The floor shook, and Germán Andrés Somoyar did not hesitate.
As Clínica Panamericana de Apartadó trembled under the force of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia, this pediatrician did not run toward the exit. He ran to the sixth floor, where 10 newborns slept unaware that the world was moving beneath them. Together with nurses and other healthcare workers, he brought them out one by one, calculating every step between aftershocks.
The photos from that morning show something simple and immense: Somoyar outside the clinic, with two babies pressed against his chest, caring for them as if they were his own. There were no cameras ready or gestures designed for social media. Just a doctor who decided that, if something happened, it would not happen to them first.
Today, that image is making its way across all of Colombia. And it reminds us of something easily forgotten: amid chaos, there is always someone who chooses to stay for those who cannot run.
