Global Courant
Today marks five years since June 3, 2018, when the eruption of the Fuego Volcano buried a community and entire families. The survivors transferred to the La Dignidad neighborhood, in Escuintla, do not get used to the change of life and chose to sell or rent the house that the Government gave them or stay and face the difficulties of their new home.
62 km from the capital and 16 km from San Miguel Los Lotes, Sacatepéquez, the La Industria farm is located, zone 4 of Escuintla, where a thousand homes were built that make up the La Dignidad neighborhood, a project that cost Q172 million 769 thousand 110.
However, the name of La Dignidad for some residents does not correspond to the conditions in which they live, because despite reflecting peace for the visitor, the insecurity, overcrowding, heat and humidity when rainwater filters through the House roofs are the problems they have to deal with.
The tragedy caused by the Fuego Volcano left 215 dead and 216 missing. Among the dead are the grandparents, cousins and mother of 24-year-old María Graciela García, who seeks to heal her wounds with the support of her husband and her relatives with whom she shares a home.
“The only thing left to do is trust in time that heals everything and fight for life,” says García, who was not at home the day of the eruption.
This is what Ground Zero looks like in San Miguel los Lotes, five years after the tragedy of the Volcán de Fuego. (Free Press Photo: Carlos Hernández)
After five years of living in La Dignidad, nobody gets used to it, because the heat is “scorching” and since their experience is focused on agriculture, that is the main obstacle for men and women to get a job, says García.Crowding
The thousand houses were delivered for the same number of families, but many were left out of that benefit and took refuge with relatives, even if it means living overcrowded.
“We are 12 in total, three families, which includes three children. At night we divided into two rooms to sleep because only we were given a house. We don’t know what criteria they used, but it didn’t benefit my brother, that’s why he and his family live here,” says García.
All the houses are 84 square meters, with a front garden, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and kitchen area, and a backyard. The first 168 homes were delivered in May 2019.
When walking through the streets of La Dignidad, you can see lush gardens where each family planted rose bushes and fruit trees to their liking. There are also food sales in the windows and improvised grocery stores that offer basic necessities, although for some residents “it is only appearance”, because assaults are committed at any time, because they do not have a perimeter wall and private police were never hired , as agreed at the beginning.
A year has passed since, according to the residents, a person refused to hand over their belongings and was killed a few meters from a park with children’s games.
“They break into motorcycles, break open vehicles and steal parked motorcycles. There are those who have been assaulted in front of their homes because the heat cannot be endured and we went out to get some fresh air”, says García.
“There is only public lighting on the main streets, but not in the parks. The National Civil Police almost did not enter and after the houses were handed over, the government representatives did not return, ”says Marlene Vásquez, another resident of the neighborhood who lost her mother and five of her siblings in the eruption of the colossus.
Sadness
La Dignidad is divided into eight sectors. Each one is chaired by a board of directors that reports on processes in the neighborhood and channels the demands of the residents to the municipality. One of the main complaints is the time in which they are provided with piped water, which is generally four hours in the morning, but up to three days have gone by without the service.
In the area where the survivors of San Miguel Los Lotes were located, it is difficult to get anyone to express an opinion. Most of those who lost their relatives live there. The old men rest under the fruit trees, but prefer to keep quiet.
“In many, the sadness for not living in the place where they grew up is evident. Not having any academic degree that supports them is also a problem, because it makes it difficult for them to get a job in the capital of Escuintla,” says Carmen Azurdia, a member of the board of directors of the Las Palmas sector, a community located in Siquinalá, Escuintla, which, although not was affected by the eruption had to be evacuated for prevention.
The houses consist of two bedrooms, a bathroom and an area for living room, kitchen and dining room. (Free Press Photo: Carlos Hernández)
They’re moving
Until two years ago, about a thousand families lived in La Dignidad, but according to Azurdia, about 200 have left because they could not adapt to the place, to such an extent that in desperation some sold the house that the government gave them or rented it to move to places where they were offered work in agriculture.
“There are families that are no longer from the evacuated communities. We know that some houses were almost given away, because they sold them for Q15 thousand”, adds Azurdia.
Several of those who cannot find work in agriculture made a first payment to buy motorcycles and provide motorcycle taxi services, while others work as masonry or garden helpers.
“I just saw that a black cloud was coming and I ran. I did not imagine that I would abandon my sowing forever”. This is how Edwin Ramiro Hernández, 54, remembers that morning, who, like every day, worked planting corn and beans in San Miguel Los Lotes, but was surprised by the eruption of the cone.
The burns that Hernández has on his body and especially on his legs reduce his mobility and job opportunities.
“In my desperation to help my buried family, I burned my body and the biggest injuries are on my legs. It’s hard for me to walk,” says Hernández.
Recovery was not easy for the farmer and he had to spend a month in a hospital intensive care unit. Three of his four sons were
transferred to the United States to perform skin grafts.
“Even though this is nothing like where we used to live, we have to thank God that we are alive and have a home. Here the heat cannot be tolerated and there where we lived it was mild, ”says Hernández, while he mows the grass of a children’s playground that is part of the neighborhood.
The man shares the house with six other people, including his eldest son, with whom he worked sowing basic grains, but who was not included among those who benefited from housing.
Those who live in La Dignidad affirm that the piped water service is irregular and they must maintain reserves. (Free Press Photo: Carlos Hernández)
Inacif delivers bodies
The National Institute of Forensic Sciences delivered to the survivors the remains of 96 relatives who perished when they were buried under the ashes, most of them were not identified due to the conditions in which the bodies were found. Some remains will be transferred immediately to the cemetery, because their relatives say they do not have the resources to organize a wake. This is the case of Marlene Vásquez, who lost six relatives in the tragedy.
“They have only found three bodies, that of my mother and two brothers. Three brothers remain. I did not live with my mother, but above, that is why I was saved, ”she narrates. Among the remains that were delivered also appears that of Mirna García, 20 years old, niece of farmer Edwin Hernández.
“It is unfortunate that so much time later we continue to bury relatives. There are some disappeared with whom we did not have much communication, but there was never a lack of a good morning or a good afternoon, ”he recalled.
Some of those who received the remains of their relatives said that they will go to San Miguel Los Lotes to take a tour and celebrate a religious act as a farewell.
The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction declared the community of San Miguel Los Lotes uninhabitable and designated the area as Ground Zero, due to the risk of a new eruption of the Fuego Volcano, which is still active.
