7 days on the top of our toes

Friday, November 14, 2008 – 4 p.m.

While I sat working on my computer, I heard some rumbling in the air, the tree next to my window started going violently back and forth, the sky became dark.
For a moment the light went off and on. “Two more minutes and we have no more electricity” I said to Lizzy.
Even before I could finish my sentence, the electricity fell out.

Not so uncommon, we are used to being cut off from electricity when it storms.
I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. When I came downstairs and looked through the back window, I got a very strange feeling, and walked on to the veranda.
The sky and the whole atmosphere had a strange colour; I even sensed heavy tension energy.

From the veranda I walked into the garden. Straight behind over the mountains it was crystal clear: I could clearly see the houses and trees in the distance.
At the back side and above the house, the sky was jet-black. I’d never seen a sky as black before.
I called Henk Jan and Lizzy, they had to see this.

It looked like a tremendous UFO coming over us. The wind even got stronger, even so that I would fall over if I wouldn’t hold tight. Then came the rain, rain drops as big as R2, for a moment I feared for hail balls.
I went back to the veranda and looked at the spectacle. The wind did not seem to have a specific direction and when I looked up into the sky I saw three, four streams of wind directions. As if each layer of clouds went into another direction.

The three of us looked at it, completely surprised.
5 minutes later we saw in the distance at our right a funnel-shaped cloud gliding over the mountains.
The wind and the rain were too heavy and we had to flee inside. Some twenty minutes later the storm lay down and it became quiet again.

30 minutes later, when Lizzy was on her way to visit someone, she called me.
“Gunter, it is a real disaster in Kloof, trees over the road, roofs blown away, cars in ditches, it is not normal.”
I immediately thought about what I had seen earlier, and about the people in Molweni, the shaky little houses …
“OK, I drive immediately to Molweni.”

When I put the phone down, Precious said: “Gunter, I just got a call from a friend in Madimeni, her roof has been blown away.”

Indeed, two houses lost their roof. Fortunately the occupants had already found another accommodation.
After I had picked up a volunteer in Molweni, we drove on and saw a lot of unusual activity further in the valley, ambulances, police, officials … and people running and screaming.

I didn’t realize yet what had happened, for a moment I thought about a traffic accident.
Once we drove further into Lower Molweni, it hit me – a hurricane –

On places where houses had stood before, only the floor was left, house gone, disappeared …
A rubbish-heap of clothes, furniture, refrigerators, cars, shoes, pieces of roofs lay in the street.
Metal plates hung in the electricity piles, folded around the pile as they were of cardboard.
Trees, all trees broken down, it was bare.

People ran around, out of hart, scared, crying, limping … The confusion was large, the ravage enormous.
350 houses disappeared from the globe, another 300 houses seriously damaged.
People had lost all their personal possessions, lots of them were washing their clothes or hanging them up to dry … gone.

After I had observed the tornado line while driving past, I was speechless, could not understand it … the ravage was not to overlook. All these people already had so little … and now … even less …
When I arrived at the youth centre, a woman came immediately to me and cried for help: “A baby is hurt and the emergency services haven’t been there yet”.

“There …” a man pointed in a still dark direction. I didn’t see a thing. Very carefully I walked forward and felt that I stepped on a blanket.
I kneeled and then saw the little face of a little girl, 4 years old.
She looked straight into my eyes. I put my hand on her forehead and bended forward to hear if she was still breathing …
The pretty, unknown little girl closed her eyes and left us …

The mother could read what had happened from my attitude. She screamed and trembled all over her body.
I again searched the little neck and the pulse but did not find a hart beat anymore.
Her little feet were cold, so were her little hands.
“Goodbye sweet little girl, I haven’t known you but I was glad that I might see you for a little while.”

The child had been playing in a house a bit further away. During the storm the roof of that house collapsed and fell on her little head …

Immediately after my visit to this house we drove on and saw a woman at the side of the road. I stopped and got out of the car.
She had a severe wound at her leg.
“Stay here”, I said, “I will send someone.”

