IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 6 ENGLISH | Page 51

had a stroke, and her husband and son
had it tough getting her down the loft
stairs. Now she sleeps below, on the
sofa.
The house where she used to live, in
Casablanca, prior to coming to this
Regla albergue, was part of a two-story
building that was deteriorating. The
floors started to warp; then, finally, came
the collapses. The house was no longer
habitable; she and her family were
registered as albergue dwellers, but in
reality never went one because there was
no room. So they kept on living in that
house for years. The collapse of the
neighboring house opened a gaping hole
in the wall, with a beam. It could have
killed the neighbor’s son, if he’d been in
his crib. “The crib was destroyed.” From
that point on, they wrote to the State
Council, and went to the Provincial
Shelter Administration. “We took all the
necessary steps, but no one listened.”
Upon seeing their situation, a neighbor
who worked there looked for something.
They were living there only because no
one had gone to remove the rubble;
neighbors had to get together and do it.
Her neighbor was sent elsewhere.
Santa adds that other albergue dwellers
told her that they used to receive
donations, which Vivian confirmed:
“They’d give clothing, but I haven’t seen
anymore since Santa has been living
here.”
Vivian: As you can see, everyone here
gets wet, on one side or the other. The
pipes are clogged. I used to call, and the
brigades would come and unclog them,
but these pipes can’t take that anymore,

because they are too old. They need to
be replaced. There are residents here
who do not get water. I have a spigot in
my bathroom, but I don’t get water from
it. When we came here, and there was
still no loft, the water would drain and
drip, because the gutter was slanted. My
husband got up there and fixed it. Now,
after Wednesday’s downpour (April
29th), the leaking drips on my 32-year
old son’s bed. He lives with us. Our bed
is upstairs, as is our son’s.
Santa: Water got in through my roof
and floor, due to that huge downpour.
Other neighbors tell me that water got
into their rooms, too. Due to her
illnesses, as a special case, they
promised Vivian to take her out of the
albergue and move her to a better place.
“May God intervene, so I can stop
sleeping on the sofa and be able to sleep
in my own bed for the short or long time
I have left.” Her neighbors’ situation is
alarming, and Vivian wishes that they,
too, could solve their housing situations.
“There are many children here, and we
must look out for their well being.” A
week later, went I went back to the
albergue with a photographer, I learned
that Vivian had become upset by her
conversation with me, and she no longer
wanted to talk about her situation or be
photographed.
I am an extreme social case
Alina Margarita Rodríguez is another
albergue dweller that has lived there for
21 years. When I enter her cubicle, I
have no choice but to sit with her on a
bed, the only piece of furniture, which

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