[Siren's Pull] Article, 22/08/2011
Quake victims return home; some still missing
By Lois Lane
Yesterday, dozens of missing victims from Sectors 9 and 10 returned to the relieved arms of their loved ones. Not only were they well, after their unexplained absence since Tuesday’s earthquake, but the survivors were in perfect condition. Some were even healthier than they had been before the tremors, all at no cost to the families.
However, underneath the jubilation ran a current of resigned cynicism. While the reported missing were returned without incident, some faces once familiar remain unaccounted for. “My brother Jem,” 40-year-old Bobby haltingly explained. “I saw the van come, an’ he were bleeding, so the docs took ‘im. Ain’t seen him since.” Bobby and Jem have been living on the streets of Sector 10 for years, since Jem’s industrial accident put him out of work.
Jem is only one of unknown numbers of homeless of both sectors still missing. Only word of mouth and imperfect memories can report the loss, with no way to track them for official enquiries.
“These people learned long ago to depend only on themselves to get by, day to day,” explains Kelly Vance. Kelly has been working in a soup kitchen on the border of Sectors 9 and 10 for the past eighteen months, and says she has gotten to know the locals of both regions. “Some of the regulars haven’t been in since the ‘quake, and we don’t really know what happened to some of them. Some might have been killed by falling structures, especially in 10, but some their friends have said were only hurt.”
The homeless aren’t the only ones who have lost compatriots. In Sector 9, gang tensions have risen. Whispers of members never returning circulate. One boy who wishes to remain anonymous says that his crew leader hasn’t appeared in days. So many of the children involved have nowhere to go and no one really taking responsibility for them, the underworld situation is teetering on the edge of chaos.
Eyewitnesses report that more vans left the area than were necessary to transport the number of survivors who returned. Where the others are remains a mystery. Police are continuing to investigate, leading to some hope for those society forgot.
By Lois Lane
Yesterday, dozens of missing victims from Sectors 9 and 10 returned to the relieved arms of their loved ones. Not only were they well, after their unexplained absence since Tuesday’s earthquake, but the survivors were in perfect condition. Some were even healthier than they had been before the tremors, all at no cost to the families.
However, underneath the jubilation ran a current of resigned cynicism. While the reported missing were returned without incident, some faces once familiar remain unaccounted for. “My brother Jem,” 40-year-old Bobby haltingly explained. “I saw the van come, an’ he were bleeding, so the docs took ‘im. Ain’t seen him since.” Bobby and Jem have been living on the streets of Sector 10 for years, since Jem’s industrial accident put him out of work.
Jem is only one of unknown numbers of homeless of both sectors still missing. Only word of mouth and imperfect memories can report the loss, with no way to track them for official enquiries.
“These people learned long ago to depend only on themselves to get by, day to day,” explains Kelly Vance. Kelly has been working in a soup kitchen on the border of Sectors 9 and 10 for the past eighteen months, and says she has gotten to know the locals of both regions. “Some of the regulars haven’t been in since the ‘quake, and we don’t really know what happened to some of them. Some might have been killed by falling structures, especially in 10, but some their friends have said were only hurt.”
The homeless aren’t the only ones who have lost compatriots. In Sector 9, gang tensions have risen. Whispers of members never returning circulate. One boy who wishes to remain anonymous says that his crew leader hasn’t appeared in days. So many of the children involved have nowhere to go and no one really taking responsibility for them, the underworld situation is teetering on the edge of chaos.
Eyewitnesses report that more vans left the area than were necessary to transport the number of survivors who returned. Where the others are remains a mystery. Police are continuing to investigate, leading to some hope for those society forgot.