The Last Breath

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The Last Breath

The cries for help were barely audible. The children. The school children were trapped under tons of debris. They were trapped on their own seats. Their school became hell. No it was not supposed to be like this.

On top of the rubble walked crying parents. Without heavy equipment, they were removing rocks one by one. They were trying to dig their way to these kids. Their hearts were racing. They were dying inside knowing that their loved ones, their own children were trapped under these debris. Such was the race for life in the rescue efforts in Pakistan, India and specifically Kashmir.

The French and English rescuers arrived on the scene. They started helping out. A faint noise could be heard. They dug their way to a boy who was still alive. He was protected by an air pocket. They retrieved him and gave him to his waiting and anxious parents. As soon as they saw him, they called his name, climbed carefully from the rubble to embrace him. The rescuers could hear more noise coming out of the rubble. They knew that they had only seconds or minutes to reach these trapped kids.

The children were more likely alive after two days. They were waiting for help. They may have been waiting in air pockets. Getting to them was the hardest part. They may have done through this training many times. They may have practiced what was taught to them. But the 7.6 quake caused too much destruction to leave a space to get to them. More than 1,500 children were believed to be under this rubble. Elsewhere and everywhere, many other individuals, mothers, fathers, siblings were also trapped. They were trapped just like the Guatemalans were trapped alive under tons of debris or mudslides. There was no roof to climb to. It was not floodwater. The floodwaters appeared elsewhere.

Then, the rescuers started hearing less noise coming out of the rubble. 1, 500 children were still there the 3rd and 4th days. On the 5th day, numerous other children were rescued. They were miraculously in good shape. The others, injured or not, may still be in the same condition.

In the end, one by one, their cries stopped. Thousands of children and other survivors may have perished. They died for lack of access to them. They died waiting for help. They died because they could not do much to help themselves. They died and left grieving parents.

We, parents and witnesses of this tragedy, weep too. We cry over the mudslide victims of Guatemala. We weep over the losses of lives in India and Pakistan. Our tears will move us to action. We want to contribute to the relief efforts. Would you not try too?