MIAMI, United States. – Exiled Cubans requested from the hotel chains Meliá Hotels International, Iberostar, Kempinski, NH Hotel Group and others that operate on the island to shelter Cubans left homeless as a result of Hurricane Ian.
“We request that you help the people of Cuba by setting aside half of your empty guest rooms in the various hotels on the island, to give refuge to families, many of them with children, who will be affected by the storm,” states a letter sent last Monday to executives of the hotel chains.
Carlos Eire, distinguished history professor at Yale University headed the list, along with Rosa María Payá, founder and director of Cuba Decide and the Foundation for Pan-American Democracy; Modesto Maidique, former president of Florida International University, and the Reverend José Conrado, from the Trinidad parish in Cuba.
Several other Cuban Americans signed the petition: world-acclaimed musician Paquito D’Rivera; Sebastián Arcos, from the Department of Latin American Studies at Florida International University; feminist author Ileana Fuentes, and human rights activist John Suárez, Executive Director of the Center for a Free Cuba.
“We thank you in advance for your corporate responsibility and positive response to our humanitarian request,” states the brief letter.
Ian’s path in Western Cuba has been devastating, mostly in Pinar del Río province. Communities and homes were completely flooded, there was damage to infrastructure, torn down trees, damage to electrical services and telecommunications; these are some of the damages reported by authorities in that region.
Although there is still no exact record of all the material damages, the number of affected people in Western Cuba could exceed one thousand individuals, as has occurred in the past during other weather phenomena of lesser impact than Hurricane Ian.
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