Almost a month has passed since the water stopped coming out of the taps of the house in San Isidro (Granadilla de Abona) where Jesús García, 50, and his mother, Aurina, 90, Alzheimer’s patient, reside. There, in a building on Princesa Ifara street, they have lived since March 2021, but, after the rental contract expired last December, its owner did not renew the document, arguing that he wants to sell the apartment.
Mother and son, however, continue to live in the house -an upcoming trial, still without a date, will decide their future-, although since the end of the year they have not paid the rent, “because the owner does not want to, because he wants to kick us out.”
Jesús and Aurina have been without water since May 27 and their situation is getting more and more complicated. That day, several workers from the water company contracted by the City Council proceeded to remove the meter and cut off the supply after the owner canceled the contract, as explained to this newspaper. Immediately afterwards, he reported the incident to the Civil Guard and reported his situation to the Citizen Attention Service of the City hall.
However, things remain the same. Or worse, because the days go by and hygienic conditions worsen. “My mother is a dependent person, who relieves herself not always in the bathroom, so I have to clean every moment,” she explained. Both he and her mother use bottled water heated in a pot to clean themselves and, in the case of the nonagenarian, two social workers from the City Council take care of her weekly. A few days ago, Jesús bought a sprayer and a device with a small pump to use as a shower.
Jesús suffers from a mental disability that causes anxiety attacks and lives on his mother’s pension. He has requested written interviews with the mayor and the Councilor for General Services of the City Council, convinced that the water cut-off is an “illegal” measure.
He confesses that his desperation has led him to call the 024, the new telephone service enabled to prevent suicidal behavior, “because without water you cannot live and everything has a limit”. Next Monday will be a month without water. Jesus and his nonagenarian mother are still waiting for an answer.
