People affected by Samarco (Vale/BHP-Billiton) will have to stay in hotels until February

Part of the families displaced due to the disruption of Samarco dam (Vale/BHP-Billiton) will spend Christmas, New Year and carnival still living in hotels in the city of Mariana (MG), according to the schedule presented by the company.

Currently, the company estimates about 300 families waiting to be transferred from hotels to rented houses by the company, as reported José Luis Santiago, general manager of Samarco projects on the afternoon of Wednesday (25). Families must live in these temporary housing until the communities are rebuilt.

According to the representative of Samarco, the company’s goal is to moove 25 families per week, that is, it will take 12 weeks to transfer all families if the company can follow its own schedule. “It’s a very large logistics,” he said.

The hotels are not considered adequate housing for affected families. Eliane Aparecida, former resident of Bento Rodrigues, has a son with handicap and reports she is suffering difficulties because the hotel is not adapted. “I want to go to a home, because here has no place for him to sit, this hotel is good, but it’s not adapted, I have to carry him all the time in my arms,”

Eliane shows the bathroom of the hotel, where shes is hosted, there’s no structure for people with handicap.

Other people affected says that the children hurted themselves at the stairs, there’s lack of medical assistance for the elderly and pregnant women and problems with the food. Part of the families have received only packed lunches, they dont have autonomy to eat.

Patrícia Costa, of the Municipal Health Council denounced that some of the lunches delivered were subdued.

In a meeting with MAB on this Wednesday afternoon, a women affected also reported that there is no health care. “When someone is sick, you call to Samarco and there is no car, you call to ambulance and there is no,”.

“Besides, the families have to return to the hotels according to the time scheduled by these. And those that are hosted far, dont have any bus voucher,” says Patrícia.

The people affected also accuses the company in not respecting the priorities to moove the families to the rented houses. Elderly, pregnant women and people with handicap should be at the first list.

The dam rupture caused death of 12 people, plus 11 that are still disappeared. Samarco have until now mooved 20 families to the houses.

According to the data of Mariana’s City Hall and the Civil Defense, 944 people are unsheltered, but probably there are more, because many went directly to their relative’s houses, without passing through any control of the government.

The speech of the representative of Samarco was made on Wednesday (November 25) afternoon during the weekly negotiating table brokered by the State Government, which participated people affected organized in the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the company and entities of government and civil society. At the same meeting, member of MAB, Joceli Andrioli, stressed the urgent need to moove the families to the houses. “It’s a matter of human dignity, the company is able to accelerate these housing,” he said.

MAB also defends, as immediate measures, a minimum monthly wage per person until the reconstruction of communities and an initial bonus, regardless of any compensation, for emergency issues of families, as debts and losses. In addition, the Movement reminded the concept of those affected, not only those who lost their houses are affected, but those who lost their livelihoods are also affected.”