Skip to main content

The hour our lives changed, a year later

image credit here.

12.51pm.

The congregation falls silent, heads bowed in contemplation. All I hear is the breeze blowing through the rustling trees, and the happy chirping of birds, oblivious to the human drama unfolding below.

I am at the university quad, surrounded by my fellow students and university staff members, all gathered at the memorial service to commemorate the tragedy that struck at this very hour, on this very day, exactly a year ago. 

We were joined by the entire nation.

The entire nation had grinded to a halt, each man, woman and child dedicating two minutes of their lives in silence, in remembrance to those who had perished in the great Christchurch earthquake; in remembrance to those left behind to soldier on and rebuild their shattered lives; in remembrance of the ordeals endured by each and every Cantabrian, one aftershock at a time.

Silence.

I remember the walk to the main campus, a sweet sadness welling up deep inside me as I see traffic cones that still line the streets, filled with bunches of flowers, showing that love, beauty and hope could still exist in the constant reminders of our ruined city.

Silence.

I remember the months of displacement, doing nothing, feeling nothing, except for the terror of the next wave of aftershocks. Nerves frayed. No work - school destroyed. No study - university building destroyed. Nothing but the drive to get through the next one. And the next.

Silence.

I remember the rumbling that preceded the event, exactly a year ago. I remember the horror I felt when I was thrown about like a rag doll, totally at the mercy of the violent forces of Nature, and totally reliant on the Mercy of God. I remember the shock on the faces of the people I saw on the streets, not being able to comprehend the enormity and scale of the devastation they faced before them. I remember the people trapped in the buildings. I remember the souls who lost their lives. I remember my beloved city in ruins.

I am brought back to the present as the two minutes of silence ends.

I remember that I am still here.

I thank God.

I make my way into the dispersing crowd, and leave the university grounds.

_____________________________________________________________
* Part of my experience on 22 Feb 2011 can be seen here.

Comments

Cat-from-Sydney said…
Uncle A,
We visited Christchurch back in 2008 and to this day we still remember the beautiful city.....I can't imagine them being gone. But life goes on and we must soldier on. I have always wondered if your studies would have been affected. Good luck, sir. purrr....meow!
Hey Cat & Ange,

It's rally nice nice to hear from you guys again :)
Yeah, we soldier on. A year on, it's gotten back to being almost normal again. Almost.

Popular posts from this blog

Help is always far away

Help is never far away. That is the old adage that has been drummed into us ever since we were young. No matter where you are, and what difficulty you are going through, someone will be close at hand to help. Except they aren't. Many a time no one in your vicinity gives a rat's ass. Or could be in a mess of their own to even think that someone else may need the support. Just that little bit of assurance to show that they care. Sometimes it can be in the smallest things. A kind word. A check up of how one is doing. Yet help does come. Someone takes the time to respond, in short messages, all the way from across the Pacific Ocean. Someone does take the time to relate, and share their own experiences, and offers words of comfort from across the country. Yes, help is at hand, but it is always far away. *picture credit here

The Forbidden Kingdom No More

Yesterday is a day that would forever go down the sands of time as... "The Day I Fed Two Hundred Ravenous Mouths with Bottomless Pits" Oh the horror!... The Pain!... The Suffering!!! Like a swarm of locusts they came, wave upon wave upon wave... Like a farmer protecting his crop I could only look on and stare, as they darkened the sky, before zeroing in for the kill... Tears streamed down my eyes as I watched them strip every last grain of maize and corn that I had planted at the begininning of the year... My knees thudded to the ground, as I numbly watched the carnage around me, my tired brain barely registering what my eyes perceived. "So this is what it feels like"... I thought in my brain... "This thing called Open House" . .. ... Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'm just being dramatic here ;) Yesterday was actually a day that I'm going to remember for a long time, simply because it was graced with the presence of those eager young minds I he

My nightmare come true

This is it. It's finally happened. The stuff of bad dreams for many language teachers has today materialised for me, rearing its ugly head, scoffing at my abilities as a language professional. This is an actual letter from one of my students as part of their coursework. Final year student. Soon to graduate and meet the workforce of the nation. Read it and weep...