Post date: Jan 09, 2011 10:56:44 AM
After seven days buried beneath earthquake rubble, an elderly survivor comes to terms with the trauma and moves on with her family.
PORT-AU-PRINCE , HAITI REUTERS - The days ticked by second by long second for 69-year-old Ena Zizi. For seven days and nights, she lay trapped under the ruins of Haiti's national cathedral, alone and injured in the darkness, wondering if she would ever see her children and grandchildren again.
Zizi was one of thousands stricken by Haiti 's devastating January 12 earthquake. The 7-magnitude quake
destroyed thousands of buildings throughout the country, killed some 300,000 people and left up to one million homeless. For weeks following the disaster, mountains of dusty rubble and dead bodies clogged the streets of Port-au-Prince as families scrambled to find lost loved ones and to forge ramshackle shelters wherever there was space.With the quake's one-year anniversary closing in, frustration among survivors is mounting as thousands continue the daily struggle for survival in tent camps throughout the country. But, life for Ena Zizi has shifted dramatically since her January 12 nightmare and miraculous rescue seven days later.
Today, she appears healthy and contented, living with one of her daughters and grandson in a modest home on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Nearly twelve months on, certain details of the day remain with Zizi.
"The 12th of January was a terrible day for me. I was in a meeting that I go to every Tuesday, a meeting of a group called "Neo".
"That day, I didn't even eat before going to the meeting so that I could arrive on time, and when I arrived, I saw the gentleman who ran the meeting. He was waiting for the others and while we were together in the meeting room, I heard a loud noise, the earth shook. He looked at me and I looked at him, but I fell to my knees. I don't really know what happened next, but the room fell from above onto my head and when I was lucid enough, I saw that I was among four destroyed parts - one here, one near my head and others," she told Reuters recently.
She lay beneath the rubble for seven days, hungry and dehydrated, hoping and praying for a miracle. And she got one.
"I told them (the rescuers) that there were some parts on my chest that could kill me if they fell and they took precautions. Then, they sent a dog to see if I was alive and to see if I was the only person beneath the ruins - I think I was the only one. Someone said to me "Do you see light?" I responded: "yes, I see it." "Do you see my hand?" "Yes, I see it!" And I don't know when I came out. Jesus saved me," she said.
Following her rescue, Zizi was taken to the U.S. hospital ship, the USS Baatan, anchored off the coast of Port-au-Prince to help with treating survivors. She underwent several surgeries on her leg with her family at her side and ten months later marked a birthday she once thought she may never see.
"I turned 70 years old on December 3. During all my suffering on the ship, my son was with me. I thank God that I have seen another birthday - my bones were already in the trash, with Saint Christophe if I was dead. But God said "No, you haven't fulfilled your mission yet," she said.
One of her sons said the family of seven children and 15 grandchildren is trying to keep Zizi from overexerting herself after the trauma.
"I don't want her to do anything else. We don't want her to work - we only want her to relax. The moment of the hard work has passed. I think that now she has another life - we are giving her food and water so that God gives us the chance of keeping her healthy for the time that she remains living. That is the essential."
But Zizi pledges to remain active, participating in the lives of her children and grandchildren. In late December, she returned to the cathedral ruins - but this time, it was for another reason - the wedding of her son.