Scrambling to contact family
MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS across the city frantically sought good news from relatives in their homeland Wednesday after a devastating earthquake.
“I was trying to connect with my family and I couldn’t because all the lines were disconnected,” said Sandra Scalante, 32, whose family lives in Puebla, Mexico.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit close to the Puebla town of Raboso, with 43 reported fatalities in the region, said local authorities.
The industrial city is located about 70 miles southeast of Mexico City.
Many Mexican immigrants came north from Puebla in the late ’50s and early ’60s, lured to the metropolitan area by manufacturing jobs in New York and New Jersey. There are more than 600,000 natives of Puebla residing in the tristate area. In addition to jobs, they were also attracted by cheap housing and a boost in tourist visas.
Scalante, who manages a Midtown restaurant and lives in the Bronx, visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on W. 14th St. to pray Wednesday.
Her entreaties worked: After incessant calling, she was finally able to reach family members. But she remains worried about friends from the area.
“I’m here praying for my family, for the people they lost,” she said. “Their houses, their family members — for my country, basically.”
Officials said late Wednesday that 245 people died in the earthquake. Carmen Cuatzo, 37, who came to New York 15 years ago, said her family home in Puebla collapsed during the earthquake.
“It’s the place I was born,” she said. “I want to go back one day and really, I feel sad, because I won’t see the same places that were there when I left.”
Her family all survived the quake, but the devastation is inescapable.
“At first, there wasn’t a connection,” she said, referring to dead phone lines. “We were worrying even more because we didn’t know if they were OK.”
Her mother lives about eight miles away from Puebla, where there are mostly smaller houses built years ago.
“They’re waiting for the organizations to arrive” with food and water, said Cuatzo, who teaches religious education to children and teenagers at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In New York, Cuatzo feels helpless so far away from those she loves.
“It’s tremendously sad,” she said. “For sure we can help a bit, but not as much as they need it.”
Lupita González, the director of programs at Mixteca Organization Inc., said her phone hasn’t stopped ringing with people trying to get in touch with family in Mexico.
She’s directed all of them to social media, which has been a vital tool in the disaster.
“There’s no electricity in the city, no phone lines and no water,” she said. “A very useful way to locate someone is Facebook or WhatsApp.”