Floods displace Toba communities in Northern Argentina
Please pray for the Toba communities in our link diocese of Northern Argentina, who have lost their homes and belongings in the recent floods (right, The Anglican Church, Churcal).
Bishop Nick Drayson visited them last week and this is what he found:
For several weeks the Toba communities of Churcal, Pozo Ramon, Rinconada and Vaca Perdida as well as several smaller settlements have been acutely aware that the River Pilcomayo is lapping at the defence dykes surrounding them, and it is only a matter of time before somewhere these are breached, and the villages flooded.
At 3.00 am on Friday 15 the water started flowing into Churcal, and the village was evacuated to Vaca Perdida. It was there that I found them on Saturday 16 still unsure whether to move to the “refugee camp”, a site cleared by provincial government on land belonging to the Wichi community of Pocitos, about 10 km further west.
By yesterday’s visit, 21 February, it had become clear that the Tobas have accepted, at least for the time being, that they can’t stay in their homes. Either because the water is now waist deep (in Churcal) or because it may soon break through the remaining defences, despite huge efforts to rebuild the ramparts and divert the water elsewhere.
Refugee camp
So, the camp at Quimil is buzzing with activity. As many as 600 families from 9 communities have moved here. There is water, light (and internet), a medical centre, meals, housing materials (black plastic sheeting and cardboard roof panels), schooling, and a constant presence of police volunteers, government officials and social workers of different sorts. Many families managed to retrieve major items such as beds, freezers, and clothing.
Others were not so fortunate – some have lost everything, most something, including animals. One church leader said to me: “We are thankful to be alive”, another: “Today we are smiling for the first time in 3 days”. Everyone is busy, building and organizing, although everyone is aware that this is it for now. Some are still trying to get back “home” to retrieve belongings, but that is no longer possible even by boat.
Meanwhile, there is activity all along the road, as those who have chosen not to go to the camp, set up their makeshift homes, which may become long term. These are mainly those who have chosen to leave Rinconada and Vaca Perdida before the water arrives, and have cleared new sites to put their homes on. Most hope to return one day, after the rains, but some will not. In many places the damage will have been too great, and so the number of small villages will increase (each with its demand for a church, a school, water and light).
Martin Alto, the rural dean, is one of the few people still in Rinconada. He hopes the water will recede, and is staying in his home by the newly built church as long as he can. But most of his family have moved, and he has already sent an expensive sound system and other belongings to a safe place.
Opportunity
As I was finishing my visit to the Quimil camp, a government minister asked me to gather the church leaders for a word of prayer, and he asked for their cooperation in caring for those most affected. The bishop, Mateo Alto, still in Vaca Perdida, is concerned for his scattered flock, but aware that his clergy, suffering loss amidst their fellow villagers, have a great opportunity to share good news with those who have been uprooted and mixed up in this way. This has happened to them before, and they know how to live with the forces of nature, and trust the Creator and Saviour.
The Tobas are once again a people on the move.