Question

the search for victims and survivors continues in guayabal, colombia after the eruption of the nevado del ruiz volcano (november 16, 1985). auxiliary motors, cartons of supplies, electricians, sound technicians, and cameramen: azucena’s face was beamed to millions of screens around the world. and all the while rolf carlé kept pleading for a pump. the improved technical facilities bore results, and national television began receiving sharper pictures and clearer sound, the distance seemed suddenly compressed, and i had the horrible sensation that azucena and rolf were by my side, separated from me by impenetrable glass. i was able to follow events hour by hour; i knew everything my love did to wrest the girl from her prison and help her endure her suffering; i overheard fragments of what they said to one another and could guess the rest; i was present when she taught rolf to pray and when he distracted her with the stories i had told him in a thousand and one nights beneath the white mosquito netting of our bed. 8. why does the narrator experience a “horrible sensation” when she sees azucena and rolf on the television screen?

Explanation:

The narrator feels this sensation because she is acutely aware of Rolf's pain and Azucena's suffering through the clear, vivid broadcast, yet she is physically separated from them by a screen she cannot cross. She can observe every detail of their ordeal and Rolf's efforts to help Azucena, but is completely powerless to assist or comfort Rolf, trapped in the helpless position of a distant witness to trauma she is emotionally tied to.

Answer:

The narrator experiences a "horrible sensation" because she is forced to watch her loved one Rolf and the suffering Azucena through a television screen: she can see and understand every intimate detail of their ordeal, but is separated by an "impenetrable glass" that leaves her completely powerless to help, comfort Rolf, or ease Azucena's pain, making her feel both close to the trauma and utterly helpless to intervene.