FLOOD VICTIMS COMPLAIN OF UNHEALTHY CONDITIONS
El Diario de Hoy/Spanish (El Salvador)
www.elsalvador.com
7 October 1999

by Julio Calderón

The job of reconstructing roads has already begun. All that remains now is to drain the stagnant water that has lead to a proliferation of mosquitoes. After the storms that devastated the country just days ago, a new danger has emerged: the proliferation of disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Added to this are skin infections, which for the most part have affected villagers' feet. Many, adults and children alike, suffer from fungal infections. Unfortunately, the medications they received have not been effective. Insect bites are visible on various parts of the victims' bodies. Flies have begun to swarm into the area, due to the decomposing plants.

"We need them to come fumigate, we can't take the bites anymore, the children are the ones who suffer the most," said Santiago Valladares. The mosquito problem has been detected in Bajo Lempa, including all of its counties and villages; in the outskirts of Puerto Parada, in Usulután; the lagoon in El Jocotal, San Miguel, and in other locations.

The villagers that have already returned to their homes, after being evacuated by the rains, are now worried about the spread of the disease. Alarm is increasing among (the villagers), even more so facing the apparent neglect on the part of Department of Health officials, who sent employees to fumigate during the last red alert. Mosquito larvae can be found in the hundreds of pools of stagnant water near houses. Parents say that " at night, we must burn dry leaves, firewood, we don't have enough money to buy insect repellent," said Luis Ayala. Others, lacking resources, stay awake at night to protect their children.

Municipal employees are already repairing the roads that were damaged by the floods. Members of the Salvadoran Armed Forces are coming into flooded areas to build huts and to rebuild and reinforce the ones that were damaged. But these privileges don't reach everyone. Right now emphasis is being placed on the more populated areas.

In the less fortunate areas, the villagers must do all the work. Faced with the threat of future storms, villagers, especially those from Bajo Lempa, say they prefer not to leave their homes and belongings, since they could be stolen. They complain about the lack of government support. "We have lost many things, the crops were lost, hopefully they will give us money to plant again. We barely have food," said Virginia Vásquez, a resident of the Amando López community in Bajo Lempa.