Peru missionary's earthquake appeal

Driving along the south coast of Peru, Fr Silvio Bezzina had his eyes peeled for any signs of life in an area that shook and quivered when the earthquake hit on August 15.

The idea was to reach the province of Pisco, in the Ica region, which was closest to the epicentre of the 7.9-degree earthquake that wreaked havoc and killed hundreds.

The Maltese missionary's Toyota Land Cruiser and station wagon were packed with clothes, blankets, food and water. Most of the stuff was to be delivered to a mission station cum distribution centre administered by the Hermanas Dominicanas del Rosario in the zone of San Clemente, in Pisco.

Accompanied by Fr Victor Livori and two others, Fr Bezzina left Arequipa last Sunday after ironing out a few initial hitches. They drove past Camana, Nazca, and some smaller cities, before arriving in Ica the next morning.

"The devastation soon became evident," he wrote in a letter to the Centru Animazzjoni Missjunarja (CAM) in Malta, to keep them adjourned and encourage the Maltese to give a helping hand.

He is appealing to all Maltese to dig deep into their pockets and cupboards to provide blankets and foodstuffs.

Today CAM, together with the Civil Protection Department, will be collecting and packing goods at St Joseph's Home in St Venera between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

These will be sent in containers to Peru to help ease the hardship of the people badly hit by the earthquake.

"While the more modern buildings were mostly spared, the older and poorer dwellings were not. Boundary walls, houses, and even churches, could not resist the force of the earthquake, and came crashing down, burying, injuring and sometimes killing those unlucky enough to be inside," Fr Bezzina, who is still in Peru, said.

"We reached the mission station of San Clemente and immediately saw the destruction. People were cooking and practically living out on the streets.

"Makeshift tents and huts were set up. Those lucky enough not to lose their house, made it a point to sleep outside," he said.

When they arrived, the parish youths helped them unload the provisions. Fr Bezzina's team asked them to indicate an area where people were in great need.

They set out for Santa Rosa and the scene that greeted them was worse than they had expected.

"A woman showed me the wounds on her foot, where she was hit by falling rubble. She kept saying, 'No-one is helping us here'. This statement was repeated by others who had lost everything, and needed food first and foremost," he said.

Another woman needed food for her one-day-old son, who was born soon after the earthquake.

"He brought her joy, and life goes on, even in the face of disaster. Some packets of milk powder was all I could give her. She needed blankets, but we did not have any left," he added.

Fr Bezzina insisted that people were, still are, and will be, in dire need of food, clothing, blankets and ultimately money and material to rebuild their houses.

"I suppose the answer to the question as to why such a disaster happens, and so many lives are lost or shattered is beyond us. What is not beyond us is our solidarity with the victims, and our commitment to help in the best way we can. Christ's call to love our neighbour as ourselves, urges us on," he said.

The Peruvian Foreign Office has also issued a press release saying that donations to the MSSP will be a tangible symbol of the commitment of the Maltese "to help bring about a global civilisation of love from the tragedy of so much death".

Those who wish to help through monetary contributions can send a donation to Bank of Valletta account 40016433346, or HSBC account 027073477051.