OLIVE PRESS
The
ANDALUCÍA
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FIRE: devastated the Sierra
Protect it! HUNDREDS of protesters have demanded urgent protection for one of southern Spain’s most endangered areas. They were backed by nearly 50 protest groups and charities to insist the Sierra Bermeja mountain range is given ‘national park’ status, following a horrific fire this summer. The six-day blaze, which was started deliberately on September 8, claimed the life of a firefighter and ravaged close to 10,000 hectares of forest. The worst ecological damage saw the razing of over 3,000 rare Pinsapo pine trees which grow in only three areas of Spain and one in Morocco.
Protection
Campaigners want the area to be given the maximum environmental protection and resources for forest management, in the hope that this would reduce the risk of wildfires. Joaquin Araujo of Ecologistas en Accion explained that the mountains and nearby Genal Valley had been exploited for their water for decades. “They have been drained to supply insatiable golf courses which are entirely unsuitable in our climate, for swimming pools and lush private gardens in super luxury estates designed for the enjoyment of billionaires,” he said. He added it was time to recognise the unique character of the range which is home to 37 species endemic to the area. A petition to demand action has got more than 75,000 signatures. The nearby Sierra de las Nieves was awarded National Park status earlier this year. Opinion Page 6
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Vol. 15 Issue 383 www.theolivepress.es December 1st - December 14th 2021
Why is the Spanish church ignoring child abuse victims? See page 6
GRUESOME DISCOVERY
Skull found at alternative community near Granada is ‘not’ missing Dutch expat, but man in his 40s
EXCLUSIVE By Elena Goçmen Rueda in Orgiva
IT was during a short walk with her dog before taking the kids to school that an expat got the most incredible shock of her life. Wrapped up warmly against the winter morning in the Alpujarras, near Granada, she had no idea why Dragon started scratching madly at the earth.
Horrified
Walking over she was horrified to discover that the German Shepherd cross had dug up a skull that she immediately knew was human. Initially thinking it was a victim of the Spanish Civil War, she later realised on returning to retrieve it that it was much more recently deceased. “It was definitely fresher and smelled quite a lot,” the Romanian expat, who asked not to be named, told the Olive Press. “My initial thoughts were that
MYSTERY: Dragon the dog dug up the skull above the house, next to this tree (below)
it probably belonged to a victim from the Civil War, as there were many people executed in this region and buried in unmarked graves. “But when I picked it up later and put THE SKY it into a plastic bag to stop DOCTOR Dragon from ALL AREAS COVERED chewing it, I knew it was 4G UNLIMITED much more reINTERNET cent.” IDEAL FOR The mother-ofSTREAMING TV two, who has lived in Spain ALSO IPTV, for 11 years, SATELLITE TV had soon got the father of tel: (0034) 952 763 840 her children info@theskydoctor.com to contact the www.theskydoctor.com Guardia Civil,
in nearby Orgiva. A patrol car was quickly on the scene, by the new age settlement of Beneficio, near Canar, where the expats live. After taking the bag for safe storage, they went with her to visit the macabre site, which sits just below the main car park of the alternative community. They looked around and, oddly, found no further bones or remains. There was no sign of clothes or any other personal items, nor any signs of a struggle. Expats told the Olive Press they had initially believed the head was that of a Dutch woman named Linda, who had an abusive partner and a teenage son. “She had very distinctive teeth and we immediately suspected it was Linda,” said one. “She left in strange circumstances and we were worried about her.” A spokesman for the Guardia Civil confirmed the discovery to the Olive Press and anSee page 32 nounced an investigation had been launched. However, he denied that it belonged to the ‘miss-
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ing’ Dutch woman and was ‘most likely’ a man in his 40s. “The Judicial Police have taken over the investigation and it has now been taken to a laboratory in Sevilla for its study,” he said.
Missing
“DNA will be extracted and released to the Missing Persons database within the next two months.” He added: “We can assure you that it is not Linda, who is safe and sound and living in a commune elsewhere in Europe.”