Spanish Gypsy Society will request a Commission of Investigation into the Vigo fire

Spanish Gypsy Society has reported that it will request a Commission of Investigation into the Vigo fire that will be headed by Valedora do Pobo, according to the general secretary of this association, Ángel V.. Benedicto, after meeting with representatives of the PP of Vigo.

In statements to the media, he has claimed that an event like this, which led to the death of four people, “should not happen again”, which is why he has asked the administrations to find solutions for the affected families and for all those who are in a similar situation. “It must mean a before and after,” Benedicto claimed, underlining the importance of investigating the facts and “clarifying responsibilities.”.

Asked who, a priori, could be responsible for the families living in that vulnerable situation, he pointed directly to the local government of Vigo because, according to him, he was already informed that in that area and in that building there were ” obvious and imminent danger. “And it seems that the City Council has looked the other way and has not acted as it should have acted,” he lamented, hoping that the judicial investigation will clarify the facts..

Benedict explained that the families have relocated to the homes of friends and relatives, but has asked for a “long-term” solution, so that they have a home to live in.. He has focused on squatting, indicating that the majority of people who choose this alternative do so out of “necessity”, since they have no other alternative..

“I guarantee you that 99.9% of the families that have to enter a home to squat illegally are out of damn necessity.”. It's not that we are idiots. There is everything, but the majority is due to necessity: there are small children, vulnerable people and if they do not have resources and society does not open doors for them, if public administrations do not open doors (…) people will have to continue squatting illegal,” he explained.

For her part, the president of the local PP, Marta Fernández-Tapias, has shown her support for the victims, represented by the Spanish Gypsy Society, and recalled that there were reports from firefighters who recognized that it was “a tinderbox”, so who has insisted on “debugging responsibilities”.

Tapias has said that precisely in September the PP denounced the situation of that building in plenary session.. “And from the Vigo City Council the only thing that was said was that there was no alarm, that absolutely nothing was happening there,” he lamented, insisting on the search for alternatives for families..

Meeting with the BNG

Later, the representatives of the Spanish Gypsy Society also met with the spokesperson of the local BNG, Xabier Pérez Igrexas. After this meeting, he has demanded “agility” so that the demands of the affected families are met..

Igrexas has described as “indecent” that the PP in the Xunta and the PSOE in the City Council are using such a sensitive issue “as a weapon in their permanent partisan confrontation.” Therefore, it has demanded that all administrations cooperate to deploy policies that offer decent housing alternatives in the city that guarantee the right to housing.

“Less revictimization”

After these meetings, it did not take long for a response to arrive from the local government of Vigo, as usual in the form of an audio broadcast to the media.. In this case of the Minister of Welfare Policies, Yolanda Aguilar, who has asked the Spanish Gypsy Society to reduce public exposure and the re-victimization of the families who were victims of the fire..

She has vindicated the City Council's work “since the day of the tragic event”, helping families, covering their basic needs and providing “individualized” support..

He has also highlighted this support, “without the need for mediation from the Spanish Gypsy Society entity”, despite the fact that the grandparents of the deceased children do recognize this entity as a representative.. However, the government of Vigo does collaborate with Fundación Secretariado Gitano, since it has a collaboration agreement with it. “We are not going to make this public exhibition of a situation of extreme vulnerability, where families already have enough pain and trauma as so that they are being exposed publicly,” he said..

In another audio, Aguilar has also requested a meeting with the Xunta to address the search for housing for these families, offering the date this Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. in Vigo.