While four families experienced the shock on Thursday of finding out that the Army had discovered another body, while mud continues to be extracted from almost 150 parking lots in the affected towns, three women were heading back towards Valencia after completing a necessary procedure. They had submitted the document at the Congress registry that certifies that over 80,000 signatures (more than 91,000 by the time of publication) support the petition for the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate and determine the responsibilities associated with the deaths of at least 223 people due to the flood on October 29.
Meri, Yolanda, and Maite reiterated in front of a swarm of journalists in Madrid what they have been repeating since they launched one of the campaigns - there are several - related to the Valencia disaster on the Change.org platform: “My father was killed in the dana on October 29th in Catarroja,” says Meri García, “the institutions that should protect us turned their backs on us. We don't care about political colors, we just want justice, we ask for those responsible to pay.”
“My father was killed in the early hours of October 29 in Catarroja,” Meri García claims
The truth is that the Compromís representatives in Congress registered a Non-Legislative Proposal a few days ago that must be debated in the plenary for approval, so the initiative of the relatives has a more symbolic than practical effect; it expresses a deeply rooted sentiment not only among the loved ones, but in Valencian society in general, the idea that many avoidable deaths occurred.
After confirming that the body of the man found last Thursday in Paiporta corresponds to one of the fatalities of the cold drop, the official death toll has now reached 223, pending the discovery of three other individuals whose whereabouts are still unknown.
For Yolanda Garrido and Maite Pagán, who lost their respective brothers and a four-year-old nephew, the painful part has not only been knowing that proper prevention could have saved their lives, but the “complete abandonment” they felt from the authorities afterwards. Even though they knew “the exact spot” where their father was, as Meri recalls, “for ten days, nobody searched for him.” “It took a volunteer with his dog Nilo to find my father,” she lamented.
The anguish experienced by the relatives of Elisabet Gil, 38 years old, who went missing in Cheste while driving to work with her mother, whose body was found days later. The pain is also felt by those who are still awaiting news of Jose Javier Vicente, 56 years old, a resident of Pedralba who was traveling with his daughter Susana, who also passed away; and the loved ones of Francisco Ruiz Martínez, 64 years old, who had just enough time to save his grandchildren by lifting them onto the roof of the car before being swept away by the waters.
Last Thursday, the CSIF union denounced the lack of sufficient staff to manage the aids, almost a month and a half later
For all of them, like thousands of Valencians who still haven't been able to return to their homes, open their shops, replace their lost cars, complete the insurance paperwork, receive any of the promised aid... the nightmare that began on October 29 continues. Last Thursday, the CSIF union denounced the lack of sufficient personnel to manage the aid, almost a month and a half later, which is causing “growing discomfort and anguish among the victims.”
Back home, Meri, Yolanda, and Maite insist on detaching their complaint from any political objective and on praising the role of the volunteers: “They brought us water, food, if it weren't for the volunteers, we would all have died there and the institutions would have been indifferent.” “The responsible ones must be held accountable,” they insist.
And it is undeniable that the determination with which they have undertaken their cause, their ability to convey their strong demand for the tragedy not to be forgotten and to reveal what and who failed, not only to Congress but to the media, is gaining extraordinary resonance: about 23,000 signatures were added to those they had when they boarded the high-speed train in València bound for Madrid.