ECUADOR / EARTHQUAKE REFUGEES

After fleeing from the conflict in Colombia to start a new life in Ecuador, many refugees once again found themselves homeless in the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country’s coast last month. Among those affected was Patricia Lopez. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:04
• Production Date: 3 May 2016
• Asset Language: English; Spanish
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: EARTHQUAKES; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; REFUGEES
• Geographic Subject: ECUADOR
• MAMS Id: 1616048
• Parent Id: 1616048
• Alternate Title: unifeed160503g

Description

STORY: ECUADOR / EARTHQUAKE REFUGEES
TRT: 01:04
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT - PEDERNALES, ECUADOR

1. Med shot, Patricia and neighbour
2. Wide shot, Patricia enters damaged apartment
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Patricia Lopez, Colombian Refugee:
“I was crying when I got home and then my husband appeared. I felt so happy because I found my family, but the city of Pedernales is in pieces.”
4. Close up, rubble
5. Wide shot, destroyed building
6. Med shot, Patricia and her family in tent
7. Wide shot, street
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Patricia Lopez, Colombian Refugee:
“We need food, we need water, we need a place to live. We feel like we are abandoned.”
9. Med shot, Patricia and family
10. Med shot, people and rubble
11. Wide shot, digger removing rubble
12. Various shots, UNHCR staff assembling tents
13. Various shots, UNHCR tents
14. Wide shot, aid workers carrying humanitarian supplies
15. Med shot, UNHCR staff speaking to beneficiaries
16. Med shot, Patricia and her son
17. Wide shot, Patricia’s tent

Storyline

After fleeing from the conflict in Colombia to start a new life in Ecuador, many refugees once again found themselves homeless in the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country’s coast last month. Among those affected was Patricia Lopez. Patricia was on her way home when the earthquake wreaked havoc on the city of Pedernales.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Patricia Lopez, Colombian Refugee:
“I was crying when I got home and then my husband appeared. I felt so happy because I found my family, but the city of Pedernales is in pieces.”

Her family survived, but their apartment was destroyed. In the days following the earthquake, Patricia’s family began sleeping in a makeshift tent on the street. They had lost everything.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Patricia Lopez, Colombian Refugee:
“We need food, we need water, we need a place to live. We feel like we are abandoned.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has distributed nearly 900 tents and $500,000 in humanitarian assistance. Working with the Ecuadorian government, UNHCR’s efforts continue to ensure that refugee families like the Patricia’s receive the help they need to rebuild their lives. On April 16, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the central coast of Ecuador, killing over 600 people and injuring thousands more. It’s the nation’s worst natural disaster in decades and the recovery is projected to cost billions of dollars.