Alex Trelinski
A 65,000 signature petition was presented to Spain’s Congress of Deputies on Thursday by three relatives of Valencia flood victims demanding an inquiry into the handling of the October 29 disaster.
The trio who went to Madrid included Meri Garcia whose father died in Catarroja.
There has been strong criticism of the national and Valencian governments about their slow response to the floods.
READ MORE:
- Valencia flood death toll rises to 223 after body of missing man is discovered in ‘ground zero’ town
- King Felipe and Queen Letizia attend memorial service for Valencia flood disaster victims
The three women appeared outside the Congress building wearing rubber wellingtons and boxes containing the signatures caked with mud to symbolise what happened in Valencia province.
“They have murdered my family. If a citizen commits a murder, he pays with jail but a politician is protected,” they complained.
A third protest calling for the resignation of Valencia president Carlos Mazon will take place on December 29 in the streets of the regional capital, following two demonstrations last month that attracted over 100,000 participants.
Mazon has been slammed for not being in control on October 29 and attending a lunch with a journalist rather than monitoring what was going on and issuing an emergency warning to residents.
Meri Garcia, who instigated the petition, said “They didn’t alert us, otherwise this wouldn’t have happened.”
“They didn’t alert us but they didn’t help us either.”
“ We were waiting to be rescued but nobody helped us as we were completely alone for 72 hours,” she continued.
“I was on top of piles of cars looking for my father in case I found him still alive,” said Garcia.
She says there is still mud in the parking lot of her house and her window view is a car graveyard that gives off a very bad smell.
Garcia continued: “The institutions that were supposed to protect us turned their backs on us.”
“ We don’t care about political affiliation as we just want justice and we ask that whoever has to, should pay and that a Commission of Inquiry be opened immediately.”
Meri Garcia was accompanied by Yolanda Garrido and Maite Pagan, who lost their brothers and their four-year-old nephew in the disaster.
They spoke of ‘total abandonment’ by the authorities during the most critical moments as friends and families searched for the bodies of their loved ones.
“They were the eleven worst days of my life. We were devastated,” they recalled.
The three campaigners also praised the work of people who went to the area to help.
“If it were not for the volunteers, many people would have died.”
“They brought us food and water while the institutions could not have cared less.”