I drove further, two little boys yelled: “Gunter! Gunter!”.
I stopped the car.
“We can’t find mama.”
“Come on, jump into the car.”

Less than 100 meters further, a family: father, mother and a lot of kids, all sitting on what was left from their house.
“Come to the youth centre”, I shouted.
“No, we cannot leave our things behind or they will be stolen.”

“My God”, I thought, “nobody is prepared to leave his possessions behind … how are they going to get help?”

My head tumbled, everywhere I looked there was need for help, hundreds of people looked at me, begging.

What can I do? How can we take here the fastest actions?

Together with some people of the youth house we drove to the community, hoping to get some clarity there. Nothing was less true. Nothing happened; nobody seemed to take things in hand.

I couldn’t look at it any longer.
Together with Max and Lindiwe (the two leaders of the youth house) we decided to open the youth centre for people who had lost their houses.
The frustration even got worse when I discovered that I had left my phone in the other car, and Lizzy was far gone. I had to start calling people.
I asked Precious to send a message to Lizzy. She had to come hereto with my phone as soon as possible.

It started to rain very hard again, we were soaking, I didn’t care.
I made up various scenarios in my head … so much had to be done.

Finally I ran into Lizzy. I yelled for my telephone, the tension was high.
We needed food, clothes, mattresses, medical care, people to cook, we needed a stove, gas bottles, blankets, washing-things, tooth-brushes, soap, water, electricity … yes we needed a generator
and much, much more …

Still phoning I drove to the youth house to prepare everything. In no time I had contacted all persons that could help us.
It was a snowball effect. I gave a short summary of the situation and all friends got into action.

After 2 to 3 hours we had most things in the youth centre. It was overwhelming how people offered help.

Together with Max and Lindiwe, Lizzy co-ordinated the actions in the youth house; they are a wonderful team.
I didn’t have to worry about the centre.

Back in the car, to the ravage. It was not to overlook, where do we have to start?
Suddenly I got a telephone call: “Hi Mr. Gunter, my name is Yusuf Arbee, I believe you are responsible for helping the people in the calamity area?”
I thought very quickly: “What? Me responsible?”
I told him friendly that I was not aware of that.
“Well, doesn’t matter, I have here fresh cooked food for 1500 people, where do I deliver?”

I didn’t know what I heard. Food for 1500 people?
I immediately planned that we would traverse the whole area and give people food.
Yusuf is a very friendly Indian. We talked a lot while we distributed the food.
He promised to serve 1 warm meal a day until people could cook themselves again.

A next Phone call: “Hoy Gunter, Brian from SACAN, can we meet?”

Less than 4 hours later I was taken up in a complete rescue team. We all got our tasks. The rescue operation had started.

Looking back at the last 7 days …

It is difficult to write down every step
It is difficult to describe what you think and feel
It is difficult to describe how much energy one has to keep this going
It is difficult to explain what it means to loose all your possessions in 7 minutes.

I am asking you, you as reader:

Just close your eyes, now …

Open your eyes and look around, look at all your things, what is in your room.
Imagine now, 7 minutes later … all gone.
The tornado blew over the area for 7 minutes, 7 minutes and the life of hundreds of families has drastically changed.


8 people died in this storm, 5 adults and 3 children.
1750 people are affected by the storm.
Hundreds of people from churches, organizations, private came into action, used their personal vehicles to offer help.

Even yesterday, a lady, poor, had walked an entire day to donate two bags with clothes to the youth centre.
She came to me, all sweating: “Gunter, I gathered some clothes and brought them.”
I knew that this lady lives in Mgababa, that is 5 kilometres from the valley and I also know that it is a very steep way and one of the most tiring to walk.
This lady, all by herself, came all that way to donate two little bags of her own stuff.

I want to tell so much more …

later ….

kiss

Gunter

“Sleep well, enjoy your bed”.

