Creative Paper

Journal of Roy Harley (Survivor of the Andes Plane Crash)

October 12^th , 1972:

We landed in Mendoza. The weather had become too bad for us to continue on our way to Chile. I just keep thinking about the rugby championship! It’s what passes my time just sitting here waiting in this boring airport. They say we will head out tomorrow afternoon. I hope so. I cannot take anymore of this dull waiting.

October 13^th , 1972:

Everyone was so scared! No one knew what to do! There was mass panic right after the crash. We counted the bodies and we found 12 dead. Five were missing. I remember how scary it all was: the crash, the ripping of the plane. The seats began to fold into each other which broke several peoples’ legs. I am in disbelief. How could something like this happen to us?

October 14^th, 1972:

It’s freezing up here. These two days seem like the longest days of my life. We huddle together for warmth in the plane but it does no good; we can still feel the cold. The cold makes you not want to move. It makes you want to sleep all day, but I can’t. I know if I sleep that’s when the cold wins. I cannot let it win. Luckily, two medical students survived the crash and are now applying splints made of plane parts to those with broken bones. We had little food and water, but we rationed it out today. It was nothing much, just some candy bars and dried fruit. I pray that we are found every second I get the chance to. Why has God let this happen to us?

October 20^th, 1972: Another of us died today. It is all due to the cold!

October 23^rd, 1972: All hope is lost! We found a small transistor radio; they stopped looking for us three days ago. We are all going to die up here! We are running out of food and faith. Our plane is even white; even if they were searching for us they would never see us in this blanket of snow. The others talk about expeditions to help, but I know they won’t work. We will all die up here from starvation and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

October 24^th, 1972:

We are all getting desperate. The food supply is dire. Other survivors even joke of eating the dead. They’re only joking though. The cold makes you think crazy things. I know everyone rather die than eat our friends. I rather die than do such a disgusting thing!

October 26^th, 1972:

I tasted my first flesh today. My hunger was unbearable. Others began to do it. My stomach turned; it turned from disgust and hunger. But at the same time I envied those who were eating. We had not eaten in several days; I could not fight it anymore I gave in! I am afraid I will never forgive myself. Can I live with this knowledge, knowing that I have eaten my friends to for my own survival? But I have to deal. We are all Roman Catholic; we take the blood and body of Christ. This is very similar. Yeah, it’s similar! That is our justification. That is our only way to live with ourselves.

October 29^th, 2009:

An avalanche hit! We are trapped under snow in the plane. The eight outside were killed by the impact. Parrado thought we would suffocate so he used some plane materials to create a hole through the snow to let air in. I feel horrible! When I heard that the eight had died, my first thought was not of mourning, not of grief or sadness, no, my first thought was “great, more food for the rest of us!”

December 12^th, 2009:

It feels like years have passed, but they tell me it has only been about two months. It’s hard to believe them. We have continued to survive by eating the dead humans. We have become more desensitized to the fact. It has been incorporated into our daily routine. We sent three others off today to find salvation. What’s the point! They are just going to die! We will never be rescued.

December 22^nd, 1972:

We are saved! Thank you God for your kindness! Parrado and Canessa are our saviors. They found a village that connected them to a rescue team. They led them straight to us. I am overjoyed! I cannot wait to get home, see my family, and never think about this horrible experience again.

December 26^th, 1972:

We have been made out to be monsters! The front page of the Santiago news paper informed the world of our horrible deed to survive. I had once thought I was over the guilt and pain of eating my companions, but society’s judgment is quickly returning. I repent to God everyday for what I did, but I do not regret it. I am here now; I see my family and my friends. I feel happiness again knowing that I am safe at home with them. I did not want to die! I think that what I did is forgivable!