Wednesday, November 18, 1998
Disaster victims depend on international aid
RELIEF: Worldwide effort to help survivors recover from
devastating storm
By Ileana Vega
Daily Bruin Contributor
Allisson Banegas, a graduate student and native Honduran, is one
of the many students at UCLA affected by the devastation caused by
Hurricane Mitch in Central America.
"I have no other family connection (besides my grandmother). The
connection to the land that saw me be born and grow is still very
strong," Banegas said, speaking of the strong relationship she has
with Honduras.
She said that a close friend living in Honduras had to cancel
the large wedding she had planned because of the hurricane.
Honduras was among many countries in Central America devastated
by Hurricane Mitch in late October. Others include Nicaragua,
Guatemala and El Salvador.
Mitch is the deadliest hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic coast
and one of the four most powerful in history, according to the
Kansas City Star. It has caused floods and landslides, killing an
estimated 11,000 in Central America  while about 13,000 are
still missing. It left almost three million people homeless and
without support.
Honduras was one of the hardest-hit areas, "wiping away 50 years
of progress," said Carlos Flores, the president of Honduras.
While students like Banegas have been personally affected by
Hurricane Mitch, the state, city and university have been
organizing efforts to help with the relief effort.
At UCLA, a food drive sponsored by Movimiento Estudiantil
Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) and the Community Programs Office
have set up drop boxes all over campus (see related article, page
4).
Much of the policy response to Mitch in Washington and other
national capitals has been to erase the debts owed to them by these
devastated countries.
The California National Guard will deploy seven of its C-130
aircraft to help transport relief supplies around the country to
those countries ravaged by Mitch.
Several efforts also are being made throughout Los Angeles to
provide supplies for citizens of Central America.
Money, canned food and medicine are being accepted in all the
consulate offices for the four worst-hit countries in Central
America.
The Red Cross and other organizations throughout the city are
accepting these goods as well.
"Without help from people living here it would be very difficult
to prosper," said Tesla Coler, a Honduran consulate official.
Coler said these countries are in dire need of food and medical
supplies.
After a decade of civil wars and economic chaos in the 1980s
,Central America had only just begun rising to its feet again.
Overall, experts said it may take billions of dollars to get
these weak economies back on their feet. Moving them forward may
take decades.
Banegas said she hopes that once all the media frenzy dies out,
"people’s willingness to help and open their hearts to the needy
won’t die out" as well.The Associated Press
Marco Centeno’s family lost all of its belongings in the
disaster that killed thousands of people and left millions
homeless.
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