the essential
Having returned from Mayotte just a few hours ago, Patrice Vaurabourg went there less than a week after the passage of Cyclone Chido which ravaged the island. A Civil Protection volunteer, he was, with four comrades, the oldest of the first Toulouse residents deployed. He tells.
When did you arrive there?
With Hélène, Adrien, Karime and Sébastien, we left Toulouse on December 21, a week after the passage of Cyclone Chido, and we returned on the evening of December 31. We formed the first of the three teams who will be on site until January 26 and we are, in fact, the first Toulouse residents of the Haute-Garonne Civil Protection to have been on site.
As a volunteer and at 59 years old, you were the dean of this mission. Why did you insist on being part of it?
Out of passion. It might sound crazy to say that, but it's the truth. I have been a Civil Protection volunteer for 25 years after 15 years of serving my country in the Navy. I have traveled to over 50 different countries with the main mission of helping others. When I saw the devastation of the cyclone, I told myself that staying at home was out of the question. So, with my partner Hélène, we packed our things and set off.
Civil protection of Haute-Garonne
What were your missions when you arrived on the island?
The first team to leave is a bit damaged, we'll say. Initially, we focused on a mission to clear the ruins and search for people who might still have been underneath. To my great surprise, a week after the cyclone, the populations of the slums had almost already put everything back in order, so we changed our objective.
What have you done?
We built dispensaries to allow the Mahorais to come and get treatment there. On site, hygiene is deplorable and diseases such as cholera are on the rise again. The children have no shoes, step on nails, arrive with cuts. The urgency is there. It was also necessary to clean to prevent diseases from spreading. The team that has just relieved us left with two water treatment cases developed by a Toulouse company. Running water has not yet been restored everywhere, which is a real problem.
Civil protection of Haute-Garonne
You also transported nearly 20 tons of freight that you were responsible for distributing. Tell us about it.
Exactly. We had taken on board 20 tonnes of water and food which we distributed. I remember the first time we arrived. We were accompanied by the gendarmes who had to clear the crowd in order to allow us to distribute the resources equitably to everyone. I felt like we were gold distributors. People thanked us, because as the island is at the end of the world, the food took a long time to arrive. Some hadn't eaten for days. I had the feeling of being in Africa. I was almost embarrassed to only give them a bottle of water and a can of sardines…
Did you feel this anger against the State, an anger at having the feeling of having been forgotten as some said?
Absolutely. As proof, the police cars bear the marks of this anger against state institutions. We found it easier to be accepted by traveling alone than by being accompanied by the military.
What struck you the most there?
The resilience of these people who have mostly lost everything. Their welcome and their kindness as well. Otherwise, I was marked by the huge open-air landfills almost everywhere in the north of the island where we were. Right now, with the rainy season, the water is rising and flooding is adding chaos to chaos.
Civil protection of Haute-Garonne
What’s next for you? Is a return planned?
With an association, I plan to go back there in February. There is so much to do that it will take years to rebuild. This February mission will consist of providing assistance more specifically to children. It will be focused on them and on the schools, where we will transport equipment so that the little ones can return to class.
