Earthquake: Family still feels the pain a year later

By JEFFERY ELAPA
A FAMILY, who lost two children in the earthquake in Southern Highlands a year ago, say time has yet to ease their pain.
They said the wounds in their hearts were just as painful and fresh like they happened just yesterday, even though a year had passed.
Grace Dopo was 15 then and her cousin Armarie Nelson 13 when they perished in that Feb 26 early morning quake that devastated the Highlands area. Many others suffered a similar fate although no one knows for sure how many people died in that disaster.
Dopo was in grade 9 at Mendi Day Secondary School.
Her parents went to her burial site yesterday and laid a wreath for their baby. The only relief they found were IN tears.
Grace’s father, Robert Dopo, the chairman of Works in the Southern Highlands executive council and president of the Ialibu Basin local level government in the Imbonggu district, said her daughter lost her life because she went looking for education in Mendi.
Dopo said two of her children survived the disaster but Grace and her cousin Armarie were not as fortunate when landslide hit while they slept.
Ethna Dopo, Grace’s sister who is in her first year at the University of PNG, said she slept alone in her room that night while her brother Gift, Grace and Arnmarie slept in another room.
She said at around 3.30am she was woken by a rumbling noise. The baskets of rocks they had packed to stop soil erosion, had slipped and crashed into their rooms on the ground floor of the house they were sleeping in.
She said she forced the door open and called out. There was no response.
There was no power. It was dark.
Ethna said she felt her siblings’ feet and pulled but they were dead except Gift, nine then and who was sleeping between the two girls.
He was unhurt. Ethna said it was extremely hard to overcome the trauma she suffered but lots of prayers, support and encouragement from her parents and others got her through her studies.
She said her dad saw helicopters flying to and fro in a disorganised manner and it was hard to think what to do.
“We would appreciate if people were identified and counselling given, especially to young children who endured the frightening experience, getting out and over the disaster,” her father said.