Omayra Sánchez

Omayra Sanchez
Omayra Sanchez trapped in the Armero tragedy. Photograph taken by Frank Fournier.[1]
Born	August 28, 1972(1972-08-28)
Died	c. November 16, 1985(1985-11-16) Armero, Colombia

Omayra Sánchez (sometimes spelled Omaira Sanchez) was a 13-year-old victim of the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which erupted on November 13, 1985, in Armero, Colombia causing massive lahars which killed nearly 25,000. Trapped for three days in water, concrete, and other debris before she died, Omayra captured the attention of the media as volunteer workers told of a girl they were unable to save. Videos of her communicating with workers, smiling and making gestures to video cameras circulated around the media. Her "courage and dignity" touched Frank Fournier and many other relief workers who gathered around her to pray and be with her.

After 60 hours of struggling, she died. Her death highlighted the failure of officials to respond promptly to the threat of the volcano and also the struggle for volunteer rescue workers to save trapped victims who would otherwise be quickly saved and treated.

Sánchez became famous for a photograph of her taken by photojournalist Frank Fournier shortly before she died. When published worldwide after the young girl's death, the image caused controversy because of the photographer's decision to take it and the Colombian government's inaction in not working to prevent the Armero tragedy despite the forewarning that had been available.^[2]

Background

On November 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted. Pyroclastic flows shot from the crater to the mountain's icecap, where they melted the ice to form lahars, or volcanic mudflows. These lahars cascaded down the mountain into the river valleys below. One lahar was responsible for most of the damage, and proceeded in three waves. Traveling at a rapid speed of 6 metres (20 ft) per second, the first pulse enveloped most of Armero and killed many (up to 20,000) of its inhabitants. Two more pulses weakened buildings and another lahar killed 1,800 people in nearby Chinchina.^[3] In total, the mudflows killed some 23,000 people and destroyed 14 villages and cities.^[4]

The town of Armero, formerly in the center of this location, was covered by thick mudflows.

The loss of life of the Armero tragedy was exacerbated by the lack of an accurate timeframe for the eruption and the unwillingness of local authorities to take costly preventative measures without clear signs of imminent danger.^[5] Because its last substantial eruption had occurred 140 years earlier, in 1845, it was difficult for many to accept the danger presented by the volcano; locals even called it the "Sleeping Lion."^[6] Hazard maps showing that Armero would be completely flooded after an eruption were distributed more than a month before the eruption, but the Colombian Congress criticized the scientific and civil defense agencies for scaremongering. The eruption occurred at the height of guerrilla warfare in Bogotá, Colombia's capital, and so the government and army were occupied at the time of the eruption.^[7]

Omayra Sánchez was 13 years old at the time and lived with her parents, her brother and an aunt, Maria Adela Garzón,^[8][9] in the neighborhood of Sahtander.^[8] Prior to the tragedy, her mother had traveled to Bogotá on business.^[10] The night of the disaster, she and her family laid awake, questioning the ashfall from the eruption when they heard the sound of an approaching lahar.^[8]

Omayra became trapped under her own home's concrete and debris and could not free herself. When rescue teams tried to help her, they realized that her legs were trapped.^[11]

Death

Omayra was trapped up to her neck in water and the debris of her home for nearly 60 hours before she died, either of exposure,^[2] gangrene, or hypothermia.^[12]. Omayra suffered through nearly 3 nights of agony before she died in a state of confusion.^[2] During this time, she sang to Germán Santamaría^[10] and agreed to be interviewed. The teenage girl was scared, and often prayed or cried.^[12] On the third night, Omayra began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school.^[2] At some point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest.

