Collection in favour of the victims of the earthquake in Salvador

17/1/2001
The situation in El Salvador, 4 days after the earthquake, reported by Jaime Aguilar, in charge of the Communities of Sant'Egidio of El Salvador

The situation becomes harder day by day. The number of dead and missing people is growing, and also of those who are without home, electricity, water. Many people are cut off, waiting every day for something to eat, unaware of what will happen tomorrow.
The tragedy of these days is great, many people are in despair. They have lost everything and are shattered by grief because they have lost their dear ones and all their possessions. They said to us, looking at their ruined houses: "Everything is here, all my life, the efforts of so many yearsï¿½".
Unbelievable figures are reported: 675 dead, 253 missing, 45,000 evacuated, 2,500 wounded, dozens of thousands who were struck, children, adults, elderly.
Infrastructures are heavily damaged; many main roads slid down and show clefts splitting them in half, thus blocking the way to several villages, which remain cut off.
Those who are still able go looking for food and aid. But the authorities try to dissuade people from venturing out, because of the danger on the roads and the risk of landslides caused by continuous aftershocks which haven't yet stopped.
Shocks measuring 4 - 5 are continuing till today. Many people still sleep in the street, or are frightened away from their houses every time, trying to be safe from the tragedy.

Despite of the road dangers, we - a group of people of the Community of Sant'Egidio of San Salvador - were able to go out of the city and visit the area of Armenia, to the west of the country, which was heavily struck by the quake.
Along the streets we saw only debris, house walls, ancient portals collapsed, the church cracked in its faï¿½ade.
Many people coming from the rural areas turn to the rescue centres, pressing for aid for the remotest districts.
One of these, which we visited, is a place called "Las Brizas" (the breeze). There live 150 destitute families, most of which have no running water, no electricity, no telephone. Here the earthquake destroyed 30 houses. The houses which collapsed were built with poor materials, with tile roofs. The walls fell down and the houses remained like a patio with a roofing, leaving their inhabitants exposed to all weathers.
The needs are great and calls for help are coming from all over the country. People start to get organised and the aid centres are receiving help from the nationals and from abroad. At the same time, organising difficulties are growing.

We feel that our commitment as a Community of Sant'Egidio is necessary in order to make possible that the aid reaches those who need it, quickly and directly.
We began to collect and distribute food to relieve the suffering and the hunger of many families, some of which we already knew by our work in the poorest areas.

Moreover, next week we shall continue our visits in the most stricken areas, to reach even the remotest places, where no assistance has yet been delivered.
We are confident that this situation will soon be overcome. But today we see El Salvador destroyed, grieved, distressed, mourning its children.
We need gestures of tangible solidarity, so that El Salvador rise up again and hope may be restored in the people's hearts.