Monday 18 January 2010

Peru/Haiti: Seeking Answers in a Forgotten Peruvian Quake

The AP, published in the New York Times, looks at contrasting examples of reconstruction after a major natural disaster. Sadly for Peru, Pisco is the 'how not to do it' example.

Today, many of the streets of Pisco are still full of rubble. Thousands of survivors still live in shacks. Thousands more have left. That new hospital? Construction hasn't even begun.

''The state has forgotten us,'' said Medalit Diaz, 33, who lives in a huddle of makeshift huts and tents next to the town's soccer stadium.

The comparative analysis here may be simplistic - I don't know enough about Indonesia to say - but I think everyone agrees that the rebuilding in Peru has been disappointing, at best. It's horrible to think about because again, I've been to Pisco myself and remember it before it was shaken to pieces.

Seeking Answers in a Forgotten Peruvian Quake (New York Times)

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