The dana of October 29, 2024 had a particularly hard impact on people who were already in a vulnerable situation before the disaster. In addition to the 230 deaths and serious material damage, there are other consequences that are difficult to measure: the psychological consequences, the loss of support networks and the worsening of the precariousness of those who were already living on the social margins before the emergency.
Undocumented migrants, women victims of gender-based violence, domestic and care workers, single-parent families, people at risk of social exclusion, racialized people, religious minorities, children and adolescents are some of the groups who have suffered the most over the past year as a result of a tragedy that affected their already delicate and fragile lives and took them away forever with the same power and power of destruction that water and mud did on this day fateful.
This is what the program says Psychosocial intervention with vulnerable groups affected by dana in the municipalities of Sedaví and Catarrojapromoted by the NGDO Movement for Peace (MPDL) to which elDiario.es had access. It indicates that these groups have suffered “particularly intensely the effects of the climate emergency, aggravating already existing precarious situations”.
In the days following the flood, the MPDL activated a comprehensive intervention program in these two municipalities, in collaboration with municipal social services to “guarantee access to fundamental rights and support the recovery processes of the most affected people”. A project financed by the La Caixa Foundation, the Third Sector Platform and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP).
Socio-professional recovery as a key axis
From the beginning, the MPDL determined that socio-professional recovery was essential to rebuild life projects and reverse the social, economic and psychological impact of the tragedy. Thus, in the following months, professional training was carried out in sectors with high demand, such as logistics, hospitality, cleaning, disinfection and sanitation. Areas which, in the post-emergency context, made it possible to offer immediate means of access to income to people who had lost their jobs and their means of subsistence because of the dana.
Thus, they add: “The actions of this axis have allowed many people affected by dana, in particular migrant women and single mothers with dependent minors, to regain basic economic autonomy, a key element for personal and family stability after a disaster of these characteristics, as a first step in broader processes of socio-professional inclusion”.
Legal assistance and access to rights
Another fundamental point was free legal assistance, particularly important for people in an irregular administrative situation or who lost their papers due to the floods. This intervention made it possible to respond to emergency situations linked to immigration, labor law and administrative law, such as the loss of documents, irregular dismissals or difficulties in accessing public aid.
Furthermore, the MPDL develops informative legal workshops intended for the migrant population, with the aim of strengthening knowledge of rights and promoting the autonomy of participants.
Awareness, environmental justice and social cohesion
The program developed by MPDL also includes an awareness-raising axis aimed at involving citizens in building a more just and inclusive society, focusing on the relationship between the climate crisis, social inequalities and human rights.
In this framework, the MPDL organized public events and radio processes focused on racial justice, environmental defense and feminism, with broad participation from social organizations, activists, technical personnel and institutional representatives. These actions explain: “They helped generate spaces for collective reflection on the need for climate responses with an emphasis on rights and social justice. »
Emergency financial assistance
Especially in the days, weeks and months following dana, but also in the longer term, when the massive aid motivated by solidarity from the first impact disappeared as quickly as it arrived, help with food, hygiene and paying rent was essential for the most affected families.
In this context, MPDL assisted 42 families from the affected municipalities. “Food and hygiene assistance has a direct impact on the health and well-being of families, since it allows them to cover their basic needs and maintain an adequate diet. For its part, rental assistance ensures permanence in housing, which guarantees basic conditions such as security, protection, family privacy, personal development, dignity, health and the effective exercise of the right to decent housing,” explains the organization.
With this project, “the Peace Movement reaffirms its commitment to a global, community-based and people-centered response to the social consequences of climate emergencies, emphasizing the importance of reconstruction after the damage without leaving anyone behind and taking into particular and global consideration those who leave from situations of greater vulnerability,” they conclude.
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