By IANS
Villahermosa (Mexico) : Unlike in other years, the capital city of the southern Mexican state of Tabasco has no Christmas decorations this year on public buildings or in market squares.
The reason: there are no public buildings or squares worth the name or people to decorate them left after the devastating floods of November. Close to 1,300 people rendered homeless by the floods are still living in shelters, authorities said.
Some 700 refugees were sent home Monday to the suburbs of Gaviotas and La Manga on the north side of Villahermosa, the state capital, officials said.
“Those who have nowhere to go are staying in the capital’s one and only shelter,” government spokesman Rurico Dominguez Mayo said.
The floods in Tabasco forced half of the state’s two million residents out of their homes, Villahermosa being the worst hit.
“We’ve been here for almost 50 days, living with strangers, uncomfortably, because there aren’t enough bathrooms,” Marbella Rivera said. Her house was swept away in the floods and she had to take refuge in a shelter with her two teenaged children.
“I’ve gotten used to everything except washing in these conditions. We all want to do it at the same time and it’s hard,” she said.
Governor Andres Granier Melo announced last week that he was going to dine on Christmas Eve with the refugees in the shelter.
The Christmas menu will consist of the traditional turkey and dishes typical of the region.