A WhatsApp number has been enabled to inform family members who have not been able to contact after the earthquake in Colombia
Bilbao's consul has stressed that Colombians are going through "very hard" times and has called for help to rebuild their country.
:eitb-banner?$eitb-banner$&fmt=webp-alpha&qlt=80 "Consul General of Colombia in Bilbao, Carlos Alfonso Victoria. Photo: EuropaPress")
Consul of Colombia in Bilbao, Carlos Alfonso Victoria. Photo: EuropaPress
Colombia's Consul General in Bilbao, Carlos Alfonso Victoria, has stated that the Colombian community is going through "very hard" moments after the earthquakeand has recalled that a WhatsApp number (+57 321 213 95 25) has been installed to collect information about family membersand has asked Basque institutions and citizens tohelp Colombia not only now but also to rebuild the affected areas.
Some 100,000 Colombians currently live in the South Basque Country, Cantabria, La Rioja and Asturias (an area in which the Consulate operates), 30% or 35% of whom live in Basque localities, according to data provided by theconsul, who has admitted that they are going through "very hard" times in this "humanitarian disaster" with the "impotence" that they are experiencing when they are far from their country.
He told the media that he came from Pereira, "this time it is the land most punished by nature," and although his family is safe, "it pains him greatly to hear from colleagues, students, community and neighbors who are missing or dead. "
He reminds people who have not been able to contact their relatives that the number +57 321 213 95 25 WhatsApp has been enabled in coordination with the Colombian Red Crossto gather information on their condition.
He explained that local authorities in Colombia are currently rescuing survivors under the rubble, as well as withdrawing victims, preparing shelters and establishing emergency protocols, as well as reporting the "gradual" restoration of energy and communications services.
Solidarity with Colombia
The consul has congratulated himself onhis willingness to help the Colombian diaspora and the Basque institutions, which, despite the summer holidays, have been "the first to call".
After recalling that it will be necessary to "rebuild schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, public places, entire neighbourhoods," Colombia has called for "international solidarity," as happened in the 1999 earthquake.
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