Page 84 - @ccess 3 Reader´s Book

The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

FRIEND: Do you remember the 2005
Kashmir earthquake? TraCk 73
MALALA: Yes, I do! How could I forget?!
FRIEND: Where were you?
MALALA: I remember that one fine day in October, when I
was still in primary school, our desks started to tremble
and shake. Our classes were still mixed at that age, and all
the boys and girls yelled, “Earthquake!” We ran outside
as we had been taught to do. All the children gathered
around our teachers like chicks swarm to a mother hen.
FRIEND: Are you used to earthquakes?
MALALA: Yes, we are because Swat lies in a geological fault
line and we often have earthquakes, but this felt different.
All the buildings around us seemed to be shaking and the
rumbling didn’t stop.
FRIEND: So, you knew it would be more severe than other
earthquakes.
MALALA: Well, I guess I did, even though it took me a while
to realize how bad it was.
FRIEND: What did you do afterwards??
MALALA: Once the shaking had stopped we were all sent
home. We found our mother sitting on a chair. She was
relieved to see us and hugged us, tears streaming down
her face. But the aftershocks kept coming all afternoon, so
we remained very scared.
FRIEND: When were you able to understand the
devastation?
MALALA: We saw the effects of the earthquake on the
TV news and it was overwhelming.

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