Spain: Thousands protest in Valencia over lack of schools after deadly floods
VALENCIA – Families and teachers protested in Valencia on Saturday to demand action over schools damaged by the deadly floods that killed over 220 people in eastern Spain and affected thousands of children’s education.
About 5,000 people attended the demonstration, the Spanish government said.
According to the regional teachers’ union STEPV, thirty schools are still closed, leaving 13,000 children with nowhere to learn.
“We feel abandoned because teachers, parents, and volunteers have had to clean up the schools. We have seen cleaners in some schools but not enough,” STEPV spokesperson Marc Candela told Reuters.
A Valencian regional government spokeswoman said since Nov. 11, about 32,000 students from flood-hit areas have returned to school.
“Extraordinary cleaning tasks are being carried out in educational centres,” Daniel McEvoy, Valencian education minister, said.
The protestors held posters demanding the resignation of Valencian leader Carlos Mazon, accusing him of sending flood warnings to residents too late.
Mazon has admitted he had made errors but refused to resign and said the body responsible for measuring water flows, run by the national government, failed to send sufficient warnings.
