Europe’s Caritas in action

There once was a beautiful and kind Country, a sort of minor India, where all religions lived in peace, enlightened by the dreams of its people, poor but dignified, by the astonishing splendour of its Buddhist and Hindu temples, by its monuments, mountains, spectacular. Today in Nepal there are tears, corpses under the rubble or on stacks of wood for cremation, destruction everywhere, thousands of wounded in hospitals already at their limit, hundreds of thousands of homeless people who are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The government has so far estimated about 4 thousand dead, but Caritas fears there are more than 6 thousand, and the population talks of 10-15 thousand, as many villages near the epicentre of Saturday’s earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, have not yet been reached by rescue teams. In addition to the famous Durbar square in Katmandu – where every day appeared the “Kumari”, the goddess child educated from a young age to lead the life of a deity – were completely destroyed also beautiful historic cities, such as the small town of Baktapur that seemed a medieval jewel tailor made for travellers fleeing from pollution in the capital, and Patan, the oldest of the royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley. In Pokhara, the town from which hikers departed for excursions in the Himalayas, there is anxiety and panic for many climbers missing. In the local population’s tragedy were also involved foreign tourists, especially climbers. That’s why media attention is still so high. The closeness of the Pope. Katmandu’s airport is still is still unsafe, some bridges have collapsed and many roads are interrupted, there is no water and electricity, as often happens in these tragic natural disasters. On Sunday Pope Francis assured his “closeness to the populations affected by this disaster”, his prayers ” for the victims, for the wounded, and for all those who suffer because of this calamity” and called for the mobilization of the international community so “they may be supported by fraternal solidarity”. Voices from Katmandu. The Caritas network immediately took action to deliver aid, despite the extremely difficult conditions. It’s raining and it’s very cold at night. “I saw so much destruction – said Father Pius Perumana, director of Caritas Nepal -, collapsed buildings and corpses on the streets. People are still trapped inside the buildings and we don’t know if they are still alive. More than anything we need shelters, children are still sleeping rough”. Katmandu is already invaded by the tent cities of the homeless, who are in need of everything. “We hope to return soon to our homes,” said Magdalene Thakuri, 54, housed with other families in the Church of the Assumption. Santos Kumash Magar, 29, a young teacher, said he was saved together with the inhabitants of his village because they had all gone to the ordination of new priests in Okhaldhunga, in a remote area of eastern Nepal: “It was a terrible experience. On the way home I saw destruction everywhere”. The support of European Caritas. Despite the immediate mobilization of Caritas Asia, closest to the disaster area, also Europe gave its contribution. CAFOD (Caritas England) and Caritas Germany will send experts in the “water and sanitation” sector. Secours Catholique-Caritas France immediately devolved 50 thousand euro and launched a fund-raising collection. Caritas Switzerland has given 500 thousand francs in support of earthquake victims. Also Iberian Caritas took immediate action. “A team of experts was sent in support to Caritas Nepal, especially from Caritas India, and from the Indian section of CRS, the US Caritas”, Fabrizio Cavalletti, head of the Italian office of Caritas Asia, told SIR. Caritas Bangladesh has also offered its contribution. “We are handing out tents, sheeting for temporary shelters, blankets, food and hygiene kits. Despite being a small reality, Caritas Nepal manages to be present for the whole country”. Funds and medicine from the north. Seeking survivors remains a priority along with assistance to the homeless with staple goods, especially water and sanitation kits. There is special concern for the most vulnerable brackets such as minors, old people and the disabled. Caritas Switzerland, Denmark, Finland also began a fund collection and they are in close contact with Caritas Nepal. In order to help the victims, Caritas Luxembourg immediately took 20 thousand euro from its deposits to buy medicine, sheeting and tents that will be shipped to Kathmandu in the coming days. The emergency coordinator for Caritas Norway is on his way to Kathmandu. Caritas Denmark will be sending tents, sanitation products, food, trauma treatment and counselling.