Pictures

I've also put pictures up on Facebook of our first few days in Peru- Lima, Pisco, Paracas, las Islas Ballestas, and Nazca. See them at: http://www.facebook.com/tracey.barrett

Pensando de Pisco

“To be honest, there’s not much to do in Pisco,” our guide Carlos warned as our bus pulled into the makeshift station in nearby Paracas.

            

In August of 2007, Pisco was ravaged by a massive earthquake offshore, registering 7.7 on the Richter Scale. A tsunami followed thirty minutes later, and aftershocks disrupted attempts at recovery throughout 2008. Over half the city’s buildings were leveled, leaving thousands homeless and unemployed, and the city without infrastructure. As the center of activity for the beautiful Paracas National Reserve and Ballestas Islands, Pisco’s economy depends on its ability to host tourists- but few hotels and restaurants survived the quake. For two years the city has languished in a painfully slow reconstruction. Houses, sidewalks, and storefronts are repaired literally brick by brick as the money trickles in from the government, a few local religious organizations, and what little people can save. Carlos described the political showmanship that followed el terremoto; the President and other congressmen, as well as celebrities, flocked to the affected area with a horde of journalists, promising immediate relief and housing for all those left without.  Emergency housing was erected within a year- one room structures that in many cases house entire extended families. But as time passed, the attention of the government faded and so did funding for reconstruction. Those who could afford to leave the area permanently did so. Today, it is left to those who remain to repair their own homes as their incomes allow.

There are obvious parallels and stark contrasts between the recovery efforts in Pisco and those just beginning in Haiti. The plight of Haiti has been well televised and will benefit greatly in the short-term from the generosity of people worldwide.  But every day more journalists return home, and the horrific images of the tragedy fade a little more from our consciousness.  The city of Pisco should serve as a physical reminder of what “recovery” looks like when those who have invested their attention, wealth and resources in the region cease to do so once the cameras stop rolling.