AMERICA/GUATEMALA - Panabaj community emergency: 100 families in danger every night after Octoberlandslide buried the area

Monday, 26 June 2006

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - On 5 October 2005 a landslide buried the Tzutujil Maya village of Panabaj, Santiago Atitlàn, Guatemala, leaving 600 families homeless, 100 dead, 600 missing, 77 widows, 25 orphans of both parents and 50 children who lost one parent. The people suffered genocide in the 1980s, they live in extreme poverty, hardship and food shortage.
With the new emergency the people of Panabaj need all possible help. With the rain season 100 families are still in the danger zone at the foot of the mountain from where the landslide buried Panabaj while waiting to be moved to new homes.
The local people have formed an Association to defend their rights and play their part in the complex process of rebuilding. The Association represents almost 400 families and is working to rebuild Panabaj with various projects in the field of education, food security, mental health, with the aid from the international community.
Last week 650 people were evacuated after an hour of torrential rain. When night falls 100 families take their belongings and go to spend the night at the Village Hall. The rain continues and everyone is ready for evacuation: every half an hour there is a chain of telephone calls know if the water has risen, if it is still raining, if the schools are ready for an emergency.
The rain season will last until October and the community cannot live in this situation: 100 families are in danger every night. A request has been made to the local government to build safe emergency shelters but the work will take at least a year. (AP) (26/6/2006 Agenzia Fides; Righe:30; Parole:376)


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