Aunt Maria left the house. We almost left, as it was about four meters to get home! Zilá and Carlos spent several weeks here, flogged. The water there was a good chunk above the floor. This one was completely damaged, leaving it all packed up. Helena Silva Stein
Elenara lives in Porto Alegre, but in an area of the city that was not directly affected by this year’s floods. From the window, she can see part of the affected areas less than two blocks away. At this moment, the architect is facing a lack of water, but tries to help as much as she can.
“I’m sheltering at home a girl who works with me and lives in Canoas, her house was flooded and was saved by boats. Everyone has someone they know who is flooded or lost everything”, he adds. Elenara points out that her mother’s letter is written on small pieces of paper, which indicates that it was probably missing.
The city was in the dark for several days, without water, without milk, without newspapers, it was really scary! Poor Belmira lost everything, everything… the furniture all fell open and was completely ruined. Helena Silva Stein
“The similarity is the feeling of ‘I never thought I’d live in a situation like this’. I remember what she reported, that it was something historic and unique. And today I see people saying that. It’s a sadly historic moment”, says Elenara.
Below, check out the letter written by Helena:
