Driven out of their homes by an earthquake, many Mexicans now return to damaged buildings to retrieve their belongings, despite the risk of the structures collapsing on top of them.
A huge crack split apart a 14-story apartment building in the low-income Doctores neighborhood of Mexico City. Still, people climb the stairs, now visible from outside through the crack, to get their belongings.
The authorities declared the building unsafe, but allowed tenants to go grab what they could at their own risk. The building administrator, who identified herself only as Jacquelin, allowed only one tenant in at the time. Each got one hour, but some broke the limit, trying to carry out refrigerators.
Private trucks haul away the salvaged possessions.
There is no aid and no media in the area, according to Anthony Hoffman, a Canadian expat living in the heart of Mexico City in the Colonia Roma neighborhood.
Mexicans in general distrust or even despise their government. After the quake, they didn’t wait for government aid or coordination and headed out to help with the rescue efforts, catching up on coordination as they went along.
“The citizens kind of took control,” Hoffman said.
Gradually, the military started to take over. It required volunteers to wear helmets, vests, and boots.