“Do you come from within?” It is the phrase that the inhabitants of Valencia capital use to refer to those who have passed through ground zero of the DANA. The latter are distinguished because the mud reaches up to their ears and their faces show a mixture of infinite satisfaction and exhausting fatigue. Nothing to do with the big city, absolutely functional, with crowded cafes and waves of children coming and going from school. A shocking reality, because just a few streets down, after the TuriaOn the other side of the wall, chaos lives.
A chaos in which the town of Catarrojathe last on the list of all those that make up the southern outskirts of Valencia. There, as in Massanassa, military aid did not arrive until last Monday, so the ravages of the water are more than palpable. Even the EMU (Military Emergency Unit) was left in shock when it landed on the ground yesterday. “They told us that material was needed, but what is really needed is heavy machinery,” said one of their patrols before turning around and disappearing into the horizon.
The soldier was right, since CatarrojaExcept for its main artery, it is full of garbage, damp and smelly. You can’t even travel normally through the streets that are divided in two by a wall of rubble that reaches two meters high. Not even cigarettes get rid of the mud, the smoker inhales both mud and nicotine with each puff. A suffocating, dark situation, but one that has been the epicenter of everything that human beings can do, both good and bad.
From among those mountains of waste, on Málaga Street, appears Chiara Tosti, Italian, anthropologist who has lived in Valencia for two months. Grab a cigarette and chat with Miguelhis neighbor, who has teary eyes and with whom you only need to exchange a couple of words to realize that he is a great person, with a heart.
They met after the floods on Tuesday. Chiara He had lost his house, he was in the middle of the street crying and MiguelWith a gesture, he told him to come to his portal. Both were broken and two strangers merged into a long hug. He uncorked a bottle of wine even though it was ten in the morning. “Isn’t it a little early to drink?” said Chiara. “Today we don’t have time to start drinking,” Miguel answered.
The drink was justified. Chiara had already lived in Spain. In fact, her husband Francis and she had her first child in Madrid seven years ago. But life takes many turns and they ended up moving to Italy, specifically to Paciano, in the center of the country. A prosperous but chaotic day to day that, four months ago, pushed them to look for a quieter place. A friend called her and told her that her mother had a house in Catarroja. «When I saw the photos I didn’t even like it, but from the beginning I was attracted to the town. “It’s as if everything was written,” the Italian admits to ABC while ensuring that she has rejected all interviews to date, especially with Italian media.
Catarroja was the destination and they arrived in the town in August. A happy beginning that was cut short last week, when DANA devastated their house and practically all the family’s belongings. «The day was strange. The sky did not move and there were no birds to be seen. We were thinking of going for a walk after the boy did his homework, but I told my husband that we’d better stay. Shortly after, my landlady called me screaming for us to go up to her cousin’s house, who lived opposite ours.
A decision that could have saved their lives, because a few hours later the horror arrived in the form of a torrent of water. His residence, a ground floor, was destroyed. «We sleep with the neighbors. I can’t get the sound of water passing through the street out of my mind. But the worst was the next day, when we were able to return to our home. I entered my office and, when I saw my computer, my clothes… I collapsed,” she says.
At least, he had all the help that came to him from Italy (the mayor of her hometown called her to make a transfer and send her clothes for her little one) and her neighbors’ house. A coexistence that ended yesterday afternoon. Chiarawithout bad words towards those who welcomed her on one of the hardest nights of her life, narrates what happened. “We noticed that they were a little uncomfortable and, then, my landlady called me and said that they had told her between the lines that we were already superfluous.”
The blow was hard. Suddenly, Chiara and her family found themselves homeless in a city ravaged by fear and despair. Furthermore, everyone who has been through ground zero knows that when the sun goes down, the dangers increase exponentially. But it seems that in the south of Valencia, even with everything suffered, there are always reasons to smile.
When the anguish was about to overcome her, her neighbors called her assuring her that they had found a new home in Buñoleast of Valencia. «We are delighted, it is far, but I don’t care. Until we recover, we have been told we do not have to pay. Although my intention is to return here, to Catarroja. “I want to live here with my husband and my son.”
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