In March, 2020 the government began to take drastic contingency measures to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 virus, while making emphatic recommendations to prevent contagion, including: hand washing, cleaning and disinfection of all types of surfaces. However, immediately, in addition to the alarm unleashed by the pandemic, countless comments of complaint flooded social […]
In March, 2020 the government began to take drastic contingency measures to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 virus, while making emphatic recommendations to prevent contagion, including: hand washing, cleaning and disinfection of all types of surfaces. However, immediately, in addition to the alarm unleashed by the pandemic, countless comments of complaint flooded social networks in Paraguay: people did not have drinking water, so how is it possible not to get sick in a country that does not guarantee a basic human right, water?
On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, people from different neighborhoods of the Asunción area reported their situation and in most cases, they attached photographs and videos as proof of the lack of drinking water. The criticism fired against ESSAP, Empresa de Servicios Sanitarios del Paraguay [Paraguayan Sanitary Services Company], a state corporation, was forceful, because it was not a new issue, rather, according to accounts, it was a long-standing drama that worsened with a pandemic just starting, increased people’s risk of getting sick.
In the complaints there were points in common, such as emphasizing that the lack of water was not something specific to a block, a neighborhood or an area, nor was it a matter of isolated events. Susana Sartorio, who lives in the capital, pointed out that in her case the problem of lack of water had been existent at least three months, that the water was cut off for at least eight hours daily and that the entity in charge of the service claimed that she lives in an uptown area so that was the reason for the problem. “It is a real shame,” she said.
“The water pressure has always been low, it does not reach the second floor; tired of that situation we bought a thousand liter tank with pump, and now we have constant outage for more than a week. Before, at least there was water at dawn, now not even then. As a consequence of the lack of water, our tank cannot be recharged,” Romina Fernández, who lives in the Central department, specifically in south Fernando de la Mora, complained.
In addition to the inconveniences for cleaning and protecting health in daily life, some people explained that the lack of water also entails significant expense, and in some cases, even loss of income, which generated even greater annoyance for people since the current government, just beginning its term, had increased cost of the service by a whopping 22%.
“Three months without water; we lost our tenant because there was no longer any water in the apartment we rented him. It is inhumane, cruel, what ESSAP is doing to us; it harms our health and our economy,” Rosa Méndez of Tacumbú neighborhood of Asunción added.
Other people focused on the risk posed by collecting and preserving water in different types of containers, such as plastic bottles, pots, buckets, cans, whether for drinking, cooking or minimal cleaning, since at that time Paraguay was experiencing of one of the worst dengue epidemics in recent times. Additionally, some affected customers pointed to mental health, assuring that living depended on collecting water at dawn, or not being able to wash, carry out chores, modifying daily routines according to a schedule in which there was water to take care of illnesses, attributed to higher levels of stress as well as physical overexertion.
Users in general expressed feeling helplessness in the face of a situation that they described as “inhuman”, and that ESSAP simply does not respond to individuals or even to protests made in different neighborhoods to demand better service or service at all for water service.
“The bill comes as if we had water every day. Having to buy water tanks when we pay for a service is not fair, and it is shameful,” a user on Facebook posted, amid the torrent of photos, videos, and stories that accounted the seriousness of the situation across a wide area.
The problem affected thousands of users at a time when health authorities warned about the power of the virus and the catastrophe it could cause for the health system. In the midst of the chaos, people found themselves alone, without reliable or immediate answers, with their mental and physical health affected, and with avoidable expenses, especially in the context of pandemic which dramatically affected many people’s economic capacity .
As of February 20, 2021, there had been 151,718 cases of Covid 19 in Paraguay, and most of the cases occurred in Central and Asunción, with 54,883 and 29,736 cases respectively. These are precisely the areas most affected by the deficient drinking water distribution system, a drama playing out that does not seem to be a priority of an apathetic government.