Banos, ECUADOR - Fabiola Guevara wakes up every morning thankful that she's survived another night. Every day, she travels one hour to work in Baños, Ecuador, and worries about her husband and daughter she left behind at their house on the sides of an erupting volcano, not knowing if they'll survive the day. She's lived like that for eleven years now.
Tungurahua Volcano began it's current eruption in 1999 and has wreaked havoc on the lives of the many people who call it's hillsides home. Every night, their beds shakes, their windows rattle and crack, and the doors of their homes open on their own due to the violent tremors of the volcano. But even so, they are hesitant to leave - where would they go?
Last Friday, the local authories held a meeting for residents of Fabiola's village, Puñapi, and surrounding villages. "You really need to leave," they told them. "The volcano could have a massive eruption any day and this entire area would be destroyed. If you stay, you stay at your own risk."
Fabiola and her entire extended family opted to stay. "If we leave, thieves will come and steal everything," she said. "They'll empty our house and take all our animals. We can't afford to leave. And besides - where would we go?"
In a particularly large explosion in August, 2009, a rock the size of a football crashed through the thatched roof of Fabiola's house. All fall, the volcano was relatively quiet, but started again on December 31. When there is a lot of activity, the villagers walk around with buckets over their heads to catch the volcanic rocks raining down upon them.
There will be another meeting with the authorities tomorrow night. Fabiola and her sister expect to be forcefully evacuated from their village. Talk is of setting up a tent village somewhere safe, but nobody is sure exactly what the plan is. For now, they simply put one foot in front of the other and they live to see the sun rise tomorrow morning.
Comments
Wow! Great post. I don't know know what to say when possessions trump life.
I actually spent the evening up at her home talking with her and her husband - they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have nowhere else to go and can't get money to build another house. It's a tough call. The volcano has been erupting for 11 years, so it isn't like they could just leave for a day or two.
Nice post. I spent time in Banos less than a year after the 2006 eruption. This was after the villagers "fought" their way back into town when they were forcibly evacuated the first time. You are correct, it is a tough call, but made more so by the government manipulating the locals and volcano for international $$$.
Why doesn't she just move?
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