Havana – A group of residents of Centro Habana keeps Queen Street closed tonight, in protest of the abandonment of the authorities and the lack of water. The protest occurs after the partial collapse of a building on the same street, which occurred on Monday.
The affected families – a 15 in total, around 50 people – spent Monday morning on the sidewalk, sleeping outdoors with their belongings, after municipal officials informed them that there was no place available for immediate relocation.
Since then they are on the street without having where to sleep, eat or how to see, he was able to corroborate Cubanet, who has reported the incident. At the time of publishing this note, the authorities had sent pipes with water to calm the neighbors.
The collapse in the neighborhood occurred around 6:30 am on Monday, August 18, when a room on the third floor collapsed on the second floor of the Reina located property, between Manrique and San Nicolás. One of the neighbors, Magaly, 75, was injured and was transferred to the hospital thanks to the help of other residents.
Despite the initial presence of representatives of the authorities, they left without giving concrete solutions. Given uncertainty, the victims decided to block traffic in protest.
“Where are they going to send us, for the countryside? I don’t go to the field because I’m going to starve. Why don’t they send us to the Lincoln hotel that is empty?” He questioned one of the neighbors.
The protest reflects not only the despair of those affected, but also the severity of the deterioration of the housing fund in Havana and the lack of access to water. The landslides have become recurring in the capital, where thousands of families inhabit buildings at risk of collapse due to the lack of maintenance.
