Storm Alex 2020 : Responsibility, Solidarity and Mutual aid for Community Resilience
Storm Alex 2020 : Responsabilité, solidarité et entraide pour la résilience des communautés
Résumé
The aftermath of Storm Alex in Southeastern France highlighted new avenues for human interaction during disasters. Unfortunately, authorities and rescue personnel often perceive populations as passive actors, overlooking their potential as valuable human resources. This perspective fails to recognise their active role. It’s crucial to study how local communities behaved and established solidarity alongside official institutions’ activities. Upon analyzing accounts from local residents, authorities and rescue personnel, we have identified unique social and organisational aspects. Robust social networks and bonds among stakeholders illustrate the presence of a Westernised adaptation of ancestral collective practices. Comparable ancestral collective behaviours exist worldwide, such as The Minga in Andean countries, Moyai-Naoshi in Japan, or Twiza in certain Arab nations. These cultural practices serve as collective mechanisms for addressing both collective and individual challenges in the wake of disasters. They represent ancestral collective units and practices with diverse functionalities that transcend boundaries. In the case of Storm Alex, these communal survival units and practices were automatically activated during and following a 48 hour complete blackout. We observe its emergence in the qualitative analysis of ninety eight interviews. For operational purposes in the French context, we refer to it as “MINGAS” which stands for “Mouvement d’intervention immédiate, générosité et actions solidaires” or “Immediate intervention movement for generosity and solidarity actions”. Notably, we have observed that this movement remains active in the long term after the disaster. The key to the success of this unit lies in the culture of sharing embraced by the valleys’ inhabitants. Continuous mutual aid and acts of solidarity have empowered local residents and serve as an example of social resilience. After the event people have shown a heightened sense of responsibility. However a work with state institutions is necessary for a better coordination but it remains unfinished.
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