«The situation here is dramatic, we are totally devastated, everything is destroyed. The amount of injuries and deaths is inestimable. There are only a few of us left in my hospital who survived. More than 60% of my work colleagues lost their lives under the rubble. I’m working in a state of unspeakable post-traumatic stress,” he says Alnayluz Lópezmedical anesthesiologist at the Hospital José María Vargas de La Guaira. He does it with an exhausted voice and almost in tears. Alnayluz has lost his home but not his family, and works continuously despite everything. «Rescue efforts continue unabated. Yesterday, July 3, more than a week after the tremors, there are still people alive under the collapsed buildings. It’s a miracle, and we hope we can save them all. In my hospital we are proceeding with many amputations in both children and adults, fasciotomies. I am treating very serious injuries. In the structures where I am working we have all lost someone, each of us has relatives, colleagues or family members under the rubble. At a certain point, we ran out of resources, but luckily help arrived in a very short time and things got better by the hour. We know that this situation will last a long time, it will take a long time to get out of it, but we will continue to do our job between tears and a hug. There are many missing people, and one of the saddest things is that many people are trying to recognize their loved ones but are unable to because the body is already decomposing and this is painful because everyone in their heart wants a dignified burial for a loved one”, concludes Dr. Alnayluz.
Queuing for recognition of their family members, coffins in order, bodies waiting to be placed and sealed, cries of desperation and tears: this is the current photograph that comes to us from Venezuela. It is impossible to provide a precise number of missing people, we are talking about over 50 thousand, but it is a figure that changes rapidly. Everyone hopes not to find the people they love on that damned list.
Business solidarity: coffins, beds and aid for those who have lost everything
«Our decision arises from the value that solidarity has for us, from the deep bond we feel with our people who are currently experiencing a terrible misfortune. We are very tried. At the beginning we felt a feeling of helplessness at not being able to mobilize directly, but then we decided not to sit with our arms crossed so with a friendly and nearby company we joined together to give an urgent response and we began to build bunk beds for those who have lost everything and find themselves without assistance, but continuing with the urns and coffins which are our usual work”. Migdalia Araujo, 47 years old, partner of Insustrias Araujo, a family business from Barquisimento, almost 400 km from La Guaira, says that every day coffins leave their operational headquarters to reach La Guaira. «The situation is really difficult, the official figure of those who lost their lives in the rubble far exceeds our production capacity. As a company we are giving our best but our resources have a limit so, today more than ever, we need other companies or specific people to join this cause. We need continuous support with materials and logistics to avoid blocking production. It is a responsibility that involves us all, and the only way out of this terrible emergency is through collaboration”, adds Migdalia.
Giving a precise number of how many coffins they produce per hour is complicated because Industrias Araujo’s current production process depends on two main factors: the material and the volunteers who came together to lend a hand and speed up deliveries. «Many are not specialists in the profession so being volunteers they learn by doing, driven by the strong desire to do something for others and, despite our permanent staff, the main driver of this process are the volunteers», he concludes.
Some volunteer teachers in Caracas
It is incredible how Venezuelan civil society set up a solid and supportive network within a few hours of the earthquakes. The “Energía solidaria” project of Aromía, the school of gastronomic technology in Caracas, has created a protein spread, ready to be consumed both by the people affected by the earthquake who find themselves in vulnerable conditions and by the rescuers who go more than 24 hours without a meal. «Our product has already been delivered to over 2000 rescuers, we must continue production so that it reaches many more people. The cream is made with dried fruit and cocoa. Each bag contains 500 calories. Right now we have all our machines busy in production, which is why I want to appeal to other cocoa producers to join us. We would be really happy to be able to continue together because it is only in this way that we can be faster and above all more effective”, says Victor Marquéz, director of Aromía.
One of the buildings devastated by the earthquake in La Guaira
Children at the centre: volunteer teachers bring back a bit of hope
There are many girls and boys from La Guaira, Caracas and other places affected by the double earthquake who are unable to go to school, and for them the network of “Docentes Solidarias por la Infancia”, a community of specialized volunteer educators who are trying to fill their school time, which is still closed, with outdoor educational and entertainment activities, while relief efforts continue just a few steps away. “We are working with children who have found themselves homeless, we are already 115 teachers, outside and inside Venezuela, gathered in different points of the city to bring oxygen to the children, and those of us who live far away are giving us a hand with materials and other things that we can prepare remotely”, she says Yetsania Rosales, volunteer teacher specialized in autism spectrum disorders, and continues: «The children feel happy, they recognize us when we arrive and help us organize the activities. There are many things they tell us and we can’t help but cry, but we need to teach them that we move forward, that life continues, so we dry our tears and start playing again. They have a very low attention span right now so we are focusing on telling stories, on fun and artistic activities that help them take their minds off the earthquake talk that the adults in front of them are having. The nice thing is that in the spaces we are in, not only the children come closer but also their parents who give us a hand in organizing time and activities.”
