The neat turbans – mostly orange or navy blue, although the color catalog is completed with elegant olive green, maroon or brown tones – together with the long, groomed beards that swirl in front of a fruit shop in Sedaví leave no room for doubt: we We met the Sikh community who had arrived in Valencia to collaborate in the cleaning tasks. It is a little after eleven and they are restless, some call on the phone, alternating a Spanish that is more well-intentioned than intelligible with Punjabi, their language of origin. It’s Thursday, and the new DANA alert that reduces mobility in the most affected area on October 29 seems to work against them. There are about fifty men, from twenty to seventy years old, “willing to help wherever they ask us,” but that day the different authorities they are contacting do not want to assign them a cleaning place, to prevent them from moving, in strict compliance with the protocol that, once again, appears absurd. The sun shines on the streets of Sedaví and in fact, the alert will be reduced in level throughout the morning until it is deactivated. “We have been here for more than two weeks, helping with everything they ask of us,” he tells us in a precarious Castilian Gurmunkh Singh, who comes from Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona). He is 70 years old and, until three years ago, he ran an electricity company. Now, already retired after 37 years in Spain, he was one of the first to respond to the request of the Sikh community to help after the floods. “It’s something that our religion tells us, all men are equal, so when people have a problem or have a bad time we all have to come here to help,” he makes himself understood in rudimentary Spanish in which he economizes articles and conjunctions. to focus on the indispensable nouns and verbs. Standard Related News Yes Felipe VI, on DANA: “We must not forget the lessons of this tragedy” Thalía Flores | Special envoy to Cuenca (Ecuador) standard No Vox will force a vote in Congress for the Government to assume sole command by DANA Inés Ruiz-JiménezWhile the group waits for orders, Gurmunkh shows us the fruit shop of another of his countrymen, devastated by the flood, but recomposed in the first days by the cheerful group of multicolored turbans, and in which fresh fruit and vegetables are now distributed to all who approach until there. «Do you have leeks? “We want to make stew,” a man asks the woman dressed in a handkerchief who is handing out from the improvised counter made of boxes in front of the doors. “We don’t have any left,” she laments. “Well, give us some carrots and a broccoli,” the man responds as he fills the mud-covered shopping cart and passes the shift to the next person in line. “We have cleaned in many places, this entire area was the first days and yesterday that pharmacy – he points his finger at a nearby establishment that now appears completely clear – that was full of shit,” he expresses directly, without looking for euphemisms. “Now there are about fifty of us, but on the weekend there were almost 400 of us. Those of us who came from outside slept in the temple, in Valencia,” he adds while we continue waiting for orders. Labh Singh, the person in charge of the local temple and vice president of the Sikh federation of Spain, specifies the work they are doing: “There are no supermarkets, there are no restaurants, how are they going to eat?”, he explains to us about his work from the fruit shop. .A few minutes past 1 p.m. and the agitated movements of the turbans seem to portend good news. “We already have a place, in Paiporta, a military friend has looked for it,” Prince Singh tells me, inviting me to get into his SUV to accompany them. Last name Singh again, but they are not brothers nor is it a mistake. All Sikh men use ‘Singh’ – lion in Punjabi – as their middle and surname. For women they reserve ‘Kaur’, princess. It is another of the peculiarities of this religious and ethnic community located in the Punjab region located between India and Pakistan from whom they demand independence since the British decolonization of the area. Due to constant tension, since the late 19th century the Sikhs began a diaspora that has led to 25 percent of their community living outside of Punjab. The dark color of their skin, the beards and the turban – with which they collect and protect the long hair that they never cut – make them confused with Hindus or Muslims, but in reality they profess a monotheistic religion started in the 15th century by the Guru Nanak as a response to the exclusive caste system. The moments of help Above, the Sedaví fruit shop where the Sikh community distributes free vegetables and fruits to the population. Below, a moment of the meal before starting work. In the last photo, Amrik Singh, the Sikh from Llançà (Gerona) who has left his businesses to help in Valencia. Before that he was also in