After 60 hours of exposure, Omayra died. Two hours before her death a broken pump arrived, and just four hours after, a regional town received 18 pumps.^[4] Both her brother, Alvaro Enrique, and mother, Maria Aleida, survived the lahars, but her father also died. Omayra's mother commented, "I will live for my son, who only lost a finger."^[11] She expressed her feelings about Omayra's death. "It is horrible, but we have to think about the living."^[9]

As the public became aware of Omayra's situation through the media, her eventual death came to symbolize the tragic nature of the Armero disaster and highlight the failure of officials to properly account for victims who could have been saved. Controversy broke out when officials indicated that they had used the best of their supplies, and descriptions of the shortages were released. Volunteer relief workers said that even basic supplies ran out, such as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers, agreeing that there were not enough resources. Elaborating, they added that the rescue process was impeded by large crowds and senseless attention to organization. One police officer (unnamed) opined that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized.^[13] Colombia's Minister of Defense, Miguel Uribe, admitted that he "understood criticism of the rescue effort",^[13] but directed it towards the fact that Colombia was "an undeveloped country" that didn't "have that kind of equipment."^[13]

Photograph

A photograph, named "The Agony of Omayra Sánchez",^[14] was taken by Frank Fournier, who landed in Bogota on November 15. He traveled to Armero, which was, according to Fournier, "very remote", by driving for five hours and traveling on foot for another two and a half hours.^[2] When he reached Armero at dawn on the 16th, a farmer directed him to Omayra Sánchez, who was at that time almost deserted, having been trapped for nearly three days. Fournier later described the town as "very haunting," with "eerie silence" marked by screaming. He took the photograph feeling that he could only "report properly on the courage and the suffering and the dignity of the little girl" in his attempt to spread awareness of the disaster's need for relief efforts.^[2]

At the time the now famous photograph was taken, the world was already fixated on the tragedy. Omayra was one of the victims at the center of the associated controversy over responsibility for the disaster. Almost immediately after its release, the image captured widespread attention. According to an unnamed BBC author, "many were appalled at witnessing so intimately what transpired to be the last few hours of Omayra's life."^[2]

The image also attracted controversy after it appeared in Paris Match. The public began to accuse Fournier of being "a vulture," to which he responded by stating, "I felt the story was important for me to report and I was happier that there was some reaction; it would have been worse if people had not cared about it." He added, "I believe the photo helped raise money from around the world in aid and helped highlight the irresponsibility and lack of courage of the country's leaders." ^[2] The picture later went on to win the World Press Photo of the Year for 1985.^[15]

Legacy

Nevado del Ruiz in 2006. The volcano remains active.

The Armero catastrophe came shortly after the M-19 guerrilla group's raid and subsequent Palace of Justice siege on November 6, worsening an already chaotic situation. After Omayra's death, blame for it and for the Armero tragedy fell on the Colombian government for its inaction and general indifference to warning signs prior to the volcano's eruption.^[16]

The volcano Nevado del Ruiz is still active, according to the Volcano Watch Center in Colombia. It remains a significant threat to as many as 500,000 people in the Chinchina, Coello-Toche, Combeima, and Guali river valleys.^[17] A melting of just 10 percent of the mountain's ice cap could release enough material to create mudflows with volumes of 2,000,000 cubic miles (8,336,364 km³).^[18] The city of Armero, however, no longer exists and the site was turned into a memorial of the disaster where only crosses can be seen. A small monument exists in Omayra's memory.^[19] Local newspapers commemorated both the 20 years of the volcanic eruption as well as Omayra's death, and her case was also mentioned in TV and radio commemorations.

Although many victims of the disaster were commemorated, Omayra in particular was immortalized by poems, novels, and music pieces. One work (Adios, Omayra) by Eduardo Santa illustrated the girl's last days of life and her symbolism of the catastrophe.^[20] Isabel Allende's And of Clay Are We Created is based on these events. It is told from the perspective of a man who was present as Omayra died. Allende later wrote of her inspiration for the story, "Her [Omayra's] big black eyes, filled with resignation and wisdom, still pursue me in my dreams. Writing the story failed to exorcise her ghost."^[21]

