On the verge of extinction: in this Spanish village remained the last two resident
The problem of the extinction of the villages concerns not only the great of Russia: this happens even in countries of Old Europe. In Spain the outflow of the working population in the city leads to the extinction of many settlements, although there are no such cons as climate or poor accessibility.
Elvira Parada and Antonio Rodriguez for 87 years, and they are the only inhabitants of the village Pradelles in the Spanish province of Lugo. This village lost in the mountains in the South of the province, part of the Autonomous community of Galicia. These places in recent years, most in Spain are suffering from rural migration to large cities.
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Once in the village life was in full swing. Neighbors met to talk through the hills, feast. All were engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry and were very pleased that provide themselves with resources, while continuing to live in close connection with nature. Now a life not gone. Anything could happen to Elvira and Antonio even no one will help. Many years ago all the houses were residential, and other buildings were used to store hay for the animals.
For several years Antonio is suffering from problems with the respiratory system and can boast of good health. In fact, he can not live without oxygen tanks. One of his sons continually come to bring basic foods and necessary medicines. "We barely leave the house. We have a small garden, but since it is very cold, and we are already older, it is in poor condition. We had a lot of cattle, but we can't keep animals."
Elvira says that a few years ago, when they vacationing with her husband in the living room, in the night the house was hit by lightning and they were left without light. At this point Antonio was connected to an oxygen tank. Elvira was so nervous that he could not to think about anything and tried to call the phone to call an ambulance, but the phone was also not working. She had in the dark to walk over the hills to the nearest village, And Pobra to Brolan. From there I managed to call an ambulance, and luckily, it arrived on time. So Elvira almost became a widow.
Woman annoyed that her native village became a desert island in the middle of the forests and hills of the Spanish North. This wasn't her life, and besides, at any moment the power goes out, and this time could end up not as good as in the past. In this cons of living alone in a remote village where even the basic services. The whole village belongs only to them, there is no one else. "We can't walk even a Baker, and if we want to buy groceries, you have to make the hour walk to the neighbouring village," says Elvira.
Young people born in Pradelle, left as soon as I could. Probably the young have no sense of duty to sustain life in his native place. Maybe no one thinks about how to live among the amazing nature at the expense of agriculture. Maybe not everyone can do it.
The problem is that in Galicia every week in a village increases the number of extinct settlements, and now they have 3562. The main factors that contribute to this — a demographic hole, and an aging population. But there are other reasons.
Why live one when you can go to the children in the city? "We continue to live in the mountains because Antonio, despite a serious illness, doesn't want to leave the village where we got married and started a family. This is our home, and he wants it remained so until his death," says Elvira.
She'd gone to her son in Pontevedra, to be coddled and not have to suffer from living in a mountainous area. But she can't leave her only companion. "If we get Antonio out of his beloved village, it's even worse effect on his health."
Keywords: Extinction | Village | Spain | Population | Settlement | Seniors | Agriculture