Havana Cuba. – “Up to two prosecutors came, but they are giving us no help. Just grind and we continue in the same, without a roof, ”denounced residents of a Havana lot, on Calle I, between 9 and 11, in Vedado, Havana, three weeks after Hurricane Ian passed through Cuba.
According to Maikel Torres Hernández, one of the most affected, to date they have only received “promises” of help from state officials. As they were informed, they must wait for the recovery work to be completed in Pinar del Río, the province most affected by the passage of the meteorological phenomenon.
I lost everything except the cold [refrigerador]. I am homeless. living place He came and knocked down what he could, but now he says that we have to wait until they finish with the people of Pinar del Río. Do I have to take the four walls to Pinar, so they can fix my house?”, she asks with irony.
Torres Hernández explained that the winds associated with Hurricane Ian caused the collapse of a wall adjoining his home, which fell on the roof of the house causing serious damage to the roof.
“The people from Housing came, demolished and said that we have to wait, but I’ve been getting wet for days, so I don’t know how long I have to wait,” he insisted.
The interviewee also explained that the rain wiped out all his personal belongings. “The only thing left for me is the cold because the TV went with the water, the mattress too, I was left with nothing,” he lamented.
For Julio López Bilbao, who has lived on the site for more than 50 years, the current promises of aid from the Cuban regime are added to the extensive list of promises that they have already received in the past from other officials and that were not fulfilled despite the deterioration of the buildings that make up the enclosure.
“Promises and more promises, they say they are going to come but nothing. Nobody has done anything because there is no budget and Pinar del Río comes first. I don’t know who it will be, but someone has to be lying on television,” said the old man.
Likewise, Teresa Calvo Rivero assures that since 2016 her father has been waiting for the Housing authorities to fix his small room, whose roof has since collapsed.
“For me, they are waiting for him to die because there is no solution and they are plans and projects that never come here,” said the woman.
Despite the fact that Hurricane Ian did not hit the Cuban capital with its greatest force, after the passage of the meteor, the residents of Havana experienced a situation of chaos derived from the extensive blackout that lasted for several days. In addition, partial and total collapses of houses were reported, as well as the fall of trees and electrical poles.
CubaNet tried to obtain statements about the situation of the victims in the Municipal Housing Directorate of Plaza de la Revolución, but the official consulted refused to give details on this issue and threatened to call the National Revolutionary Police (PNR).
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