(Second of a two-part series on the aftermath of the earthquake in Chile)



A ringing phone pierced the silence early Saturday morning.

Through bleary eyes, Paulina Montaldo-Stader looked at the caller ID — an international number.

“I was sure it was from Chile, and I was sure that it was something wrong,” the Canfield, Ohio, resident said.

Something was very wrong.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake just rocked the South American country. When she picked up the phone, her sister, Claudia, who lives in Santiago, frantically broke the news about her homeland.

“She was very nervous and in tears, saying this happened and we have to leave,” Montaldo-Stader said. “It was a very short conversation.”

The staccato pace of the conversation underscored the urgency of the situation. Claudia was leaving her apartment and heading to a nearby park. She also was concerned because she hadn’t been able to reach their sister, Mariana, who lives a couple blocks away.

By that time, Mariana had already left her apartment in her pajamas and socks and run five blocks to their mother’s home.

“She said it was chaos in the streets because everybody was running somewhere,” Montaldo-Stader said. “There was a huge cloud of dust from everything that fell. She said that she had to run on the streets because the sidewalks were full of glass from the houses and buildings.”

Her sisters, mother, brother-in-law and niece spent the first night in the park.

“It was safer there. They were looking for someplace that didn’t have any structures around them — just in case there was another one,” Montaldo-Stader said. “That way there was nothing around them that could fall on them.”



DEVASTATION

The destruction wrought by Saturday’s predawn temblor, which killed nearly 800 people, set off spates of looting in shattered towns without food, water or electricity. Most of the deaths came in communities along Chile’s south-central coast, those closest to the quake’s epicenter in Concepcion.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told The Associated Press yesterday that 2 million people have been affected and 500,000 homes damaged by the quake and subsequent tsunami.

Montaldo-Stader’s family is among the luckier ones.

“They have returned to their apartment. It wasn’t destroyed. They have power on and off, no phones,” she said. “(They have) water, but it is dirty water so they cannot cook or drink the water.”

As a precaution, her family loaded supplies in their cars and slept fully dressed.

“Just in case they had to go out and run away,” she noted.

Montaldo-Stader, a one-time foreign exchange student at Neshannock High School, returned to New Castle nine years ago. She teaches Spanish at New Castle Christian Academy to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The distance has seemed even greater during the last few days.

“It was very frustrating,” she said. “I got in contact with them again after a day and a half.” Until then, she added, she had no idea where her family was. Now, even though they still don’t have phones, she is able to keep in contact with them through e-mail.

In addition to her family, Montaldo-Stader was concerned with friends Rene and Peggy Urzua, who were on their annual trip to Rene’s homeland when the quake occurred.

Rene and his wife, a Pittsburgh native, were visiting Concepcion for the day — and no one heard from them for almost two days.

“Nobody had any idea what was going on with them,” she said. “Their family went to the American embassy in Santiago (Monday) morning to see if they heard anything, and they didn’t. It was very frustrating. Finally, Rene got a phone from someone in that area and called and said ‘We’re fine.’ ”

The call came at noon Monday.

“They were visiting that area for the day, so the only clothes they had is what they’re wearing. They said that the roads are in bad shape, and there’s no transportation. They called basically to say we’re fine, but we have no idea when we will make it back to Santiago.”

Last year, the couple were guests at the New Castle Christian Academy, where they talked about Chilean life and its ethnic clothing and dances.



CALL FOR HELP

Shortly after Saturday’s earthquake, Bachelet said her country did not require much help from other nations. That changed as the magnitude of the disaster became clear — power, water, food and medical care are priority needs.

The urgency reached Montaldo-Stader by mid-morning Saturday when calls starting pouring in from people offering to help.

“I had people saying, ‘You don’t know me. I don’t know you. I don’t have any money, but I really want to help in any way I can.’ Amazing, just amazing.”

Brother’s Brother Foundation in Pittsburgh contacted her and asked her to spearhead relief efforts in the New Castle and Youngstown area. By 11 a.m. Saturday, she was on her way to the Steel City for a meeting.

Since returning to the area, Montaldo-Stader became active with the Chilean and Hispanic community. She and her son, Andrés Solano, 18, organized a picnic at Pearson Park eight years ago. Each year, attendance “grows and grows,” and she thinks that’s how Brother’s Brother Foundation tracked her down.

“We have people from Cranberry, Sharon, Ellwood City, Pittsburgh and parts here in Ohio who attend the picnic. Someone in Pittsburgh told them about me. I didn’t know about them until Saturday morning.”

Montaldo-Stader, who was a journalist in Chile, is assisting Brother’s Brother Foundation with press releases and media coverage.

“I got phone calls from people I have no idea who they are but they gave me names and numbers and said ‘We are willing to help in any way.’ ”

In addition to working with the foundation, she teamed up with Manuel Cardenas, who is from Ecuador and now lives in New Castle, to discuss fundraisers, including a race.

“We want to find a public elementary school — a little school — in Chile to help them with supplies or money to rebuild school,” she said.

Meanwhile, her son is working with the Canfield High School principal to organize a relief campaign for Chile. Students at his school and former classmates at New Castle and Neshannock have contacted him, offering their help.

“I think that’s what motivated him to do something,” she said.

Her ties remain close to the area, where she was a Rotary exchange student, graduating from Neshannock in 1984. Her sister, Claudia, was an exchange student the following year.

“Since 1983 we have been very close to New Castle, and we still are.”



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HELP NEEDED ...

•To aid earthquake victims in Chile, donations may by made by credit card at www.brothersbrother.org or by calling the Brother's Brother Foundation at (412) 321-3160.

•Checks should be made to the Brother’s Brother Foundation, marked for Chile, and sent to Brother’s Brother Foundation, 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15233.