Spanish
In the midst of anguish and institutional paralysis, a common man emerged, without uniform or rank, who became the true protagonist of a rescue that should never have depended solely on the civic will in the La Jomaca sector of Lavapiés.
Nobody believed Joel when he said the girl could still be alive. They called him a drunk and crazy. But something -stronger than logic and more certain than technical calculations- spoke to him from the heart. Against all odds, against collective resignation, that man waited for the authorities to leave and, when the last official unit moved away, he entered without thinking into the dark sewers of Lavapiés. There, where everything seemed lost, he began a solitary search motivated by a faith that many had already buried.
While emergency services suspended rescue efforts until the next day, Joel acted with incredible solidarity. And his determination restored hope to a community mired in frustration, which saw him leave with fear and welcomed him with joy when he emerged with the girl alive, helped by other community members almost at midnight.
This act not only moves, for in it is embodied the authentic courage of a common citizen, who acts without expecting orders or recognition, guided by a human sense of urgency and responsibility.
The name of this man —which some media outlets and authorities still haven't bothered to record— should already be etched in the collective memory. The authorities have a moral obligation to recognize him, not to take credit for the heroic act, but to admit that when they failed, he did not, and that there are exemplary citizens in every community.
The gesture of giving him public, even official, recognition is not a concession, but justice. Paradoxically, it would be one of the best ways for institutions to amend their failure: to recognize that they did not achieve the rescue, but that someone did. And that thanks to Joel, a family is not mourning their daughter today.
It's not about blaming for blaming's sake, but about learning and correcting. Emergencies don't pause, and lives don't wait for office hours.
