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I have spoken to Seth via phone several times since his
arrival. He has been going around town and seeing what the
needs are for the people affected by the disaster. He thinks that
right now that the basic necessities are being taken care. Although
realize he is not part of any of
these emergency rescue groups that are dealing with health and
sanitation. He does however live in the same house as Kathy
Roche, a nurse from the states who lives in Santiago full time,
and gets information from her as well as other community
sources. We have sent some money down today that will be used
to buy huipels and cortes for the women. These are the
traditional clothes and many of the women lost these. Lots of
clothes have come in but they are western. A lot will be lost
culturally if they cannot continue wearing their huipels
(embroidered blouses) and cortes (woven skirts). Tomorrow Seth
and Chonita will go to the market and buy these. Chonita is
going to make a list of the women who are in most need of
these. I think the next thing that will need to be done will be
to help the people rebuild. This is where our resources will
probably go. This may change after I am there next week,
especially after getting the letter that I enclosed at the
bottom. The government says they will help with the rebuilding,
but this may or may not be true as time goes on. Thank you to
everyone who has contributed. The building projects although
not expensive by our standards will take a lot of financial
resources.
Today when I spoke to Seth he told me some really good news.
I think all of our elders that we work with have been found
alive. After the disaster survivors were spread all over and it
is just getting to the point now where people are finding each
other. We are really thankful that they survived.
I will now include Seth's letter and photos and another
letter that I received from another friend that she got from an
organization working there, it is not as positive as Seth, in
fact someone just wrote and said Santiago was quarantined.
Maybe Seth is not getting to see as much as the others. I am
asking him to check some of this out.
SETH'S LETTER
Hello everyone, I thought I would give you all an update on the landslide
situation in Santiago Atitlan due to hurricane Stan. On Tuesday morning, I
heard that the roads had been cleared and that it was possible to enter the
town. So being sick of the city, I packed my bags and hailed a taxi.
After 3 bus rides, I found myself in the back of a pickup
with no less than 25 other people riding to San Lucas.
Although I was standing on the spare tire and clinging to the luggage rack
it was a gorgeous night for a drive.
The road that we took was very isolated and had been ravaged the week
before. I was impressed with the speed that the road had been cleared and
even saw some new bridges that had been installed. At some points it
appeared as if they had bulldozed a new road because the old one was
unrepairable. From San Lucas, I was lucky enough to catch a bus into
Santiago. It was the first
public bus to enter the town since the landslide. The town itself is doing
very well. The electricity is on and there is running water. Since the roads
had been cleared, the town had been bombarded with donations. There seems to
be plenty of water, food, medicine, and modern clothes. The
main thing that is needed is land to build on, construction materials, and
indigenous clothing. The government says that they will help with the costs
but no one is really sure if they will or not.
There were two landslides. One east of town that occurred at 4:30 in the
afternoon last Tuesday. No one was hurt in that one because everyone was
awake and had time to get out of the way. The really bad landslide happened
at 2:30 AM the next morning. It occurred on the west side of town and pretty
much demolished the community of Panabaj. They believe that between 700 and
1000 people were buried alive. The search for bodies has been called off as
the mayor of Santiago declared the community a mass grave for sanitation
purposes and said it "no longer exists".
During the 5 days that the roads were closed off in Santiago, things were
disorganized, there was no electricity, and water was running out quickly
but there wasn't any looting or violence. Apparently the best organization
of resources came from the churches here. They have been keeping the
homeless in their sanctuaries and have been feeding them.
I walked out to the landslide yesterday for the purpose of taking
pictures and to "get a feel" of the disaster. I will attempt to
send some photos. After wandering in the woods for awhile, I came upon a
field of mud, rocks, and twisted trees. I really don't know how deep it was
as there were no standing buildings or trees to compare the height. I
followed the path of destruction up to the source of the landslide. It
really was an awe-inspiring site. It seemed as if the hill had been torn in
half but not completely. From that source, there was a mud flow along the
path I had walked and another flow went off to the right. That was the flow
that had done the most damage.