Ukraine. Navarro Indian Couple, not from Punjab Aware of this constant ethnic-religious confusion, they do not seem to get angry when they are acclaimed by the neighbors in their energetic wandering through the mud-stained streets, armed with brushes, shovels and carrycots. “Thank you for coming from India to help,” says a neighbor who they look at with a smile and explain, “Not India, Punjab,” while singing a song that confirms it. This time, the traffic has brought us to a park in Paiporta where more than a meter of mud still covers the benches, the children’s games and all the plants. Army soldiers are cleaning, while with a small backhoe they remove the rest of the mud. “They don’t want us to clean there in case anyone is found dead,” Prince tells us. A new setback in their desperate fight to help that they decide to resolve proactively. Given the time, they decide it is better to eat earlier and quickly get into a row, sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall. The food is quick, just 20 minutes, and, in that time, the managers have found a place where they can help. It is a few hundred meters away, just on the other side of the Poyo ravine, the cause of this tragedy. We headed there on foot, in an orderly and fast line, in an almost military march. As soon as they arrive, they distribute their troops between the ground floor of a two-story apartment and an alley, both blocked and impassable with more than a meter of mud and remains of reeds that were dragged by the ravine from kilometers above. The Punjabi machine Distributed for the work, just before starting it, Prince intones a short prayer to which the rest respond with a shout of encouragement. They begin the work and in just a few minutes the mud while the mountain of mud grows on the street – from where a crane will remove it later -, the ground on the ground floor and on the street can be seen again after more than fifteen days covered in mud, “The Punjabi machine!”, proudly tells us Prince, who also acts as an improvised foreman while emptying with a rapid rhythmic cadence the baskets that come to him through the chain organized by his colleagues. It is not surprising, the desire to work was great and the hands were numerous, so the work evolved quickly. Among the group, Amrik Singh stands out, taking advantage of the moments of rest from shoveling mud to record with his mobile phone. He is the ‘influencer’. A viral video is circulating on TikTok in which he explains to the citizens who cheer him that “you have fed us and we want to help, it is our job.” “Not just for papers, in the bad and the good we are here, and we have closed our businesses in Girona to help and we are not going to leave until we clean everything,” he adds between cheers and applause. Prince (in the foreground and with blue turban) coordinates the group of JRNPA volunteers. Amrik lives in Llançà (Gerona), where he has a supermarket. He also opened an Indian cuisine restaurant in Figueras. Businesses that do not prevent him from carrying out humanitarian work with the Sikh community wherever they need him. «I started in the pandemic, distributing food from our supermarkets, taking it for free to the elderly who could not leave the house. Then I spent six months in Ukraine,” he tells ABC. Also, according to what he says, he is waiting to denounce the trafficking of women who, from India, are taken to Serbia and Greece to force them to practice prostitution. “When I have to go out, my wife and my daughter take care of the business, but someone does we have to close. By being here, I have lost 70 percent of my business, but this is an obligation,” he tells us. «When you sign to collect the Spanish passport, you commit yourself in the bad and the good and now I have to fulfill my country, Spain. “We are going to be here until it is needed,” he adds. “It’s what we learn since we were little.” After the pause in our conversation, Amrik returns to the group and picks up the shovel again. The work of “the Punjabi machine” continues steadily, amidst shouts and songs of encouragement. More than half the alley is already clear when we decide to leave them in the middle of the afternoon, before nightfall makes it more complex to navigate ground zero on foot. A while later, Amrik will be in charge of showing on social networks how they have finished the work. As we exited the alley, we found Prince glued to the phone. He doesn’t want to be held hostage again by the disorganization of that day. “I’m looking for a place for tomorrow, at 8 we want to be working,” he tells us. “We just want them to give us an area, ten streets to clean everything and we will take charge,” he adds. It is the desperate request of a well-oiled army of volunteers who only want to help, without receiving anything in return. “It’s what we learn as children,” says Prince.
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