Trying to return to some normality

Trying to return to normality


Castlebar native Sr Mary T McDonagh recalls the horror of the recent Chilean earthquake and how people are now trying to get on with life

Edwin McGreal

February 27, 2010 is a date that will never be forgotten by Sr Mary T McDonagh from Ringeraun, Ballyheane, Castlebar.
The Presentation Sister has been based in Chile on missionary work for 18 years and had been slowly but surely helping to improve the living standards and the lives of people in an impoverished area of the South American country.
But all that work was swept away in the three minutes of destruction caused by one of the largest quakes ever recorded in the world. The epicentre was located very close to the Maule region, where Mary T is based.
She was sleeping when the quake struck but, not as used to the earthquakes as locals, she was soon woken and rushed outside. Earthquakes strike occasionally in Chile and many locals slept through the quake, which was to prove fatal in many cases.
“It was horrible,” recalls Mary T of the quake. “I remember that when I heard the first noise I went out. A cloud was covering the moon so it was dark when the louder noise began and the slow rocking later grew stronger. It was impossible to stand and I was thrown face down on the floor and the only thing I wanted was to embrace the earth.
”I could feel the ants biting me and telling me that they had more strength than me at that moment. I heard the tiles of the house across the street falling, then the screaming and the crying of women and children and the electricity wires throwing out sparks. The noise of the earthquake was deafening and the minutes seemed eternal.”
When the devastating earthquake had finished wrecking havoc, 42 people in Sr Mary T’s parish had perished and the damage to houses and infrastructure was huge. Word came through that the Church in the nearby town of Sagrada Familia had fallen and people were under the rubble.
But there was little time for dwelling on the sadness and feeling sorry for themselves. The people in the region had to try to look forward.
“Life has to go on. At first it was very sad to see all the destruction, to see houses on the ground, no water, no lights, roads cut off, people thinking the worst and how this brought despair and theft. But the military calmed us. We felt protected.
”Seeing the Parish Church destroyed was very sad because to the people it was a monument and very much appreciated. Having to help three families with funerals was not easy. We knew what the gift of life is about, we were alive but there were so many people suffering - a woman lost her husband, daughter and niece and she was physically hurt. She had heard the cries but there was nothing she could do because they were under the debris and it is a miracle that she is alive.”
“But help began to arrive. We never stopped working, not even on the first day. Everyone was so helpful and I would like to thank thousands of people who anonymously collaborated and who have shown care through calls and mails. We did feel your support, energy and prayer.”
At present the hope is to get people living indoors before the rainy season hits. Currently many people are living outdoors, either afraid to live indoors because of the aftershocks which still hit the region or because their home has been destroyed.
Fundraising efforts have been ongoing locally to support the aid work in Chile. A fundraising committee has been set up in the Ballyheane area and a fundraising draw will take place in Ballyheane Community Centre on May 28 next. Tickets are on sale now.
Also donations are welcome to the Sister Mary T McDonagh Chile Disaster Fund. People can lodge money to the following account - 44510889. The sort code is 90-37-44 and the account is based at the Bank of Ireland in Castlebar.