Who haven`t cry when have seen the images of this tragedy..
Those are startling numbers that indicate the scale of the devastation from the huge earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation on Saturday. And some of the grim figures are likely to get even worse as hopes of rescuing any more survivors diminish every hour.
Heartbreaking scenes of suffering and loss are playing out across this shell-shocked nation as it reels from its deadliest natural disaster in more than 80 years.
As the country coped with the fallout of the quake, another natural disaster struck Tuesday afternoon in a popular trekking area north Kathmandu, and up to 200 people were feared missing as a result of a landslide.
But a miracle happens in the middle of this disaster....
As Rasmilla Awal walked home from the store on Saturday , the earth began to shake. A few moments later, she saw the building she lived in collapse. And inside, under all the debris, Awal knew , where her children Soniva, aged 10, and Sonies only 5 momths old. She started screaming and asking neighbors for help,it looked at first glance as if the children could not have possibly survived. The scale of the devastation is evident. Across the street lies a pile of rubble. Only the occasional soda bottle or piece of clothing sticking out from between some bricks gives any indication that people lived here.
"I WENT NUMB- SAID AWAL- I DIDN`T HEAR ANYTHING, DIDN`T KNOW IF THEY WERE ALIVE OR NOT"Awal`s is one of the many stories to emerge after the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal Saturday, killimg more than 5,500 people and injuring more than twice of that number.
Her husband, Sham Awal, 34 , a microbus driver, was working when the quake shook the region and Soniya and Sonies were at the family home in Muldhoka, Bhaktapur, east of the capital, Kathmandu.
Sham Awal rushed home and scrabbled frantically through the rubble, searching for his children. Neighbors came to help, but Rasmilla Awal became desponent.
"I had very little hope that they had survived, l didn`t hear any sound at all"
And then, a blessing: After two hours, Soniya, a fourth-grader, was found alive.
But the baby was still missing.. No indication that the baby might be alive..
The desperate family called the Nepalese army. Soldiers arrives at 6 p.m . They too, dug through the debris, but didn`t find the infant so they left at 9 p.m .
The father also began to lose hope of finding his son alive, Until , from under the rubble , he heard faint cries..
But night had fallen and there was little that could be done.
"It`s destiny", a neighbor told Rasmilla Awal." If he`s destined to live, he will. Or else God will take him away"The family went to sleep in a nearby field. Others were sleeping there, too , some because they were afraid of being trapped indoors, some because they had no homes left at all.
The next morning, the Awal`s returned to the remnants of their home. And they heard the joyful sound they had prayed they would hear.
Their baby was crying.
The soldiers, having returned as well, resumed digging. And miracle of miracles, 22 hours after the earthquake , the mother saw a soldier pull her baby out of the debris.
His face was coated with dust.But he was alive.
A photo of him being lifted from the rubble has become the defining image of a disaster that has devastated the country. His unlikely rescue has given hope to a nation that has experienced so much loss.
Sonies was taken to a nearby hospital. Doctors said he had suffered minor bruising and a small cut on his thigh. But he was ok. He was returned to his mother`s arms..
In post-quake Nepal, few endings are entirely happy.Sadness abounds, and loss is everywhere.
The Awal family has no place to live now, everything thay had was destroyed, and Sham sister-in-law and her two children , who lived nearby, all died in the earthquake.
But then again, a little baby boy, Nepal`s new face of hope , has his whole life still ahead of him.. Protected by the hand of God.. A miracle in a disaster.. Hope never dies...
No comments:
Post a Comment