.JPG)
Seth at the source of the landslide. He is wearing a respirator because of the smell.
I followed the second flow down the mountain a ways. It was approximately
100-200 yards wide and probably half a mile long at least. They say in some
spots it's 20 feet deep but on avg. I guestimated it at 5 feet or so. The main
flow was impossible to walk on as it had a very soft top surface. But there
was a sandy path down the middle that was sturdy. Its tough to describe the
destruction. I guess total would be the best word. I had no idea what was
below the mud or my feet.
.jpg)
This picture is from the base of the flow,
looking up towards the source. This is where the houses used to be.
Panabaj is a very poor community so the majority of the housing was tin
or bamboo siding and tin roofs. These structures stood no chance against the
slide. In the field, there was nothing but rocks, mud, and twisted trees. I
would have had no idea that a community had existed there. It was a very sad
and solemn place. Down a bit further, some buildings remained but the mud
was just as high inside the building as was outside. There were a few people
around attempting to salvage some of their possessions and a few others
taking pictures, but other than that, it was practically deserted.
.jpg)
This is a brand new national school. A guy that was hanging out
next to it said it was less than 7 months old.
The good news is that compared to the death toll, the injury count was
very low. Those that survived were mainly ok but lost everything. So there
are a lot of medical volunteers here now supplying vaccinations and others
that have come to help. I hope to also help in some form for the next week
and a half. After that, I hope to go out to Senahu for the first time and
start on my project. So, in a nutshell, things have resumed to normal here
in Santiago. Temporary housing is going to start being built for the
homeless and hopefully permanent housing will follow. I will provide further
updates if the situation here changes or I reach Senahu.
With much love, Seth Nesselhuf
A LETTER FROM IMAP. I WILL GO AND SEE HOW THIS
ORGANIZATION IS DOING NEXT WEEK WHEN I GET THERE.
Thank you for your heart felt responses to the crisis we are living here
in Guatemala. There are 20 departments (states) affected by the hurricane
which devastated hundreds of communities in the Western and Central
highlands and the Pacific Coast. You can imagine, in the highlands we suffered
landslides and on the coast terrible flooding. One week later there are many
communities isolated, without food, clean water, shelter and medical
attention.
The situation in Santiago Atitlan is delicate as the possibility of
epidemics, like hepatitis A, cholera, and respiratory infections continue to
threaten the health of the survivors. Not to mention the psychological
impact this tragedy has had on the community. Currently there are an
estimated 1,400 deaths and 5,735 refugees in 64 shelters.
The Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP) has been working in
coordination with International Non Governmental Organizations: Water for
People, Doctors without Borders, and The Red Cross, as well as several
Governmental Organizations and the Local Municipality in the organization of
disaster relief. It can be chaotic at times but by the end of each day we
are a little bit closer to stabilizing the situation.
The shelters are schools, churches and meeting halls with limited space,
toilets and access to sinks for washing. By day three, the first priority
was to quarantine the common grave, site of the major mudslide in Panabaj,
one of the neighbourhoods just West of the village, near the site of the
1990 massacre. The area was declared a "high risk zone"; however it
has been difficult to prohibit people from returning to the area in search of
missing relatives and belongings. The second priority was to chlorinate the
municipal water supply, which has proved a difficult task. Today is the
third day the water supply is chlorinated. We have encountered some
resistance from the community in drinking chlorinated water. A meeting
was held today to prohibit the community from consuming non chlorinated lake
water, fish or snails. Fishing is the primary livelihood and food source
for most Atitecos and the women wash clothing and fetch water from the
shore.
The bay of Santiago Atitlan is highly contaminated with the bodies of
victims and dead animals surfacing daily. I apologize for being so graphic
in my reporting.
