Calls for Jersey support for earthquake victims

A man whose brother and other family members were killed in the major earthquakes in Venezuela has asked people in Jersey to help support the relief efforts in the country.

Mariano Ferreira is from La Guaira in Venezuela, where the earthquakes struck killing more than 1,700 people, including his brother, who had been in Jersey only a few months previously.

Ferreria, who has lived in Jersey for six years, has been accepting donations of clothes, toys and other items to help those struggling to cope after the disaster.

He said: "It's horrible because it's not just my family, it's a lot of people... It's too painful".

Islanders have been bringing donations to the Beanina barber shop on Beresford Street, where Ferreria works.

He said: "I don't have the right words to say thank you.

"Half of my heart is really sad, but I have another half that is just happy because people are here for me."

Aid organisation Jersey Overseas Aid previously said it is monitoring the situation to see if it could assist with supporting those there.

Ferreria said the loss of his brother has been hard to take as Javier Plasencia had recently been in Jersey.

Ferreria said: "My brother was here three months ago and he left Jersey with plans to return - but that's not happening."

"The mother of my brother and her grandmother are there, and they have been left with nothing," he added.

"The situation is really bad because a lot of people don't have a place to go."

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