Discontent in the universities is spreading in Cuba. After Camagüey, where the students protested to the rhythm of the conga due to blackouts and lack of watersome young people from the University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara denounced 14ymedio power outages of more than eight hours, poor nutrition and poor quality of residences.
“Almost every day they turn off the light and many times we have to study like this, shining the flashlight on our cell phone, because the next day we have exams,” laments Marikeilyn, a first-year student. “What we have to live with is not easy.”
Food is one of the most pressing concerns among these young people. It is not only that they do not have varied offers, that the meals are repeated over and over again, but that the quality is negligible, as is the cooking process and cleaning.
Some used to bring water heaters and cooking stoves from their homes, but since the energy crisis began, they do not allow fellows to bring them with them.
“In the dining room you have to wait in a long line to finally get a tray with a little rice, peas and a fufú or a strange mincemeat,” says another student, Kristoff. “Rice does not choose almost, so it has a lot of impurities.
To stave off their remaining hunger, the students go to the park known as Los Flamboyanes, because of the trees that surround it, where there are several kiosks that serve food.
“Almost all these kiosks sell everything very expensive, and a 30-peso loaf of bread doesn’t fill you up,” laments Luis, who continues: “The food has always been bad, but at least one used to go out and you could eat a pizza or a loaf of bread, a juice and it didn’t cost him that much.
The lack of water is another of the problems faced by university students from Santa Clara, who must fill buckets to be able to use them later in their daily activities, because it does not always come out of the faucet. When it does run, the water arrives dirty, with a yellow color.
As an alternative to all these problems, some used to bring water heaters and cooking stoves from their homes, but since the energy crisis began, they do not allow the interns to bring them with them. Still, many take risks. In case you get caught red-handed they face even economic sanctions.
In any case, the school management does not take any action to solve the critical situation, which is not only experienced at the Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences. Like them, there are many students in Cuba.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
