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January 23, 2002
One year after first quake, Salvadorans gather to pray in Las Colinas
Rebuilding has been slow, tens of thousands still homeless, aid workers say
By Mike Lanchin
LAS COLINAS, El Salvador (CNS) — Salvadorans gathered in the San Salvador suburb of Las Colinas to pray for the victims of the first of two deadly earthquakes that wreaked death and destruction across their country in early 2001.
"The pain of losing a loved one, of surviving and of being witness to the terrifying power of nature could lead one to the erroneous conclusion that earthquakes are a punishment from God," Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador told several thousand mourners at a Jan. 13 Mass at the Los Colinas housing estate, 10 miles outside the capital.
"But let us be clear. God is not to blame that we live in a country which we ourselves are destroying by not protecting the environment," he said. "God is not to blame for the poverty that affects the majority of Salvadorans."
A series of earthquakes beginning Jan. 13, 2001, ripped through parts of El Salvador, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and 8,000 injured. More than 200,000 homes, or 20 percent of El Salvador's housing, was destroyed.
In Las Colinas, a huge landslide set off by the Jan. 13 earthquake covered more than 300 houses, and hundreds of residents — including many young children — were buried alive.
The entire nation followed the desperate search that began in the hours following the quake, when survivors and rescue workers picked through the earth, many with their bare hands, in search for some sign of life.
A year later, only a few of the former residents have returned to rebuild their homes in Las Colinas. Many complain that they have been forgotten by the authorities, who, they say, have offered them paltry sums of compensation for their losses.
Others complain that the disaster area has become a tourist attraction for inquisitive visitors.
Ana de Fernandez was buried in mud to her waist before her daughter pulled her out. Her daughter, son-in-law, grandson, mother-in-law and nephew were killed.
"With time we shall return, but for now, no," she told Catholic News Service.
Groups of mourning relatives stood huddled around small piles of rocks and bunches of flowers laid on the bare earth to mark where houses had stood. A giant cross was erected against the backdrop of the mountain overlooking the estate.
Carmen de Marin lost her son, Jaime Ernesto, 12, in the landslide.
"It took us three days to find him — we could only find his head," she said while standing quietly beside a color photograph of the boy placed amid a wreath of flowers on the ground.
Elsewhere in the country, rebuilding after the earthquakes has been a slow process, aid workers told CNS.
The government built more than 200,000 temporary shelters for the tens of thousands of homeless — but in recent months the pace of reconstruction has slowed.
"The vast majority of people are still awaiting a permanent home," said Richard Jones, country coordinator for Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador.
At La Esperanza camp for earthquake survivors, on the edge of San Salvador, some 800 families, who were left destitute by the Jan. 13 quake, are still living in tin and cardboard huts, which they call "microwaves" due to the terrible heat inside.
The camp was erected by the Salvadoran government on a bare piece of wasteland beside the towering San Salvador volcano.
"We can't go on living like this, the kids are getting sick. We've been made many promises; let's just hope that things get better before the winter rains set in," said Mercedes Miranda.
Jan. 26-27 is collection for Church in Latin America
The weekend of Jan. 26-27 has been designated for the 2002 Collection for the Church in Latin America in the Archdiocese of Denver. The annual Collection for the Church in Latin America provides an opportunity for Catholics in the United States to participate in building one Church in one America. This theme reflects a vision of unity that Pope John Paul II shared with this hemisphere. As he states: "Solidarity is expressed in Christian love which seeks the good of others, especially those most in need." ("Ecclesia in America," no. 52).
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