HAVANA, Cuba. – Yohanka Manzano Ricardo, a Cuban who resides in the municipality of Guanabacoa with her four-month-old granddaughter, reported that she has been asking the Government for help for the construction situation of her home for almost 20 years.
“I have gone to all the institutions in this country to ask for help, but, as always, they do not give it to those who truly need it,” denounced Manzano Ricardo.
“The room gets completely wet; I have had to throw away clothes, the cold [refrigerador] short circuited; I had to throw away the television because it got wet and it never worked… and so I have been losing everything, little by little,” he lamented.
In addition, he added that the room in which his daughter and granddaughter slept had to be disabled due to the danger to which they were exposed.
“The roof is in terrible condition and can no longer handle any more. Here it rains more inside than outside and at any moment the house falls down because the boards are rotten, but who cares about that?” he asks. “No one comes here to worry about our situation,” he also noted.
Manzano Ricardo highlighted that her situation is even known by the municipality’s Public Health authorities since the conditions in which she lives have led to her granddaughter’s hospitalization on more than one occasion.
“It is impossible for his health to improve because when he leaves the hospital he returns to the same conditions in which he lives,” he lamented. The little girl suffers from bronchial asthma and allergies.
The interviewee added that this is not the only problem that her family faces because, as she confessed, her economic situation is also quite complex.
“Many times I have had to sell part of the basic basket to be able to feed my family,” he said.
The woman said she felt disappointed in the Government. “I can’t even count on the CDR [Comité de Defensa de la Revolución] nor with that of the Federation [de Mujeres Cubanas]“, term.
