BRIEFS. national

Fire victims hold protest in colón

courtesy of acp

unhappy:A number of people who lost their homes in a Feb. 2 fire blocked streets in Colón yesterday. 992889

People who lost their homes in a devastating fire in Colón on Feb. 2 blocked city streets yesterday to protest the government's lack of response to their pleas for new housing.

Ministerio de la Vivienda (Mivi) officials had promised a quick solution to the problem, but a month after the fire, many of those who lost their homes have been forced to live in tents at the site.

"We have nowhere to go," complained Yarimir Antioco, one of those living in a tent with her young children. "We are tired of this situation...We cannot go on like this."

Antioco added that the protest was called only as a final act of desperation.

"We will stay here until someone gives us some answers," she said.

Mivi officials met with the protestors and negotiated the opening of the roads that were blcoked.

Mivi's regional director for Colón, Cándido Pacheco, said negotiations are continuing with the owners of vacant buildings in the area, but they haven't reached an agreement yet.

"We can't just take a building, we have to pay the owner," Pacheco said. "And that is why we are asking people to be patient."

The fire left 78 families homeless.