Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Wrototown on Fire!!

On my way home, I saw a large black cloud of smoke in the distance, and knew it had to be something serious. Sure enough, opposite the Fish Market near the Old Road junction, Wrototown was on fire. Big orange flames engulfing several houses made of bamboo mat and sticks, while hundreds of young men continued watching a football game on the nearby field. By the time I got my camera and returned to the scene, 12 houses were completely burned up, save for the zinc roofs.




This man braved the smoke to dump buckets of water on the fire in an attempt to save his own mat house...
...but for Christine Harding, it was too late. Her house was one of those consumed by the fire.
Bamboo, sticks, straw, and paper. Terrible building materials in a country where people must use candles for light and coalpots to cook! Rumor has it that a single piece of red-hot coal started the blaze.
A few possessions saved. The fire didn't get them, but the rain tonight might. And some people who weren't at home will never know whether their things were burnt or stolen by looters pretending to help.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What can we say. I ask God to help the less fortunate.