“They are afraid of being expelled because they see that there is a very relevant police deployment. It is the neighbors who bring them food and water. This is a reality that has always happened to them, but which is now made worse by DANA. This is Andrea Sixto, president of Medicos del Mundo Comunitat Valenciana. This vulnerable group finds themselves in a situation of constant anxiety: “They are forced to wander in search of refuge, often in neighborhoods with a strong police and military presence. They prefer not to go out or expose themselves publicly. “We are deeply concerned about their well-being because we do not know for sure how they survive or how they manage their basic needs. »
Irregular migrants who suffered from DANA try to avoid any procedure with the administrations because they fear for their future, as Sixto says, who assures that several people told them that the security forces were looking for racialized profiles for the actions of. Looting in the Bonaire shopping center.
For more than 30 years, the international organization has been responsible for assisting the most vulnerable groups, such as the homeless, people in an irregular situation and women in situations of prostitution and sexual exploitation: “We are 140 volunteers and volunteers, the majority with a socio-health profile. “We are monitoring the people we are already working with to detect their needs in relation to the disaster, including basic supplies, physical health and mental health. »
Furthermore, they explain that “coordination with other third sector entities” involves necessary networking: “We have activated the collaboration mechanisms of the Valencian NGDO Coordinator to share common problems. And the same with Farmamundi, in this case, to detect a certain type of drug-related need. To this, he adds that it would be impossible to move forward alone on issues of this scope.
Boutaina El Hadri, vice-president of Casa Maroc, manager of JoveSólides and vice-president of the Valencian Immigration Council, explains to elDiario.es that at the beginning the Moroccan association decided to focus on urgent tasks such as such as cleaning flooded houses or distributing food and drinking water. Now, with the team of volunteers, they are responsible for preparing hot meals and providing cleaning and hygiene products; and blankets and clothing to cover the most basic needs. In their case, at Casa Maroc, the food they handle is completely halal because “many families” cannot supply themselves with the food distributed, because most of them contain pork or do not “meet the requirements” authorized by religion.
“Many people are unaware of this reality. The Muslim community is facing great difficulties as most of the butcher shops in these areas have been damaged. In Valencia we are also experiencing a supply shortage,” says El Hadri.
Lack of knowledge about fundamental rights
The information barrier is one of the main problems facing the migrant community. They feel powerless or ignorant of the rights they can access. One of them is access to universal health and it is often the organizations themselves that act as speakers to transmit this data: “This is due to a lack of clear mechanisms or specific attention towards them,” explains the NGO spokesperson.
Behind this first wall, the administration, represented on a large scale by registration, would represent an additional weight in its development as an additional citizen of the territory. It symbolizes a gateway to the rest of social areas, including the health card: “Before DANA, it was already a complicated issue, but now it is difficult because the resources must also reach these people who have also need to maintain their well-being. . Institutions must pay particular attention to this.
Other high points that Médecins du Monde also highlights are the possible absence of a family or social support network or the linguistic or cultural barrier that migrants may encounter, which prevent them from sharing their faults: “This makes them leave from where they came with nothing because no one understands their language.
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-Zében Acosta (@ZAAZZA77) November 7, 2024
Precarious conditions
Before the devastation caused by the great flood, many family units were already living in precarious conditions, in neighborhoods located on the outskirts and within working-class neighborhoods. Today, dozens of affected people have witnessed how their personal belongings have become unusable, and some have even had to deal with the loss of family.
“If they were already living in a precarious housing situation before, the conditions in which they live today are much worse. We have received a few cases who may have stayed in designated places like lodges or shelters,” explains Sixto.
The concern aroused by the disappearance of unregularized people is crucial. The associations in which El Hadri operates are currently exploring initiatives to “collaborate with other entities and support networks to facilitate the identification and location of unregularized persons” without causing legal harm. “The priority must be to preserve their comfort and guarantee their access to the necessary assistance,” he specifies.
He also denounces that during the first week of the natural disaster, the media did not include migrants or racialized people in their agendas, eclipsing “the true diversity of society” in the collective imagination.
The far right incites hatred
Worse still, even in the worst-case scenario, the far right has continued to fuel hatred. More than a week has passed since the flood and the stories continue with racist and xenophobic arguments.
“We need to promote a culture of reporting to deal with hoaxes, which is still lacking within our group. The entities are responsible for denying these rumors. We usually share migrants’ stories to make them visible,” explains El Hadri.
In the same vein, the spokesperson for these organizations insists that society as a whole has an obligation to put an end to this type of hate crimes which stigmatize a specific group of the population and which “further aggravate the vulnerability they already find themselves in.” “In times of crisis, solidarity must prevail over rejection, and that is why we try to publish the testimonies of people affected by DANA, as well as those who supported people with donations, cleaning work or “other tasks to raise awareness and promote empathy and collaboration,” he emphasizes.
The attribution of thefts with expressions such as “they are always the same” or “these are their customs”; or “the privileges that the Sánchez government grants them over the Spaniards” are some of the false information that floods the networks and spreads easily, distracting attention from the devastation that DANA has caused to hundreds of human beings. Regularized or not.