It is night, around 9 p.m., dark, very foggy; I drive at a speed of 20 km in the mountains.
Fog … here in the mountains it feels like driving into a cloud. You can hardly see 2 meters; the way which is normally so familiar becomes completely strange.
Where was that one pit, where did the road turn … and before you know it, you are stuck in that pit and stand in the grass because you missed that one turn …

To Molweni, that’s where I have to be. After an emergency call of a woman from the village, I jumped into my car to examine the situation on the spot.

A man, a little boy of two sleeping on the back of a lady, a volunteer of Khulani Simunye and a third lady stood there, waiting for me in the dark, foggy road.
The man had been thrown out by his drunk and aggressive landlord. The wife of the landlord had said: “You don’t have to go; he won’t remember this in the morning.” But the man explained that the landlord had a gun and that all he could think was: “My son, I have to get out of here with my son.”

In the dark night, rain and fog he took his child and some of his stuff and went to the other side of the mountain to get help. He was looking for a place to spend the night, yes he worked, and he had a little bit of money, but not enough to pay the rent of a room. One room 2,5 meters on 1,5… R110-00 (EUR 9).

The little boy slept, breathing heavily and coughing now and then. “That little one needs to be in bed”, is the only thing I thought, “as soon as possible”.
We all stood there in and around the room, an empty room, no floor, no electricity, there was a little tap with water “somewhere”, no bed, only four bricks on the ground.

“Do you have blankets” one of the ladies asked.
“He cannot sit here with his child on the wet ground?”
As far as I could see, everybody nodded; I had only the small light of my telephone …

To my opinion, the man seemed very good-natured. I saw no evil at all in him. The love he showed for his son was so warm, so paternal. I couldn’t understand … a man with a two year old child …. the ladies told me that he takes his son everywhere he goes.
“He is a good man” and everyone nodded again.

“What to do now?
“I don’t know; I don’t know; I don’t know” … three times.
“We called you for help” one of them said.

“You know I really want to help, but what do you expect from me in this case?”
“I don’t know”: three times.
The man said that tomorrow he would get money from a lady for whom he built a house. Then he can pay the rent.

"But do you want to spend the night with your son here on the floor?”
“I have no other choice” he answered.

My heart cried. I saw real uprightness in the man’s eyes. He didn’t want this; he wanted things to be better for his son.

I decided!
“Tonight you and your son can spend the night with me, but only for 1 night”
One of the ladies started to cry: “Siyabonga kakhulu” (we are so grateful).

Together with the man and his little son I drove again into the dangerous dark fog. This time I didn’t drive into the pit nor did I miss the turn.
Once at home I took the sleeping boy out of the car and put him on the sofa.

A nice warm cup of tea, safely inside, and the man started to talk, told me his entire life.
How he also has two daughters, a twin,
Who live in a orphanage, they only speak English …
How his wife left him for drinking and all things relating to it.
She abandoned her children.
How he raised his little son from since he was only 2 months.
Washed his little cloths, taught him to walk, and taught him to talk
How he got into crime:
He had to steal to survive, he didn’t want to steal.
How he got into prison twice, convicted to 15 years, but released after 7 years.
That in prison he was maltreated and abused …
How he did little jobs for people.
He is good in electronics, is known for repairing refrigerators and TV’s.
How he sees his people, his own race, his own colour.
Black people are not good people, they maltreat and they abuse.
How he looks up at white people.
Whites have no traditional rituals, they do not abuse, they do not cut hearts out of bodies of children, they do not cut the skull open to cook the contents of the head, no, white people don’t do that.
How he wants to help.
He wants to talk, he wants to tell where he comes from, and he wants to say that crime is wrong.
how …
how …

The man talked and talked and talked for two hours.
I had an enormous respect for this special man. Now and then I got tears in my eyes.
Strong, powerful and yet very soft and kind, enormously respectful.


I offered him to take a shower before going to sleep. The little boy already slept deeply.

Meanwhile the cottage was ready and they could go to sleep. With the little one in my arms again into the dark night to the cottage.
The father affectionately took his son over from me and put him to bed.

“Sleep well, enjoy your bed”.