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‘Never seems to end’: exhausted quake-hit Vanuatu rebuilds again | Vanuatu

LLast month, when Alice Hwell was preparing for lunch at a small village Mele Mart on the outskirts of Vanuatsu's capital, the ground began to shake. She flies from the hill on the upper hill to the kitchen, flies, and a stone about a small car breaks through the thatched roof of a certain house, and suddenly removes her grandmother's sleeping bed. It was crouching on the floor. At the end of it, the landslide went on a big scar on their premises, and Havel heard a shout, “Mama, mom.”

When she jumped out, she found her 3 -year -old son, Samuel, was buried in rubble to her chin. She and niece Kendra (8 years old) dug him out. When she hugged him, he miraculously damaged only a few scratches on his back.

Samuel is sitting with his mother Alice Hwell. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred in Vanuatsu, at least 14 people died, more than 200 injured, and thousands of people were forced to evacuate, there was no basic infrastructure or water supply. They only have nightmares. “He is scared and says,” Mama, I fell down due to an earthquake, “and I am worried that it would be covered by the soil,” said Hwell. “I can hug him and say it's okay.”

As the aftershocks continued, the truly cost of the misery that the earthquake on December 17 brought to the small island country of the Pacific Ocean has begun to be revealed. Natural disasters are susceptible, especially susceptible to climate change. 300,000 This is the third large -scale disaster in the last two years. The fear continued to spread the ripples among the hard residents of this unity, and they climbed under the building to dig out the buried relatives, and ran up the red dangers in the swaying of the ground. In a political and unstable country that is still suffering from the decrease in tourists after the new colon virus infection, the collapse of Banuatsu Airlines in May last year, the tropical cyclone, and the strikes of teachers that are still continuing. , Confusion is a new normal condition. “This year was supposed to be a good year,” said Philip Ayon, a Port Villa tour operator. He has an elderly mother who has to support two children, but no customer. “But it doesn't seem to end.”

The houses seen after the landslide of Mele Meleato Village. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

The violent shaking was 30 km west of Efate Island, Banuzu, and it took less time to break the earth. The roads and bridges were torn, buildings collapsed, and cars and houses were crushed by rubble due to landslides. The government estimated that the reconstruction costs 29 billion batu ($ 237 billion, £ 192 million), including infrastructure and school restoration. More than 260 buildings in the central business area have been evaluated, and many will need to be demolished. The waterfront, the mecca of a cruise ship tourist who is anchored here, has no figure.

A La Casa Dandrea building in Port Villa. There were embassies in France, the United States, UK and New Zealand. The building was separated into two, and the first floor was broken. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

Thousands of houses and vegetable crops, which are the main food sources for many people, have been damaged or destroyed on the whole island. The half of the village still has no drinking water, and influenza and skin diseases are increasing. At least 45 schools have been severely damaged and many children will not be able to return to the time when classes will be resumed later this year. Women were most affected by hundreds of hundreds of people who lost their jobs -the downtown handicraft market was scattered, but in police reports. Gender -based violence is increasing Since the earthquake.

However, it is expected that rebuilding will take years due to the tightness, insufficient skills, and the unstable political environment.

Vanuatsu map

John Ezura, director of the Vanuatsu Reconstruction Operation Center, says that the city center will not resume, and it depends on negotiations between insurance companies and building owners, and the status of dismantling teams.

“It's not safe at this time, but we're working on how to support many people who have been busy with reconstruction processes, structural evaluation, and jobs.”

Aid agencies such as save the children and the Red Cross have delivered water supply systems, food and hygiene kits to collapsed villages. Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have supported safety evaluation and dismantling, and decides where to rebuild, but Ezura says.

“This problem has not been solved yet, so we need more support.”

The Red Cross on -site staff distributes relief supplies to the Vanuatsu community. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

In this capital, which depends on sightseeing, people are worried about the future.

“I don't know what the plan is, I don't know what the plan is, and who has made a decision,” said Ivan Oswald, who runs Nambawan Cafe. He used to hire up to 24 people before, many of them were women. “Usually, this time is the busiest time in the year.”

Vanuatsu has been suffering from the decrease in tourists since the new colon virus infection. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

Strong anxiety and signs of PTSD

As the work of repairing physical damage progresses slowly, the mental burden of disasters becomes even deeper.