With the help of Water for People and Doctors without Borders we have
acquired enough chlorine for one month and the knowledge to dose the tanks
appropriately. We still need at least one month more worth of chlorine
and the funds to install a chlorification system. We have also secured 30
portable water tanks for the individual shelters. Our third sanitation
concern was with the provision of portable latrines for shelters. In all of
the Republic of Guatemala we were only able to find 40 available porta-potties.
Fortunately the company was willing to go out of their way, driving their
trailer over a damaged bridge to install the latrines today.
We are very aware that 40 latrines won't even begin to solve the problem
but we hope that by placing them strategically we can avoid illnesses in
high risk shelters. We have only enough funds to rent for 10 days and will
depend on your support to extend the contract.
Moving on to garbage... your donations help us purchase massive amounts
of plastic bags to remove the trash daily from the shelters. Emergency rations
produce huge amounts of garbage which then have to be burned to avoid
more contamination.
IMAP is the only local organization participating within what is referred
to as the socio – sanitation committee. We are coordinating donations of
supplies, trucked in from the capital city and neighbouring towns and
then making sure these donations are administered appropriately; for
example, organizing the distribution and proper use of latrines and water
tanks.
We are a small organization but we know the area well, (we speak the
local language) which has proved to be an asset. We also have the support of
many organizations and individuals in the capital city who are dedicated to
helping us find the supplies we need many much of which have been donated.
We are still in the stage of securing basic sanitation. In a few days
temporary shelters will be constructed to decrease the population density in
the centre of town. Reconstruction of homes is impeded by the lack of
available, safe lands.
We feel grief for the loss of life and the destruction in this beautiful
town, heart of the Maya Tzutujil. We also feel frustration with the
difficult situations which arise and the delayed response from the
government but we are encouraged by the amount of solidarity and expertise
which support and guide us.
Thank you for your continued support,
Rebecca Cutter, Ronaldo Lec, Gabino Bocel and Felix Archila
Tuesday, October 11
I think I finally have enough information about the disaster in Guatemala
that I can write a more accurate letter. I wanted to wait until I had most
of my facts straight. As you see I said most, my information is still
sketchy.
The disaster started last Tuesday with rains that then turned to a
hurricane and then mudslides. You can get exact information about how this
happened on different sites on the web. How it happened is not as important
right now as to the affect that it has had.
We work with 55 different groups in Guatemala and do lots of projects,
most of them are okay. I have heard from the orphanage Casa Guatemala and
they are getting 75 more children who have been orphaned by the events. We
will be sending them money to help out.
I have heard from lots of friends in Guatemala and here in the US who
have had contact with people in Guatemala. This is what I have found out so
far.
The worst affected area is Panapaj (sometimes in articles it is Panabaj)
Right now I am not sure of the correct spelling because I have seen it both
ways. This is a village right outside of Santiago Atitlan In
fact it could be referred to as a suburb of Santiago
since it is that close. Another affected community is
Tzanchaj. That is where our school is being build.
Panajachel across the lake is considered to be almost the entry to the
lake, it was also affected greatly.
I will start with Panajachel. The roads have been closed because of
mudslides. They of course got most of the tourists out but the locals have
lost homes, family and businesses. We work with a group there called Maya
Tradition. Jane the founder of the group is in San Francisco right now but
this is what she writes.
Dora, who manages the Maya Traditions office, and her sister Lorena, each
had their one infant child swept away and drowned in the flood of the river.
They lost everything , their home, belongings.... etc. I
can't imagine the pain Dora is feeling after loosing her baby. I have no way
to contact her. All of my friends are devastated and
struggling to help other people. I have lost contact with most people as, in
some areas, there is no electricity and the bridges and phone lines are out.
The Panajachel sewage treatment plant was washed into the
lake and its hard to imagine what the water that everyone depends on will be
like afterwards??
I just got off the phone to Jane again (10/11/05) and she said she has
had phone contact in Pana and that there are over 100 houses close to the
lake that are gone. That there is no sanitation and that the lake that
everyone depends on is full of debris. She said reports are that there is
chaos and there is no organization taking the lead.
