Our thoughts are full of Ecuador and Japan, but there are few words that can express our feelings right now...
We imagine the panic, the fear and the utter desolation as people walk through the rubble of the streets of their home after the massive earthquakes that rocked these countries recently.
It brings with it an eery feeling of apocalypse - the planet trying to shake off these pesky humans who are causing so much trouble…or shuddering in this global warming fever brought upon by our juggernaut of human-centred economic globalisation…
It seems deeply unfair that the earthquake in Ecuador devastated communities that already have a hard life. The areas affected are remote and hard to reach in order to bring help. We travelled along this coast more than once, fascinated by the beauty of the forest, the coastal communities and the rough and wild paths needed to get to them...
It seems that Pacha and Yani’s family and relatives are all ok, and that our friends are not among the over 600 people who have tragically lost their lives. But many of our friends, who have given so much to the community around them over so many years, slowly building sustainable lifestyles, seem like they have to start from the beginning again…
Our friends Nicola and Dario and their children are apparently camped in their tents outside their damaged buildings, virtually cut off. I know they will be working with other community leaders to help others as soon as they can.
And in Japan, in the southern island of Kyushu, where so many of our friends are trying to create a new life for themselves and their children - far away from the ongoing chaos of Fukushima - are facing uncertainty for the future and (I am sure) a new determination to close down the nuclear reactors on the fault line’s path...
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| The coastal surf town of Canoa was one of the hardest hit... |
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| The main street of Canoa is now rubble...(this photo was taken 3 years ago) |
So, what can we do?
I know there is a fundraising campaign for Nicola and Dario (link here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/nicandfamily )
and there are many, many other campaigns (Red Cross, Unicef http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ecuador.html Medicin San Frontiers...) trying to get help out to communities. I am trying to find out more about how best we can help specifically - especially in getting support directly to the communities that were hardest hit (places like the coast surfing village of Canoa) and we hope to be able to help raise funds for these projects - especially while we are in Japan.
We pray that in rebuilding what has been lost, just as in the response after the devastating mudslides and previous earthquake in Bahia, there is an opportunity for an ecological revival that nurtures culture and biological diversity and brings the best of knowledge and ideas from communities around the world.
My greatest hope lies in the resilience of the people - they may be poor in money, but so rich in community and practical knowledge for survival.
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| We are happy to hear that Jun and his family survived, but their township is flattened... |
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| It is a relief to hear that Marcelo and all the familia Luque seem to be safe... |
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