Lost between a volcano and thieves!

Inside a large hall converted into a shelter, Guatemalans take refuge following the eruption of the Fuego volcano near the capital, caught between the fear of being swept away by lava flows on one hand and the fear of thieves looting their belongings on the other.

The rising lava, gas columns, and ash have revived memories of the catastrophic mudslide that buried the village of San Miguel Los Lotes on June 3, 2018, leaving 215 dead and nearly 200 missing.

“Izabel Perez, 69, told AFP today as she lay on a small bed inside a shelter in San Juan Alotenango, which overlooks the 3,763-meter-high volcano, “Fear remains, fear from everything that happened last time.”

Located 35 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City, this volcano is one of the country’s most active, along with Pacaya (south) and Santiaguito (west).

Since last Monday, approximately 1,700 people have been evacuated from villages near the volcano’s crater, where the alert level has been raised to its highest.

In another part of the shelter, which is housing around 360 people, Joel Vasquez, 44, said he did not hesitate to leave when he saw the force of the eruption.

Fear of death under the lava flow is not the only feeling among residents; they are also deeply anxious about leaving their homes vulnerable to looting.

Perez, weeping as she recalled leaving her chickens at home, said, “Thieves break into houses and leave us with nothing.”

For his part, Federico Vasquez, a 51-year-old construction worker, insisted he had not wanted to leave El Porvenir because of the “value” of his material possessions, but he was eventually convinced of the need to depart.