The Cordovez family, a year after the La Palma volcano: “We are in three different houses, we can’t take it anymore”

On September 19, 2021, the Cumbre Vieja volcano exploded on the island of La Palma For more than 85 days, it frightened its inhabitants and shocked the world “We are having a hard time, if my wife hears a loud noise, she will not sleep for three days” Now, a year later, there are many wounds that have not healed. Divided families, almost two hundred people are still homeless (193), 139 houses have been delivered and many still do not receive the promised 60,000 euros, although the State assures that it has given more than 535 million euros in aid. But in reality it does not materialize. “From the outside it seems that everything is better, roads have been fixed, there are people who already have a home but there are many of us who continue with one hand in front and the other behind,” says Gregorio Cordovez, 57 years old. The recovery of roads and houses isolated by the lava flows was one of the first objectives set by the Cabildo de La Palma once the eruption was over. In these months, ten roads have been recovered, which means almost 90% of the isolated houses, allowing those neighbors, who until now stayed in hotels or lived for rent, to return home. The biggest problem is those who lost it.Gregorio’s family house before it was engulfed by the volcanoniusdiario.esA year living apartThe Cordovez family has four members; Gregorio, his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law. On September 19 they heard the roar of the volcano and they were evicted at full speed from his house in La Laguna. For almost a hundred days he stood on the roof of his mother’s house, binoculars in hand, watching the slow, destructive advance of the lava in the direction of his house. “Two rivers of lava went straight to the Retirement Path, next to the soccer field, and at half past six I said goodbye to my house forever,” laments Gregorio. Their relatives welcomed them, but there was no room for the four of them to live together, so they divided up grateful to have a roof to sleep in. Gregorio went to a room that his mother had, his wife went with his and his son and daughter-in-law went to a brother’s house who also left them a room. A year ago they continue to live like this; separated. “It seems unbelievable that today it is still fuming. It is clear that you cannot do anything with nature, but yes, with the promises that are not kept, those are the ones that hurt the most”, recognizes Gregorio. On October 19, a month after we had left home with what we were wearing, the volcano engulfed our house, nothing was left. Chickens, flowers, plants, orchards, more than 100 orchids, lemon trees… everything died buried under the lava.” The lava surrounds the house of Gregorioniusdiario.es “We leave many things at home because we never thought it would be our turn, we could not believe it. We have suffered a lot, even the dog seems to be depressed, his hair is falling out.” Gregorio says that they have been suffering for many months, not being able to live with your family is taking its toll on us, there is no intimacy, there is no privacy. We are grateful, but it seems that we are borrowed”. The three unemployed “I think we did not ask for anything that does not correspond to us. We have arranged the papers in the Registry and we have been patient”, like thousands of people on the island. But a year After that, everything has a limit. Gregorio has collected compensation from the Insurance Compensation Consortium for his mortgage insurance, but the money is not enough to build a house. We are waiting to find out how much the State will pay us, if corresponds, but we continue waiting. While we cannot rent, the prices are exorbitant and besides, the three of us are unemployed. Only my son’s wife works now,” says this man from Palma. The lava sweeps away the house of the Cordovezniusdiario.es family “My wife is terrible, she had to quit her job because she couldn’t handle the pressure,” explains Gregorio, visibly moved. “I haven’t slept in a row for almost a year. It’s being very hard day by day, month by month and nothing, you do the math and you see that it doesn’t come to you.” Gregorio believes that the problem is how the aid is being distributed. “Six months after losing my house, they called me asking if my house had been destroyed by the volcano, I almost died. I had done all the paperwork, I had asked for everything and it took them six months to find out that we had no home. It’s crazy The Government on the one hand, the Cabildo on the other, the City Councils, but all that money is not coming as it should. There are many of us who need help and we are afraid that they will retaliate if we protest a lot. Our hands are tied, “he says. The new foundationsBut the clappers, they have already shown it many times this year, have a positive character and try to get the bright side out of every little thing that happens. Gregorio’s brother-in-law has given them a piece of land so that they can start building at least two rooms and a bathroom so that the four of them can be together again. “It is my only goal to reunite all under the same roof, to be able to hug my wife every day.” The new land that they have ceded to Gregorioniusdiario.esAnd that is what Gregorio and his son have done, they are laying the foundations of their new life, of their new house, while they wait for aid. They are doing it themselves, buying the material and putting up the pillars. Slowly. Restoring what La Palma has lost is impossible. Especially the memory of the homes that the volcano took away where they were happy. But they are on it. With the renewed hope of the four of them being back together a year later.