Dressed from top to bottom in the military field uniform, he traveled this Tuesday to three key points in Valencia for the more than 8,000 soldiers deployed by Defense to face the devastating consequences left by the Dana on October 29 and that has caused 215 deaths. This afternoon, Felipe VI, together with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, visited the Jaime I de Bétera base (in the north of the city of Valencia); the ship Galiciadocked in the port of the capital since last November 4; and finally the Valencia Trade Fair, where the Army’s main logistics base has been installed for this emergency. We must work “shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to shoulder, human to human. But with the same heart,” said Felipe VI in unusual statements to the press from the Jaime I base in Bétera.
This Tuesday’s visit is part of the decision of the Kings to continue “constantly” the work of caring for those affected by the worst cold spell of the century in Valencia, according to a message from La Zarzuela. This is Felipe VI’s second trip to the area, after the visit with Letizia Ortiz, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, on November 3. They all visited Paiporta, but had to cancel their subsequent visit to Chiva which, shouting “murderers” and throwing mud and other objects, forced the security services of La Moncloa and La Zarzuela to withdraw. After that difficult visit, today the King, however, has not been exposed to the neighbors. In the only place where there could have been contact, at Feria Valencia, located in the Valencian district of Benimamet, it has entered directly into the base. And there were no people gathered outside anyway. There, he visited one of the dormitories, where more than 2,000 soldiers – of the more than 8,445 – deployed spend the night. He has heard an explanation about the operation, and has addressed them in the dining room.
This Tuesday, the King’s House changed the tone of the visit and Felipe VI, without the Queen and without the company of Sánchez – who is precisely in -, addressed 600 soldiers in the dining room of the Valencia Trade Fair , to participate in the reconstruction of the damage caused by the dana. Felipe thanked them for their work and encouraged them. “You were not planning to carry out a mission like this, in national territory. But here it has been shown that the Spanish soldier gives everything. And not only for the satisfaction of the duty fulfilled, but for the satisfaction you see in those you help. “You are representing all of Spain,” the King declared before the soldiers, some of whom had just arrived from the areas affected by the storm and were still wearing mud-stained uniforms. “The Spanish people are seeing the actions of the Army in their streets and neighborhoods. Some of you have been here for many days. Cheer up. Thank you for giving everything. Thank you for fulfilling the mission, and thank you for giving hope,” added the monarch, dressed in his uniform as supreme chief of the Armed Forces.
Shortly before, Felipe VI expressed his desire to “be present in various ways in all the affected places” and announced that the presence of both he and the Queen “will be a constant in the near future.” In fact, La Zarzuela announced early in the morning that at the beginning of next week, both will visit several devastated towns, although which ones were not specified. When asked about how he faces these visits – especially after the tension experienced during his last stay in the affected area -, Felipe VI stated that he will do so “taking into account the circumstances” and “aware that each one has to be in your place.” The King, who visited the Jaime I de Bétera base, north of Valencia, explained that “the spirit and morale is very high” among the soldiers displaced to the community. “There is no greater satisfaction in seeing that you are helping people and that you are also helping people very close to you because it is an unprecedented mission in national territory,” he noted.