Santiago--
I spoke to my friend Chonita last night and tried to call her again
tonight. She said that people don't have anything and
that schools and churches are crowded with the people. A lot of the people
left their homes during the night with only the clothes on their back. They
were the lucky ones. The others didn't make it out. There are reports of
hundreds of people still buried in the mud and that the one town of Panabaj
would be declared a cemetery. There is a little hospital there that had just
gotten going again and now is buried with 5 feet of mud. You can hear
stories about it and see a photo on www.puebloapublo.org
This is where Kathy Roche who went down with a Sharing the Dream trip is
volunteering. Here is an excerpt from her e-mail. She sent this on Sunday
the 9th.
FROM KATHY ROCHE
Hello to all of you. I am safe but there has been a terrible hurricane
here in Santiago de Atitlan. Check the website Puebloapueblo.org for
updates.
A huge mudslide came down from the volcamo and totally wiped out a
community next to the Hospitalito. The mudslide stopped in our waiting room
now it has 5 feet of thick mud. We had lots of emergencies. I delivered a
baby at 630 am and the emergencies just kept coming. Lots of fractures and
abrasions. More than 100 bodies have been recovered but many more remain
buried in the thick mud. So many have lost everything, many orphans and so
many homeless. Now our worry is for Hepatitis and cholera..not to worry
because I have had my shots.
Medicos sin Fronteras has been here 2x today, dropping medical supplies
and water.
We are not sure that we can ever return to the hospitalito because it may
be declared a disaster area and then we must look for a new site. We were
moving along so well. Surgeries every friday and CSections as needed much to
the relief of the community...no more traveling across the lake for 1.5
hours hoping that one will make it in time.
Please keep all the people here in your prayers.
Hugs, Kathy
We have 12 sponsorship children in this area. They are all safe but most
lost their homes. This is also the area where we have been
working with a parent's organization for the past 4
years to get a school built. In fact I was going down
this month for the school dedication. We have heard from several
people that the building made it through but we lost some of the children
and their families.
We work with 2 weaving groups. All of these families survived but lost
their homes. We work with 45 women who do the beading. Some of these women
and their families did not survive, we are not sure of the number. Chonita
just kept saying to me "It is so bad, so awful"... She had a 13
year old girl staying with her and the child had gone to her home that night
and she and her whole family had perished. She kept
crying. I told her that we love her and we love the
people there. She said that she knows that and that is what gives her
hope... She said without that they just can't make it.
We are going to prioritize what we need to do... I met with the Sharing
the Dream board last night and 2 friends and I are heading to Guatemala next
week. We will be meeting with a lot of people and organizations in Guatemala
City and hopefully make it out to Santiago. There are of
course basic needs that must be met now...Food, water,
medicine, clothes, etc. As far as long range, there are things that must be
dealt with like, water purification (now and later), relocating and
rebuilding, basic household supplies (cooking utensils, plates, cups, etc).
As far as clothes for the people, we want to be culturally sensitive, the
people in this area wear tradition clothes and we need to see how we can
help them continue with this. So... there are many
directions we can go.
This task seem insurmountable, but I think we can make a difference. We
will start with the families that we know and that we work with in this
area. Although this is a huge amount of people I think
we can do it. My son Seth is in Guatemala right now. He got there the day
before the hurricane and rains hit. He is stranded in Guatemala City but is
hoping to get out to some of the affected areas soon. He went down to help
another community that had a mudslide in June, but couldn't make it out
there because of the roads being closed. I think besides working with that
community he may do some work with us in this area.
If you would like to help with any of this projects you can make checks
out to Friends of Sharing the Dream a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. You
can send it to my home %Diane Nesselhuf at 31612 471 Ave., Burbank, SD 57010
or at the Sharing the Dream store at 125 E. Main, Vermillion, SD 57069.
Please pray for our friends in Guatemala. I will update you as we know
more.
Diane
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