Quake Aftermath

From the DW:
"Hope and courage bind Nepal after quake"

 

The people of Nepal are struggling to come to grips with the damage caused by the massive earthquake that rocked the country less than a week ago. Anu Singh Choudhary reports from Kathmandu. "I was washing clothes. Children were watching TV. It was a usual Saturday till this most horrifying thing happened. I thought I was feeling giddy because I have been unwell for a while. Then I heard my husband and children scream. By the time we ran out of our house, it already had several cracks in it," says Dhan Gautam, 40, a mother of four. The Gautam family moved to the relief camp from their house in Lagan, Kathmandu on Saturday itself, the day their entire neighborhood was battered by the quake. Janak Singh, their neighbor in Lagan, had a bigger challenge at hand. His only daughter Sonu Thapa was full-term pregnant and couldn't even walk, let alone run, to save her life. Sonu had to be rescued with the help of neighbors and was rushed to the hospital immediately. She gave birth to her daughter in a makeshift ward in the same Bir hospital which was flooded with thousands of injured quake victims. Sonu brought her tiny daughter "home" - to her father's tent in the relief camp - on Wednesday. Nearly a week after the country's worst earthquake in 81 years, people are still struggling to fathom the extent of the damage - both tangible, and intangible. "We have surrendered now. What is it that we can do, except saving our lives? Even that is not under our control. We are helpless in front of nature. A week ago we had a house and a livelihood. We had friends and families. We had savings, and a false notion that the future is safe. It didn't even take a moment and our lives have changed forever," mumbles Vikas Sharma before dismissing me completely. "I don't want to talk. There is nothing to talk about," he keeps muttering under his breath.

Vikas was standing outside his shop when the iconic 62-meter (203-foot) Dharahara building first started wobbling, and then came crashing down. On Saturday over 150 people had bought tickets to climb the tower to watch the spectacular view of Kathmandu Valley. Only 50 came out. The tower also buried some of the shops and houses close to it. Vikas is safe, and so is his shop. But the trauma and emotional damage is a heavy burden to carry.Sameer, Neta Rai and Usha Pokhra are college students from Lalitpur district in Kathmandu Valley. The three friends decided to volunteer on their own, and are now helping the rescue team clear rubbles near Patan Darbar Square, Lalitpur. Built in the third century, Patan Durbar Square had temples made in different styles, and was believed to be the best example of stone architecture in Nepal. Even on day 5, sniffer dogs and rescue teams are focusing on taking out trapped bodies beneath these fallen buildings.

 

^ People tend to overlook the people actually affected when a disaster hits. They see the pictures and hear the stories, but don't really stop to think of the individual. ^

http://www.dw.de/hope-and-courage-bind-nepal-after-quake/a-18420248