In brief
The 17‑year‑old Winder and his 15‑year‑old brother Deivi fled a collapsed home in La Guaira, Venezuela, to seek safety in Cali, Colombia. Their father had moved there for work, but the brothers soon endured a 7.4‑magnitude earthquake that struck the city. They endured the trauma of surviving the first disaster, losing family members, and then discovered new injuries, loss and rescues amid the rubble. Their story illustrates how disaster survivors can become new victims when they relocate to another earthquake‑prone zone.
"The earthquake is haunting me," Deivi Delfín says, recounting the shock of feeling the ground tremble for the second time after moving to Colombia. The brothers, who were children in the ear‑hit twin quakes that struck La Guaira on 24 June, had already lost three family members and the roof of their home.
After their home was reduced to rubble, Deivi and his brother, now 17, moved to Cali, Colombia, where their father works. Three days later, the city experienced a 7.4‑magnitude quake that rattled the already‑scarred neighborhood.
Deivi describes the moment his father ran back to the house after shaking, only to find the boys gone from their home, having fled to a barbershop until the quake settled. Their father later described the wound of not being able to find them, but the brothers were found and helped to identify missing relatives amid the debris.
Winder was the first to recognize his mother’s body in the rubble, thanks to a plastic bag left for dyeing her hair. He stood near her for a few moments before the concrete slab was removed, revealing his little brother, Moissés, still clutching her hand.
The brothers have found themselves repeatedly caught in seismic violence, yet they keep stepping into rescue roles and surviving. Their father said once, "This is what happened before; we’ll keep going." Their resilience is a testament to how families endure and seek hope even inside broken foundations.
