My dad, mum, four brothers were wiped out by fire

•17-yr-old student laments

Nothing could have been more horrible than losing both parents and four siblings at once. That’s exactly what happened to  Miss Deborah  Okeke, who lost her parents and four brothers in a fire incident  at  Port Harcourt, Rivers State, not long ago. Read more
Late Mr and Mrs Charles Okeke and  four of their sons were burnt to death when fire gutted their  building  at No. 8, New Railway Road,   Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The family hails from Umuduorah, in Anam West Local Government Area of Anambra State.
In her reaction to  the incident of that fateful day ,  Deborah told Sunday Sun  that the tragedy   would be difficult to deal with . She’s  still haunted by the tragedy, finding it difficult to accept the fact that they were dead and gone.
According to her, she would be glad to wake up one morning and see her dead parents and brothers around her once again. But this is mere wishful thinking. Said she “I just lost my parents  to an electric fire incident. By God’s grace, another brother and I are the only ones left now. I am 17 years old.   My brother’s name is Onyedikachi Charles Okeke. He is 19 years old and  schooling outside the country. I was writing my NECO exam in Aba, Abia State. It was there that I heard what happened. Initially, I wasn’t told what really happened. Neighbors just called  to tell me that I should not come  home that weekend to collect  anything   and that my parents had traveled. Immediately, I suspected something was amiss.  I wanted to go home   to collect some things.”
Against the advice, she  decided to travel to Port Harcourt only to discover that her parents and four brothers were dead.
The grieving 17- year- old Deborah, a student of Divine Wisdom Academy, Aba, Abia State, disclosed to our  reporter that she intends  to study Mass Communication, so that she could achieve her dream of becoming a broadcaster.  Her  major obstacle is the death of her parents.
The traumatized girl, who is at present being accommodated by her uncle, Onyebuchi Okeke, a 300-level Philosophy student of the University of Port Harcourt  said the agony of what happened to her parents and four brothers has made her  avoid  the burnt building  that used to be her home since she returned to Port Harcourt. She revealed how she has developed a phobia for the compound. The incident, which occurred about 1:00am that day was said to have destroyed the entire building of eight flats and an adjoining building in another compound. The cause of the inferno  is yet to be ascertained though some  neighbors  who spoke to our  reporter, blamed it on  electric power surge. Others said there was an explosion before the building went up in flames.
The girl, who intermittently wiped tears as she spoke to Sunday Sun, said she could not describe what confronted her when she got home. According to her, people were  relating  different versions of what happened.  Deborah explained  that it took her  a long time  to realize  that the crowd that gathered  in their compound did   as a result of the untimely death of her parents and her  four siblings.
“I couldn’t describe how it was like, when I got home. It was unbelievable. Actually, they (sympathizers) were saying what happened. But, nobody was telling me directly. They were explaining it to those at home  who were asking what happened. That was how I got to know what happened to them. I was speechless. I didn’t know where I was.
Speaking further, Deborah said “my eldest brother was 21 years old. His name is Chukwuma and   my immediate younger brother, was 14 years. He just finished his Junior Secondary School (JSS) examination. My  fourth brother was Tochukwu who  was in JSS 1. The fifth one who was our last born, was in primary two”.
The grieving girl described her mother as “Very lovely, accommodating and hospitable adding “I wish  their death was not real. The vacuum created by their sudden demise will not be filled in anyway.
“My parents were very lovely and  generous to everyone that needed them.  The same thing applied to my late brothers. They were too dear to me. They were all fond of me. I loved them. Their death is unbearable.  They were the ones very close to me. In fact, all of them were very special to me. I will be very happy to wake up one day to discover that it was only a dream.”
She reiterated “My dream in life is to become a broadcaster. I want to read Mass Communication and later, English Language.  I want God Almighty to touch the hearts of those that can come to my aid and  even government and corporate organizations that can help  me. That’s my appeal.”
•Good spirited Nigerians who may want to assist Deborah can reach her on   07033916026  and 08068483491.

Culled from The Sun newspaper