Friday, July 18, 2008

The Earthquake in El Salvador





The entire village where my daughter now lives was destroyed by an earthquake in January, 2001. A few structures, like this one, still remain.

Just as happened in our last visits, many conversations turn to the subject of the earthquake. Everyone has a story. A common question between villagers:
Where were you when the earthquake hit.

The earth moved like water beneath our feet, a mother says. The people were running one moment, and they were gone the next. One of her 9 daughters was killed when trying to save a child. Just as she handed the child to another woman, the dirt swallowed her.

Do the folks in the USA know about our earthquake, a man asks?

Yes, I assure him. People know about the earthquake in El Salvador. (I don't have the heart to say otherwise.)

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