Tragedy

I’ve gotten numerous emails from people wondering if we are safe here in Abruzzo.  First, I’d like to thank everyone for their concern.

Fortunately for us, we are about 120 miles from Aquila and not along the fault line, so we did not feel the earthquake.  Luigi felt it and woke us up, crying in terror, but we didn’t even realize why at the moment.  I just thought he had a bad dream.  Then, later, when O’s brother called us from Teramo, we wished it had been a bad dream.

The destruction and loss of life in Aquila is heartbreaking.  At this writing, there are 207 dead.  They were able to find 150 people alive so far in the rubble, but they are racing against time.  In the meanwhile, thousands of people have been left homeless.  The region and volunteer organizations are hard-pressed to provide tents, facilities and food for them.

I know times are tough right now, but if you have an extra dollar or two, please consider donating it.  There are several ways you can help.

In the US, the best way may be through the National Italian American Organization. They have set up the Abruzzo Relief Fund that you can donate to online using your credit card.

If you would like to donate directly to Italy, you can do so using your credit card to the Italian Red Cross.  Their donation form is in Italian, but it should be fairly easy to understand.

And there’s on more way, if you would like to send money directly to the region, you can do a bank transfer to the Poste Italiane per l’Abruzzo account at IBAN: IT-03-U-07601-03200-000010400000.

Please do consider making a donation, no matter how small.

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