URGENT FLOOD APPEAL FOR WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN ARGENTINA

national | miscellaneous | news report

Thursday May 08, 2003 19:19

by Maggie - Global Women's Strike

Global warming is again claiming thousands of victims. In the city of Santa >Fe, Argentina, the Salado River broke its banks on Monday 29 May after two >weeks of torrential rain. 160,000 people have been flooded. Half the city >is under water, two metres high in many places, and the Parana River is now >also threatening to breaks its banks. No one knows how many people have lost their lives but women describe seeing >babies’ bodies floating in the water.

>URGENT FLOOD APPEAL FOR WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN ARGENTINA
>
>
>Global warming is again claiming thousands of victims. In the city of Santa
>Fe, Argentina, the Salado River broke its banks on Monday 29 May after two
>weeks of torrential rain. 160,000 people have been flooded. Half the city
>is under water, two metres high in many places, and the Parana River is now
>also threatening to breaks its banks.
>
>No one knows how many people have lost their lives but women describe seeing
>babies’ bodies floating in the water. In addition to losing precious loved
>ones, single mothers and others now face the total loss of everything they
>had, which they have no income to replace. As many of you will know, in the
>last few years people have been struggling to survive the deepest economic
>crisis in Argentina’s history – in this traditionally major exporter of
>wheat and beef, half the population is now living in poverty.
>
>The government received warnings of the flood at least a week before, but it
>told the population nothing and made no preparations. Only the elections
>that took place on 28 May (and are due for a second round in 10 days) were
>of concern to them. Once again, vying for power was prioritised over saving
>lives.
>
>Santa Fe is now completely cut off. In addition to the flood, major roads
>have been blown up to help drain the water. The government is doing little
>or nothing to help with food, mattresses, blankets and other essentials such
>as sanitary towels. With the excuse that there is chaos and that some people
>are taking more than their share, it has suspended food distribution for two
>days running!
>
>Our sisters in the grassroots Sindicato de Amas de Casa – SAC (Housewives
>Union) and the Red Interbarrial de Mujeres (Interneighbourhood Women’s
>Network), have set up a 24-hour evacuation centre at their women’s centre.
>Over 1,000 people are turning up every day for food and other help. The fire
>brigade and the university are providing food for SAC and the Red to
>distribute. The news of this caring women’s centre has spread like wild
>fire, and numbers grow every day as more and more people are unable to get
>government help.
>
>SAC and the Red are taking the Santa Fe governor and mayor to court for
>criminal negligence and corruption. Many self-evacuees are now forming
>committees and joining the legal action. (See their enclosed email
>describing the situation.)
>
>In December 2002, following years of privatisation, corruption and foreign
>bank accounts, which caused millions of people to lose their savings,
>pensions and wages, a popular uprising forced five successive governments to
>resign in a few days. Neighbourhood assemblies and barter markets run mostly
>by women sprang up all over the country as families and communities
>organised for survival. Since then, the Red has been holding weekly women’s
>assemblies in Santa Fe’s poorest neighbourhoods to organise communal food
>and other survival needs, and oppose official corruption at every level –
>international, national and local. It is entirely autonomous of all
>political parties.
>
>We are raising money for the women of Santa Fe so they can get the
>essentials they need to feed their communities, and as soon as the flood
>goes down, begin to rebuild their lives and homes. Most have no waged jobs
>and therefore no prospect of getting the money to replace the few but
>crucial possessions they have lost. We are also working with Argentinian
>support networks who are helping to circulate this appeal.
>
>We urge you to send as much as you can. Our brave and organised sisters have
>been part of our close network for some years. We guarantee that all the
>money will go directly to them for the benefit of flood victims. The charity
>Women in Dialogue and the Women Count Network which fundraise for our
>Argentinian sisters, have taken charge of administering all the money
>collected to ensure that it is sent to Santa Fe in bigger sums than each
>individual cheque received (thus saving on bank fees), and that donors can
>claim tax relief.
>
>Invest in caring not killing.
>
>The Global Women’s Strike
>http://womenstrike8m.server101.com
>Email: womenstrike8m@server101.com
>
>Donations in pounds to:
>Women in Dialogue, (Cheques made payable to WinD Flood Appeal) Account no.
>85111260, Lloyds TSB, 106 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 4HY, sort code:
>77-91-13.
>Donations in dollars to:
>Women in Dialogue, earmarked “Flood Appeal”. Checks sent to PO Box 11795,
>Philadelphia PA 19101. For online donations go to
>http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/financial.jsp?npoId=702669
>and specify "Flood Appeal".
>Donations in euros to:
>Red Las Mujeres Cuentan. Account no. 2081-0249-52-3300002050 Bank: Caixa
>Penedes
>
>
>From Isabel Zanutigh, Red Interbarrial de Mujeres, 2 May 2003
>
>“We are here struggling. The city is cut off due to the closure of roads
>that have been blown up or flooded by the Salado River.
>There are many many dead people, which are, as usual, the poorest and of
>course the most vulnerable – women, children and the elderly.
>After helping at some evacuation centers we decided to form our own.
>Today we are making “mate” [Argentinian tea] and fried bread to bring to the
>people who have self evacuated from the flooded neighborhoods. These are
>families who are not housed in facilities for evacuated people – like
>schools, university buildings and unions. These families number about
>100.000 people and are being taken in by other families. The hosting
>families are poor, and the self evacuated are not registered with the
>government. Because they are not registered they are getting nothing. So we
>are getting them mattresses, blankets and food.
>Yesterday the river Salado started to go down, although entire neighborhoods
>are still under the water. One of our worries is that the Parana River is
>beginning to rise, the other is the crumbled defense system west of the
>city.
>The central government has taken over law and order. Public donations are
>coming from every corner of the country, but distribution is chaotic. Many
>people are still trapped on roofs and second and third floors without food,
>water or electricity. Food distribution is so erratic that they have been
>delivered raw ingredients, such as flour and rice, although they don’t have
>the means to cook them. Everything is so absurd and meaningless. The worst
>is yet to come. There are already cases of hepatitis and I hope there will
>be vaccines to go around.”
>
>
>6 May 2003
>
>“We opened our door the very first day while it took the government four
>days to respond. Of course we are overflowing every day, but the strength of
>the women volunteering who join every shift, of the self-evacuees who have
>nothing left and are here, helping as they can, give us strength.
>And there is this terrible certainty, shared by all, that they knew this was
>about to happen, but it was the Sunday of the elections and so those in
>power decided to keep quiet, not to tell anyone about the magnitude of the
>flood. That’s why so many people died, that’s why everything was lost,
>houses, furniture, everything.
>"And now, a week later, as has been happening for so many years, everyone
>from the governor to the lowest authority wash their hands, passing on the
>buck without any respect for the pain of thousands of people. They’ve even
>changed the name of the disappeared, now they’re called “unfound”. Does this
>remind you of the “military dictatorship”?
>So, indignant at all this and listening every second to the individual
>tragedies, acting as a shoulder for the tears of women and men, watching how
>the usual public figures have no trace of compassion or respect, yesterday
>we decided to take legal action under my name against the governor of the
>province, making him responsible for the deaths, the tragedies and loss of
>property.