Fifty of the people evicted in Arona spent last night in a makeshift tent

Around fifty of the people evicted from the Chasna building in Costa del Silencio, in the south of Tenerife, yesterday morning, were forced to spend last night (Tuesday) in a large makeshift tent set up next to a caravan given to them by Eloy, the spokesperson for those affected by the order from the Arona Court which justifies the eviction “due to the structural problems of the building, which has a high risk of collapsing.”

“We have had no help from the City Council,” Eloy told the local press adding that children were among those who slept in the improvised facility. Likewise, he said that they have requested portable toilets which haven’t materialised.

The head of the Social Services in Arona, Ruth Martín, said that the Council has offered help to the people evicted yesterday morning with food and housing alternatives for families with children, but not necessarily in Arona, but in other parts of the Island. She also added that in some cases this aid has been rejected.

At the moment, Eloy said there is no news regarding the amount that the City Council was going to provide them to rent another home, but Ruth Martín assures that once each case is analysed, it will be up to 3,000 euros.

MORE THAN 90 FAMILIES AFFECTED

The mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes, asked the Court on Monday for a delay to the eviction to give the people involved more time to find solutions as to where they would go. In fact, she confirmed yesterday that "both the councillor of Social Services and I appeared at the scene on Monday and those affected asked us for more time to be able to remove their belongings, even though it had been more than a month since they were made aware of the eviction. We requested a postponement, but the court would not give it.”

Until yesterday morning, 210 people, belonging to 90 families, lived in the unfinished building in Costa del Silencio, when 50 Guardia Civil agents carried out the order to evacuate the building, although the majority of those affected had left their homes earlier. However, others waited until the last moment.

Both Red Cross personnel and several psychologists attended to people on a case-by-case basis to learn first-hand about each situation. "We are trying to make social emergency aid more flexible and we have asked the Tenerife Cabildo and the Canary Islands Government for assistance to try to find solutions as soon as possible."

Regarding the children, who are the City Council's priority, the mayor emphasised that “what worries us most now are the little ones. We are trying to find an alternative so that they do not have to stay on the street. We will try to accommodate them and, if the parents do not want to be separated from them, we will look for temporary accommodation for the child and their mother.”

In addition, she highlighted the clear housing problem that exists on the Island: “More than 200 people have been made homeless and we do not have housing alternatives. Some of them are working people who do not have sufficient resources and others in an irregular situation who have come freely. The eviction occurs due to the structural problem with building which will be demolished because it runs the risk of imminent collapse.”