A lawyer Mark Hurley is clearing the office in a quiet place in downtown Port Villa. Next to it, the remnants of the huge rubble and glass mountains, the former Australian surf brand, Villavon, and the remains of the bilavon are remained. Volunteers worked at night to raise seven from the two -story buildings, but could not call at least four, including a 13 -year -old boy. The boy was sandwiched on the car by the collapsed date. Harley was walking under the day before the earthquake.

Vanuatu has a lot of such “what if”. Volunteer Troy Span first dive under a collapsed building, leading the activity until the Australian team, which was trained in this kind of rescue, arrived 27 hours after the earthquake. Span reminded him that he threw a rope to a trapped boy and signaled that he was still alive. At first, the boy spoke and told the rescue team where his mother was. Local engineers arrived in a crane and forklift, calculating the concrete weight and predicting the movement of rubble.

However, the rope did not move even after 10 hours. Mr. Span said that the team who had not been trained in this kind of situation did his best, but had insufficient equipment to carry out rescue. He believes that if he had better tools and facilities, the results might have been different.

“He was a very brave person. The fact that we couldn't help him kill us.”

Antonio Filimoe Harara, a team leader of the Pacific Medical Association Medical Association. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

A psychological trauma team of the New Zealand Doctor Association was formed as part of the earthquake, supporting Vanuatsu's only psychiatrist.

“There are signs of strong anxiety, sleeping people, PTSD,” said the team leader, Antonio Filimoe Harasser. Trauma found after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake。 More than 500 people were delivered, including the Erakor village, which was hit by the earthquake. When the Guardian comes, local children play ducks, ducks, and gear games while their parents are rebuilding their homes. “I felt that the last day was approaching,” said Miam Navadi, 13 years old. “When the truck passes, we are still running outside.”

James Ephrime, 10, who is helping his grandfather to collect his grandfather's support supplies in Black Sands, says he can't sleep yet. “I thought the ground would break.”

“At least I can give them a sense of security.”

For children, continuous trauma and confusion in education are the most imminent concerns.

Etas Elementary School is one of many schools that have been severely damaged by the earthquake. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

This week, at least 4,000 children will be going to school in a tent provided by UNICEF. Educational authorities say that they prioritize reconstruction, but many competent Ni -Banuatsu workers have been sucked by the skilled visa system of Australia and New Zealand, and their funds and specialized knowledge are lacking. There is concern that it will be delayed.

“I don't have enough money and personnel to rebuild these schools,” said Save the Children's Vanua Tsukanto Director Polly Banks. He lives in Portvilla, has a hard time securing construction workers, and works with the Australian government to ship more tents.

Franky Tuleo, Deputy Principal of Malapoa University. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

“If the funds are not collected, children may spend many years in a crowded classroom. In a climate tent that is highly moist, hot, and tends to generate cyclones, they are comfortable education. Is not good in this country.

At the prestigious Malapoa University, the desk is buried in the mountains of rubble. The school, which was donated by the Chinese government for about 1.2 billion Batu ($ 15 million) in 2018, is now inability to live. “When the incident happened, the children were not here,” said Frankie Turereo, Deputy Principal, who had to tell the 600 children's parents that they could not return to school here this year. I'm relieved at the same time as I feel sad.

Meanwhile, in the village of Itas, teachers, Eserina Martoon Tun, are under the shade of the tree at the shade of the Etas Grace School. My daughter, Sirin Ken (13), wants to be the same English teacher as her mother, but there is no classroom to start the new semester. At least six rooms cannot be used and may have to be demolished. “There is no drinking water. There is a crack on the wall of the house, and this is now,” she said, indicating where the glass and iron fragments were scattered in the playground.

Children are services from Save the Children in the village of Erakor. Photo: Christopher Mariri/Guardian

Her family is sleeping intermittently outside. She can't sleep due to the fear of another earthquake. But if the bell rings on Monday, she will do his job and will teach you the most needed qualities here, that is, the power to recover.

“I will go slowly, calm the children, and instruct what's going on,” she says. “I don't know how to solve these problems, but at least they can make them feel safe.”

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