82 Year-Old Man Escapes Injury During Overnight House Collapse
An elderly Belize City resident is tonight lucky to have escaped grave injuries when his home on Mangrove Street suddenly collapsed in the wee hours of this morning. The elevated wooden structure has been dilapidated for a number of years and despite Ronald Cabral’s plea for assistance, no one has come to his aid. Shortly after one o’clock neighbors were startled by the sound of a loud crash. When they came outside to see what the commotion was about they saw the eighty-two-year-old man crawling from under the rubble. Cabral’s home had given way, plunging him beneath the scattered sheets of lumber. This afternoon, a neighbor who provided him shelter overnight, told News Five that he remains homeless in the wake of the collapse since he has no one to turn to for help.
Voice of: Mangrove Street Resident
“I mi di sleep when I yer di crash and my daughter-in-law holler for me. So I come out with mi flashlight and mi son and mi stepson gone. By the time dehn get over there, the old man stand up…So dehn ask ahn, yo get hurt? Ih say no. they try get ahn out and they hold ih hand, bring ahn across and they put ahn ina my warehouse fi go sleep cause dah deh dah weh ih usually go sleep. But no, ih wah stay dah ih house so ih sleep there. This morning I give ahn tea and me neva see when ih gone; up to now ih noh come back yet. An eighty-two year old. He noh fix ih place and thing because ih can’t work. Ih noh got no way of income to fix nothing. People promise ahn that ih wah help ahn, but they noh come back.”
Isani Cayetano
“I understand that from the area representative also sent officials from his apartment to come and assess the property?”
Voice of: Mangrove Street Resident
“Well he said ih mi wah come back, but he never did. Then the one weh mi di run fi city council too, he promised to come back but ih never come back. so both of them promised.”
Isani Cayetano
“For as long as you’ve been living here, how long has this building remained dilapidated?”
Voice of: Mangrove Street Resident
“This got about thirty-eight years now since ih build, but since ih get like this dah bout nearly fifteen years or so.”
Isani Cayetano
“What can you tell us about this old man and this particular house?”
Voice of: Mangrove Street Resident
“All I could tell yo that ih can’t repair it because ih noh the work and he dah he one. So, ih sick; he was a fisherman, but ih can’t do nothing now so ih can’t help ihself. Dah we woulda give ahn handout ever time…we give ahn food and thing.”
Isani Cayetano
“Do you believe he is now homeless or seeking help from other family members and relatives?”
Voice of: Mangrove Street Resident
“Well to tell you the truth, dah only he and ih son. Ih son noh eena di situation to help ahn and he noh want stay dah ih son that’s why he neva gone dehn; that’s why ih mi eena di house. So if people could help ahn build wah lee flat top or something, he woudla feel more happy right yah on ih piece of land because that dah weh ih usually tell me. He want stay yah. He noh want go far from we yo noh because he got high regards fi we like how we mine ahn.”
