A Lesson in Faith, Solidarity and Hope
On October 29 we have lived a very difficult experience. I remember that, at noon, when I came back from the university, it was 3:30, but the sky was very dark, as if it was going to rain a lot. As I approached home, a lady told me, “Tell your sisters not to go to college in the afternoon; there is an orange alert.” I went inside the house and told my sisters, but they told me that the university had already suspended classes.
We had a quiet dinner and then went about our business. Suddenly, a sister came and said, “Look outside, there is already water in the street.” We went to the window and saw the water running. I thought it would be over in a few minutes, but the level started to rise. Soon we saw cars and containers floating.
The house has two doors, so we placed sandbags and plastic bags to try to stop the water. However, the level kept rising and started to enter the house. At first, I thought it wouldn’t rise much more, but our older sister said, “The water will keep rising.” Relying on her experience, we started moving our things.
We are 14 sisters in the community: 13 young girls and one older sister. All of us started to carry mattresses, beds and whatever we could to the second floor. The refrigerators, washing machines and small cupboards were placed on tables and chairs. We started around 8:40 in the evening, but the water didn’t come into the house until 9:30. From then on, we worked non-stop until 11 or 11:30. The water inside the house was already up to our knees.
At the entrance of the house, we have a chapel. The door made a lot of noise, as if it was going to open. Finally, we went up to the Blessed Sacrament and asked Jesus to protect us and the people. We all stayed on the second floor. For many of us it was the first time we had experienced something like this. I was afraid that the force of the water would break the door, but thank God, it held.
I kept watch all night waiting for the water to go down. Finally, around 1:30 in the morning, it started to go down. From that night on, there was no light and no water. After some rest, in the morning we went downstairs and saw the first floor full of mud and water. Everything was silent, as if someone had died. Later, we saw people on the street in boots, assessing the damage.
We drew water from a nearby tap and started cleaning the house. When I went out to the other street, I was in shock: cars piled on top of each other, fallen light poles, uprooted trees and people crying because they had lost everything. That first day we only removed the mud because we didn’t have enough water. On the 31st, we were also without electricity, water or cell phone coverage, which worried the sisters in Madrid.
We spent almost a week without electricity and water, with very weak coverage. Every day we went to the village tap to collect water for cleaning. While carrying water, three sisters fell in the mud; two did not suffer much, but one almost broke her arm and was crying in pain. I went to the town hall to ask where to take her in case of emergency and was told we could go to the hospital in Manises. We walked to the Barrio del Cristo waiting for a cab, but after more than an hour none arrived. We could not call an ambulance because they said it would take hours.
Finally, we decided to ask for help from a car passing in that direction. Many people passed by without stopping, until one finally stopped. The driver, like a good Samaritan, took us to the hospital. We finished the consultation around 11 pm. Then, another question arose: how would we get home?
We tried to take a cab, but when they heard the name Aldaia, no one wanted to go because it was forbidden to enter. We waited on the street until midnight, but without success. Finally, we decided to spend the night in the hospital. At 4:30 in the morning, we started walking back home. On the way, we found a cab. The driver, from Pakistan, thought I was also from there and, explaining our situation, agreed to take us near Aldaia, although it was forbidden to enter. We arrived home at 5:30 in the morning. It was another good Samaritan experience.
When we finished cleaning our house, we organized groups to help neighbors and families in the parish. From October 30 to November 9, we walked around the village helping to clean and seeing how God gave us strength so that we did not get tired. It was only when we went to bed that we felt the pain in our bodies. Thanks to the paracetamol, we could get up the next day and continue working.
I saw many things that I will never forget. People from near and far came to the village with brooms, buckets to help and others with hot food. They asked if anyone needed anything. I had never seen so many volunteers in my life. It was a difficult experience, but full of Faith, Grace, strength and solidarity.
Sr. Mona Dhandar
Aldaya.