Lying in front of the remains of a house stained by mud, a man with a lost look and tears in his eyes seems submerged in thought. His face reflects nothing but pain, something that has become a common denominator in the faces of a community that has been touched by tragedy. Standing there, Carlos Diaz contemplates the place where his home once stood in the Liberator neighborhood of Las Tejerías, Aragua state. Today there is only an empty space where the remains of rubble, stones and vegetation rest.
For Díaz, phrases like “it wasn’t my turn” or “it wasn’t my time” now make more sense. A delay in his work in the city of Los Teques was decisive so that this almost 40-year-old man was not present in Las Tejerías during the landslide last Saturday, October 8. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had arrived at the usual time”He said looking at the sky while joining his hands in gratitude.
Anguish and fear took hold of Díaz when he was on his way home that night and found out what had happened. His wife and children were in the Libertador neighborhood at the time of the tragedy. “I came with a lump in my throat, I only thought of my children. I asked God that they were safe and sound, it was the only thing I asked of him, ”she recounted with a broken voice.
When he arrived at the La Hoyada sector, he was able to verify the magnitude of the disaster. The fear of not knowing the whereregardings of his family intensified, and as he might, he moved to the area of his residence. Crying took over him when he found that his house and that of many other neighbors had disappeared.
But relief finally came when he learned that his family was safe. “You can’t imagine the happiness I felt at that moment. My soul returned to my body when I saw my children who were fine. He admired them and my wife so much, because they not only fought to save her life, they also rescued her grandmother and other people, ”she said with tears running down her cheek.
Díaz cannot help but feel sadness and desolation for what happened. In addition to losing his house, in which he lived with his family for five years, he also mourns the loss of his neighbors and friends in the community.
“It’s very hard, really. The pastor who passed away in the church gave me his blessing every day. The children who were there studied with my children. My neighbor next door was an elderly lady who lived alone and she always helped us as much as she might. There are no words to describe this pain,” she said with suffering and despair.
Standing next to his mother-in-law’s boarded-up house, he said he felt grateful, in the midst of loss. “I have to thank God because my family is fine. I’m fine. I can’t stop hugging my children and my wife. Thank you, my God!” he yelled once more looking up at the sky.
The Libertador neighborhood was one of the most affected areas by the landslide in Las Tejerías. Almost 20 people who were inside an evangelical church in this community were swept away by the current of the El Pato stream. Only three adults and two children survived.
“If my daughter had been here, she would not live to tell regarding it”
A few meters from the place where this church was located, an older woman sitting on the ground looks around while a group of men tries to dig up a cargo truck that is almost completely covered with earth. Carmen Garrido is sitting right where her house used to be, but only a handful of rubble remains on the site.
Garrido works as an intern in a family home, outside of Las Tejerías. Every Sunday she travels to the Bolívar neighborhood to clean her house and her daughter’s house, located right next door. However, when she arrived at the site just following the mudslide, there was nothing to clean up. She even found traces of her belongings. “I lost everything,” he says sadly.
Although he regrets what happened, he is grateful that both houses were empty during the event. A few days before the tragedy, her daughter, who gave birth recently, expressed her desire to return to her house. Garrido convinced him to wait a little longer to recover at his mother-in-law’s residence, so he delayed his return. She didn’t know at the time that she would be saving his life.
“If my daughter had been here she wouldn’t live to tell regarding it. How was that girl going to run with a newborn baby and with a caesarean section. She might not. She would have lost them both,” she recounted.
Her ex-husband and father of her daughters was in the community that Saturday. He was able to save himself because he ran to the mountain in time, but like many of his neighbors, he also lost all of his belongings. “He kept what he was wearing at the time. However, there is nothing left but to thank God that he is alive. His daughters need it,” he said.
Although she said she was grateful for not having to experience the landslide firsthand, she expressed concern for her current partner. The man worked as a security guard for the Chery vehicle assembly company and is currently still missing.
A night out on the town saved his life.
Towards the center of the town, near the El Matadero sector, Wilmer Peña walks carefully looking around him, almost without recognizing where he is. His red eyes show the pain he feels seeing the place where he has lived for more than 50 years almost completely destroyed. It is the first time that he sees with his own eyes the magnitude of the damage caused by the landslide.
“When I got off the bridge my eyes watered. I might not believe what I was seeing. All this is very sad, ”she said.
Peña works in La Victoria. On Saturday, October 8, he had to return home, but he decided to hang out with several of his companions. It was not until late at night that he found out what had happened. “The truth is that I got involved over there and decided to stay until Sunday. Luckily, because at that time I would surely have been there on the street and who knows what would have happened to me, “she said.
Peña’s wife and mother were in Las Tejerías, but fortunately they managed to get out in time. In his house, the mud has left traces of what happened but it still remains standing, unlike the homes of many of his neighbors.
At least 400 homes were destroyed by the Las Tejerías landslide, according to the latest official figures offered by the authorities on Tuesday. As for the number of deceased, the figure rose to 50 on Thursday, although locals insist that there may be many more.
@ErikaHDelaR
