48 hours after the fire in the nightclubs in the leisure area of The Watchtowers that claimed the lives of 13 people, dismay and pain have taken over the residents of Murcia. Throughout Monday, families and friends of the Latino community living in the regional capital came to the polygon to pay their condolences and demonstrate their unity.
It was around five in the afternoon, under the strong Murcian sun, when members of United Colombians -a group of almost 200 Colombians living in Murcia- in front of the Sports Palace, which on Sunday enabled the City Council to offer psychological assistance to the relatives of the missing. In their hands they carried white balloons and on their T-shirts, black ribbons, distributed around Paulina Carrillorepresentative of the group.
«We are in shock. “We have not been able to process what has happened,” he told this newspaper. For Paulina and the majority of those attending the rally, the Fonda was not just a place to have fun, but a little piece of her home, her country. «We know the owner, the workers, some of the missing… We have all passed through Milagros, which has welcomed us since the day we arrived here. That’s why we are here, to unite as brothers. “We come to support the loved ones of the victims and to support them in their grief,” she added.
Solidarity was a feeling shared among those attending. «We are all united to support those who need it most, even if they are from another country. The flags don’t matter here,” he explained. Sandra, another assistant. «We are immigrants. We come here without our families. When a tragedy like this happens, everything is more difficult. That is why it is very important that we are strong and that we give that support not only to the Colombian people, but also to the Nicaraguan and Ecuadorian people,” she concluded.
They all stood together on the steps at the entrance of the pavilion in front of the flags of their respective countries while Paulina and Vivianethe organizer of the event, led a prayer after observing a minute of silence.