See also

• Armero tragedy

References

1. ^ "Contact Press Images 25 Years". 25 Years. Contact Press Images. http://www.contactpressimages.com/25years/1985_1.html. Retrieved 2007-08-03. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Picture power: Tragedy of Omayra Sanchez". BBC News. 30 September 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4231020.stm. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
3. ^ Martí and Ernst, p. 291.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Rescuers in Colombia refuse to give up hunt for survivors". Milwaukee Journal. November 18, 1985. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hGMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9CoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6895,8660320&. Retrieved November 24, 2010. 
5. ^ Fielding, Emma. "Volcano Hell Transcript". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/volcanohelltrans.shtml. Retrieved September 3, 2008. 
6. ^ BBC contributors (November 13, 1985). "BBC:On this day: November 13: 1985: Volcano kills thousands in Colombia". British Broadcasting Corporation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2539000/2539731.stm. Retrieved September 3, 2009. 
7. ^ Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (November 29, 2009). "Lessons Learned from the Armero, Colombia Tragedy". United States Geological Survey. http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/2009/09_10_29.html. Retrieved July 20, 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Santamaria, German (January 8, 2011). "Colombia y Otras Sangres" (in spanish). http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/politica/sangres/nina.htm. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Ordeal Ends in Death". Leader-Post (Postmedia Network Inc.). November 18, 1985. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TX5WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QEENAAAAIBAJ&pg=3684,440325. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Santamaría
11. ^ ^{a b} "Trapped Girl, 13, Dies". The New York Times. November 17, 1985. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Lacey, Dana (August 31, 2010). "Why We Don't Cover Pakistan". Canadian Journalism Project (Canadian Journalism Foundation). http://www.j-source.ca/english_new/detail.php?id=5527. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
13. ^ ^{a b c} "Colombian officials defend rescue effort; lack of equipment blamed". Star-News. November 24, 1985. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fbdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3RMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5678,7662718&. Retrieved November 24, 2010. 
14. ^ "Ottawa Man Third". Ottawa Citizen (Orban, James). February 7, 1986. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Mq8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=me8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3433,3016148. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
15. ^ "World Photo Award". Spartanburg Herald-Journal (The New York Times Company). February 7, 1986. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PEYsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2s4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6813,1694667. Retrieved April 19, 2011. 
16. ^ Camp, Vic. "Nevado del Ruiz (1985)". San Diego State University. http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Nevado.html. Retrieved September 3, 2008. 
17. ^ Thouret, Jean-Claude; Murcia, A; Salinas, R; et al. (1990). "Stratigraphy and quaternary eruptive history of the Ruiz-Tolima volcanic massif, Colombia. Implications for assessement of volcanic hazards" (PDF). Symposium international géodynamique andine: résumés des communications. Paris. pp. 391–393. http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_4/colloques/31077.pdf. Retrieved April 20, 2011. 
18. ^ Huggel, Cristian; Ceballos, Jorge Luis; Pulgarín, Bernardo; Ramírez, Jair; Thouret, Jean-Claude (2007). "Review and reassessment of hazards owing to volcano–glacier interactions in Colombia" (pdf). Annals of Glaciology 45: 128–136. doi:10.3189/172756407782282408. http://www.igsoc.org/annals/45/a45A019.pdf. Retrieved April 20, 2011. 
19. ^ Johnson, Tim (September 18, 1997). "Survivors of avalanche relive tragedy through TV movie". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZTkdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MC4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6755,3693857. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 
20. ^ Zeiderman, Austin (June 11, 2009). "Life at Risk: Biopolitics, Citizenship, and Security in Colombia". 2009 Congress of the Latin American Studies Association. http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/members/congress-papers/lasa2009/files/ZeidermanAustin.pdf. Retrieved July 22, 2010. 
21. ^ Correas de Zapata and Sayers Peden, p. 76.

Sources

• Correas de Zapata, Celia and Sayers Peden, Margaret (2002). Isabel Allende: Life and Spirits. Arte Publico Press. ISBN 1-558-85363-4. 
• Martí, Joan and Ernst, Gerald (2005). Volcanoes and the Environment. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59254-2. 
• Santamaría, Germán (1994). No Morirás. Andres Bollo. ISBN 9-561-31236-0. 

Persondata
Name	Sanchez, Omaira
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 28, 1972
Place of birth
Date of death	November 16, 1985
Place of death	Armero, Colombia