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Dear Friends of the Missions,
Despite the fact that the carnival is still lasting and thousands of people in Bolivia and in the whole world are having fun, our Apostolic Vicariate is plunged into sorrow.
I have already mentioned this year’s extraordinarily heavy rainfall in the whole country. The rainfalls in the mountains form rapid, unstoppable rivers which carry mud, sand, trees and everything they meet on their way. The water often changes its course which leads to many tragedies. The whole settlements, villages, fields and forests, in which people hunt, are flooded.
When you travel across our Vicariate during the dry season you can often see dried river channels and bridges over them. But when the rainfalls start, the channels quickly change into rushing and very dangerous rivers. The water often flows over the bridges and the roads are impassable. In such situations we have to wait until the water settles down. We have no other choice. The time stops and we have to be patient.
This has recently happened in our Vicariate. Not only Rio Grande but also many smaller, seasonal rivers filled with rushing and dangerous water. And the tragedy happened. This event was described in detail in the e-mail I got today from priest Josef Schicker from San Julian (the e-mail was in German). I would like to summarize this e-mail shortly and describe what had happened.
Ms. Luzie Lintner from south Tirol, the volunteer and benefactor of our missions, cooperated with our Vicariate for over 30 years. The place she “cherished” the most was the San Antonio de Lomerio parish. She conducted different projects there, especially for women and children. She sometimes spent few months in Bolivia, sometimes less than a month but she always visited San Antonio de Lomerio.
San Antonio de Lomerio is one of the most distant and the most difficult to reach parishes in our Vicariate. There is no asphalt, no electric power grid, and no telephone line. It does not matter if you pull off the road in San Ramon or in Concepcion. You have to go through the bush, through forests, once up and once down, across river channels and jutted rocks – over 100 kilometres of difficult journey. The only way you could travel is, of course, by an off-road vehicle. I took this route many times and I always admired the beauty of the nature and of the surrounding lands. And I was also always aware of the danger I could encounter.
This year Ms. Luzie came to Bolivia only for a short period of time. She arrived to Santa Cruz on 20th January 2008. After a short stay in the town she went to San Julian to visit priest Josef Schicker with whom she collaborated since 1977(!). Her friends accompanied her on the way there. Her destination was, of course, San Antonio but she also came to Concepcion to visit our Bishop Anthony and consult with him about some matters concerning her projects.
On Sunday, together with her friends (from Germany) and two teenage boys, she borrowed a jeep from priest Schicker and started her journey to San Antonio de Lomerio. Most of the journey was safe but... about 12 kilometres from San Antonio, near a small village Coroladillo, they came across an obstacle which was impossible to bypass. The level of the Zapoco River was too high. Instead of a dry, rocky river channel there was a roaring, about 50-metre-wide river. It was impossible to pass it through by car because the water was washing the bridge. The people gathered there told them that about 1 kilometre further there was an emergency footbridge across the river. In reality the footbridge consisted of the boughs of broken trees and a line thrown over them. One of the boys really wanted to go through because his father was waiting for him there. However, he lacked the courage to do it on his own. Luzie decided to help him. In the middle of the bridge they lost control and fell into the water. They managed to catch a branch but, unfortunately, the branch did not withstand the weight of two people and broke down. The 14--year--old Pedro could reach the bank but Luzie was carried away by a strong current and after a few seconds, to the terror of all those present, she disappeared in the eddy of the water. It happened on Sunday at about 3 p.m. Since then she vanished into the blue. The local people were searching for her for many hours but there were no results. On Monday a special rescue team came to Santa Cruz. They even used a helicopter but, despite their efforts, Luzie was not found. The news spread instantly throughout the area and all of us were praying for her. Even the yesterday’s evening news reported of this accident. Only today in the afternoon when the water went down Luzie’s dead body was found. It was about 400 metres from the place where the accident had happened, in an inaccessible place. Her body is now being transported to San Antonio de Lomerio where the funeral will probably take place tomorrow.
In his e-mail priest Schicker wrote: “At the end of my conversation with Luzie I mentioned my last will in which I asked for being buried in San Antonio de Lomerio, in case I died in Bolivia. Luzie spontaneously reacted to this and said: “Oh my God, I would like it as well.” One could think that God heard her request too early.”
A person who worked in our Vicariate for so many years, who was so attached to our missions in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru for many years has now left the world. She has left to get her award but... her deeds and her heart have stayed in Bolivia.
Many people are on their way to San Antonio de Lomerio: priest Schicker with whom Luzie collaborated for so many years, our Bishop Anthony and many other workers of our Vicariate. Let’s hope that they get there safely. We accompany them through our prayers.
Please pray with us for their safe journey and for Ms. Luzie.
Santa Cruz, 5th February 2008
Tarcisio Josef Lamik OFM
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