The earthquake that affected several regions of Colombia this Monday, August 10, is happening amid the transition process between two governments. This makes management more complex, but this country has experience in crisis response and has shown that just as we have a history of violence and pettiness, solidarity also appears when needed. A tragedy is a challenge that measures leadership and the ability to react under pressure.
The lack of an adequate handover process left the Risk Management Unit in a moment of limbo with an acting director who comes from the previous government and a team that is awaiting the expected changes that will come with the new government. The emergency does not wait. Incoming and outgoing officials must work hand in hand beyond differences. Society as a whole should momentarily set aside debates, distrust, and fears to believe in others and combine capacities to assist those in need.
It is not time to settle political scores or engage in public fights. At this moment, the greatness of leaders across all political spectrums will also be measured. The loss of trust that has been accentuated by campaign battles must give way to the possibility of meeting as humans and Colombians to once again believe that nobility exists in all people. Of course, there will be those who try to take advantage of the emergency, those who seek to exploit it. The appropriate time for analysis and assessments of how institutions and leaders responded at local and national levels will come. For now, I believe calm and solidarity with those affected are required.
Calling for restraint does not mean applauding mistakes or overlooking problems that may arise. Especially because successes and errors made during crises must be understood to improve and prepare for future emergencies. The El Niño phenomenon threatening on the horizon will test us again.
What now corresponds to all of us is to contribute from our corner to assist the victims, those who have lost loved ones, and those who directly face the tragedy. We often focus, as we should, on victims and their families and forget those serving on the front lines of care for others: rescuers, health personnel, firefighters, police officers, among others, need support, resources, and care. It is important to keep in mind that those who must act for long hours amid the emergency also receive attention and care so they do not collapse physically or emotionally while working for others.
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Emotional care is, moreover, a need for everyone in moments of trauma like this. Fear and uncertainty arise, and mental health professionals can help process them. Journalists must provide service information, report respectfully and without sensationalism, without turning human pain into material to gain clicks. It is also necessary to help verify data because misinformation is widespread during emergencies.
The government of President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a National Disaster situation that allows moving resources, making decisions more quickly, and facing the emergency promptly. Besides the loss of lives, which is the most serious aspect of any emergency, the earthquake implies immense costs for the state that will impact the already depleted state coffers. It is another ingredient added to the fiscal crisis that may be debated in terms of magnitude but is recognized as real across all sectors.
Money is needed for the immediate: the search and rescue work for survivors trapped under collapsed structures and to assist those left homeless. Then comes the reconstruction process in the affected municipalities. All this represents million-dollar investments that the country must address promptly and efficiently. In the past, we have had good and bad experiences in disaster response and reconstruction of affected areas. Hopefully, learning from past experiences will prevail in today’s response, listening to those with experience to avoid costly mistakes.
At the time of writing this opinion, the magnitude of the emergency is not yet clear, but as new data emerges, the size of the tragedy grows in loss of lives and number of affected people. It is a large-scale emergency that tests us as a society. Regaining trust in others is necessary to act as a nation in the face of a tragedy that does not wait and cannot be resolved by fighting on social media. Differences can wait in the face of human suffering.
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