The Chinese community has only grown in the province of Alicante, which went from 1,000 Chinese citizens to 10,000 in 25 years, and these are already part of its multicultural wealth. Work, effort and respect are some of its main characteristics, to which is added a great solidarity.
It doesn’t make much noise, but they are Alicante by 10. Their feeling of belonging to the territory is total and, faced with the difficulties of their neighbors, they do not hesitate to lend a helping hand.
The latest example of this solidarity occurred after the devastating DANA which left more than 220 dead. The lawyer and advisor of the Association for Chinese Integration and Assistance of Levante, José Miguel Lledó, explains that the disaster left them “as affected as we are. Many of them have family there: brothers, nephews or cousins who live in Valencia and the cities.
From the association, based in Elche, “bleach, detergents and cleaning products, boots, hoses, pallets full of water bottles, helmets, shovels, sanitary products and even portable kitchens with gas stoves for cookingthe advisor lists.
Lledó explains that at first they sent help individually with products from their own bazaars and stores; even the members contributed material from Italy. Subsequently, the association coordinated the aid and managed to collect donations from compatriots who were sending aid from all over Spain.
The help didn’t stop there. This association, of around 300 members, succeeded in bringing together 18,000 euros in a first collection and 30,000 in a second which went to flood victims.
The advisor comments that this great capacity for solidarity is due to his own way of being and to the unity of the association. “It took very little for them to help us, “They have a lot of values and they all go together”he emphasizes.
These roots are due, in part, to the fact that the first migrants who arrived between 30 and 40 years ago already formed their families in the Valencian Community, and many of their children They speak Valencian before Chinese itself.
His capacity for effort contrasts with his communication deficits, since “They don’t know how to sell everything they do for society.” It is not a question of competing with other groups to see who helps more or less, but rather of recognizing the commitment of an increasingly important part of the population who, even if it may be more difficult to integrate than other nationalities, engages as the only one it is most of the darkest hours.
Pandemic and donations
One of the greatest examples of this solidarity occurred during the pandemic. Since the association they have become important donations of masks and PPE in record time, which allowed the National Police and Civil Guard to be protected for weeks before the necessary equipment arrived.
In a trice They raised 40,000 euros to buy equipment and help overcome the health crisis, explained the group’s secretary, Yuefeng Anny (Ani in Spanish), in an interview with this newspaper.
But these are not only major crises, but also invisible problems that do not monopolize attention. Lledó emphasizes that they turned to others charitable causes in recent years.
One of the most recent was last January, when they donated a check for 20,000 euros to the Cocemfe federation in Alicante to help people with mental disabilities.
