Life After Shock

When the earth jolts, people forget who they are. Everything is destroyed. Deep fear spreads into the life of the community, and disappointment becomes a part of everyday life. They are faced with the question of how to rebuild their life from the ground up. While people who have suffered from natural disasters lose property and loved ones, they will gradually return to some measure of normalcy. But they will never forget the bitter moment when tragedy struck. Iran is one of the most quake-prone countries in the world. Eighty percent to 90% of the country’s territories sit astride major faults in the earth’s crust. The country is prone to frequent quakes, many of which are devastating. Earthquakes threaten Iranian lives everyday. The low rumbles take a toll on many parts of the country, mainly due to the age and structural integrity of the buildings. “Life After Shock” is a project that focuses on the lives of people who experienced the earthquakes in Varzaqan on August 11, 2012, and Shonbeh, on April 9, 2013. The earthquakes, which measured 6.4 and 6.1 on the Richter scale respectively, killed many people, destroying houses in Kaki, Shonbeh, and Tasouj, all in Bushehr province. The goal of this project is to document the coping mechanisms people used during the aftermath. I also hope to discourage the lack of care people take when preparing for natural disasters. Earthquakes threaten the lives of Iranians every day, yet they still do not seem to take the threat of disaster seriously. Why ignore this? While documenting “Life After Shock” I lived with local families for two weeks after the earthquakes. I wanted to understand how life was for people. I wanted to be a part of the community. The experience was difficult, and I was alone, but because of the aftershocks I shared many of the same experiences with people in the community. I felt fear, I felt joy, and I felt incredible sadness. We were all soon united. Shonbeh was home to 5,000 people. The earthquake killed 45, injured 850, and destroyed 90% of the houses there. The incident devastated a small town that just two years prior to the quake was a thriving village. Last year I traveled back to Shonbeh to see how the city and its people had changed. I wanted to know whether people really could forget that earthquake. After going back, I think it will be very hard for things to ever be the same. The city will survive, and may continue to grow, but the fear in the community lives on.