online if they are ok. Some answer, others don’t. They all seem to be in the midst of a shock. What was that? An earthquake? The news starts to come with all the happenings on the web pages of local media. A strong earthquake has struck Peru. No information has yet been given as to where the epicenter is. Less than 40 minutes later the floor starts to shake violently again.
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The following day all the Peruvian dailies confirm the news. An earthquake rating 8.0 on the Richter scale and various strong aftershocks have caused serious damage in the central coast of the country. The most affected cities are Cañete, Chincha, Tambo de Mora, Pisco and Ica which have been totally or partially destroyed. The initial report is that 500 people have died, there are 2,000 injured and more than 50,000 houses completely destroyed. The photographs starts to reveal the horrors it has caused: highways with gaping cracks, bridges collapsed, buildings, houses and churches on the ground and under the rubble hundreds of people buried. The epicenter is detected to have been 40 kilometers out to sea offshore of Pisco. Communication and energy systems have collapsed. The government reacts immediately but is completely unorganized in the chaos. International aid starts coming in. Neighboring countries start sending humanitarian aid, rescue teams, firemen and medical surgeons. But chaos, fear, vandalism and death continue to rule. The scenes on the streets of Pisco are heart-breaking. Hundreds of dead are lying in the streets. People cry in grief for having lost their relatives, friends, homes and belongings. The morgue is filled to capacity and funeral agencies run out of coffins to sell. The hospitals are overwhelmed with the quantity of injured people. Pisco looks like a city that has been bombarded, and the land continues to shake. Lima has suffered minor damages, but the people are very frightened. The Geophysical Institute of Peru estimates at least 300 aftershocks during the three days following the earthquake. The proximity of the cities affected to the capital city exposes very openly tragedy and pain in the faces of typically self-focused Limeños.
During the following days, humanitarian aid from both the government and from abroad concentrates in Pisco and nearby. But then news starts arriving about hundreds of other towns affected by the earthquake in the highlands of Lima, Huancavelica and Ayacucho. There are hundreds of homeless in communities which are isolated by their geographic location. They are forgotten villages that don’t benefit from media coverage. One of these forgotten towns is called Tupe. It is located in the highlands of Lima, at 2,800 feet above sea level. This is a very special community where a unique language is spoken called Jacaru, which is in process of extinction and is a cultural treasure being studied by specialists and academics. This town, along with nearby villages, was totally destroyed by the earthquake. There is so much work to be done here that any amount of aid is significant.
Sunday, August 26. 6:00 A.M.
I am ready to leave on a truck loaded with nearly one ton of food, provisions and clothing. After the earthquake, a group of friends and neighbors decided to make a charity collection and take the aid directly to one or two zones that had been affected by the earthquake. Crooked Trails called for an Earthquake Relief Fundraiser to all its friends, supporters and clients who visited Peru in the past. The bonds with Peru are still very strong as is evidenced in the e-mails that reflect their genuine interest and worry. I myself receive mails from many friends which I have made while working as a translator and guide for Crooked Trails.
We have chosen four locations to focus our aid: the town of Tupe and two of its nearby villages, Aiza and Colca, as well as the San Francisco de Asis Parish in Pisco, headed by Franciscan priest Jose Sánchez Bernuy. I have been in charge of obtaining definitive background information from this priest and people assure me that he is an honest and transparent person. Even prior to the earthquake, he used to prepare 200 breakfast rations for poor children of his neighborhood. Now he is going around the devastated town of Pisco, sharing food and provisions among those that have lost their families, houses and practically everything. With the money sent by the friends of Crooked Trails and the provisions collected by our local relief team from Barranco, we managed to gather 1,400 cans of milk, 300 kilograms of rice, 200 kilograms of sugar, 500 packages of instant noodles soup, 100 bottles of cooking oil, more than 200 kilograms of beans and lentils, 200 cans of tuna fish, 2,500 packages of cookies, two sacks with 100 kilograms each with fresh vegetables, 100 2-man tents, shovels, picks, construction tools, lots of clothing for adults and children, and cleaning and hygienic supplies that will be distributed among the people according to their needs.
The journey to Tupe is nine hours from Lima by a winding mountain road. There is no highway, and the way has now been blocked by earthquake-induced landslides. Therefore, unable to make it all the way to Tupe itself, we are received by the authorities of Tupe in the town of Aiza to transfer supplies. From there they will carry the supplies by mule for two hours to the village. In Aiza we also hand off supplies to representatives from Colca and leave some for the people of Aiza itself.
The journey on to Pisco is slow and difficult. Arriving in Pisco one week after the earthquake, we see a devastated city, buried under the debris of fallen buildings. Clean-up progress is slow. We meet with Priest Sanchez at San Francisco de Asis Parish to hand off supplies. He expresses his gratitude and tells us all about the corruption which is starting to be seen with the international aid. Tons of food arrives but nobody knows where it is or where they can go to get it. Right now Pisco is a lost city, although the government has announced that it will create a special fund for its reconstruction.
As we leave this devastated area, I feel that we have accomplished our goal in a very silent and non pretentious manner. But there is still much more to be done. Some people have lost it all-- even their sense of living. This earthquake changed their life in just a couple of seconds. They lost their beloved, their homes and their business and are now on the street. But this is the history of Peru, a highly seismic territory.
Editor’s note: Since Jorge and his volunteer relief team delivered aid to these villagers we have continued to receive donations for the earthquake relief fund. Through the connections we have made in Tupe, Aiza, Colca and Pisco we will continue to support the villagers as they try to recover and get back on their feet. Peru may have a history of high seismic activity, but its people also have a legacy of resilience and courage. Our thoughts and support continue to go out to all the Peruvians who are coping with the aftermath.