King Felipe pays Christmas tribute to victims of flooding in Spain

King Felipe of Spain paid tribute to the flooding victims in Valencia, Spain, during his annual Christmas remarks.

The King began his Christmas Eve address by speaking about those who lost their lives and the devastation caused in Valencia by the DANA flooding, saying that Spaniards should never forget the first images after the storm.

“The people who lost their lives and those who disappeared deserve all our respect and we must never forget the pain and sadness they have left in their families. Thousands of people saw how what until recently was their town, their neighbourhood, their work, their home, their business, their school, was reduced to rubble or even disappeared. A difficult fact to accept, but from which we should all be able to draw the necessary lessons that will strengthen us as a society and make us grow,” he said.

King Felipe also spoke about the issues concerning his fellow countrymen, including immigration, integration, housing, and defending democracy.

Alluding to the wars going on in Europe and the Middle East, the monarch said that Spain and other European Union countries “must continue to defend with conviction and firmness, together with our international partners, the foundations of liberal democracy, the defence of human rights and the achievements in social welfare on which our great political project is based. Because Europe – the idea of ​​Europe – is an essential part of our shared identity, of the legacy that we owe to future generations.”

He went on to praise Spain’s Olympians and Paralympians, before closing by mentioning the victims of DANA once again.