A recent social media post highlights how the use of private vehicles to transport coffins has become a common practice in the city of Santiago de Cuba. This reflects the severe economic crisis impacting this service and the regime's inability to address it.
The social communicator Yosmany Mayeta posted a gallery of images and a video on Facebook this Monday that depicts the precarious situation faced by the families and loved ones of the deceased: “Every day, the deteriorating fleet of funeral vehicles in Santiago de Cuba becomes more evident.”
The content shared by the independent journalist shows the moment a coffin was taken to the funeral home in Santiago de Cuba, using a private truck typically used for passenger transport in the eastern city.
“Look where they are bringing the dead, what a lack of respect,” says a young woman in the video that highlights the poor conditions of the funeral service in Santiago de Cuba.
Mayeta believed that, following several complaints from citizens on social media and the troubling scenes of coffins falling in the middle of the public road, "the authorities have decided to rely more heavily on private transportation," the journalist noted.
However, this Tuesday, Mayeta echoed a report raising concerns about the overcrowding at the funeral home in Santiago de Cuba, where at least 29 coffins were found, some even placed in the hallways of the facility.
The instability in funeral services is not a new issue, and it has been repeatedly highlighted by the constant use of private vehicles.
In April, a Cuban resident of the town of El Caney in Santiago de Cuba reported that due to the lack of a hearse to transport her great-grandmother's remains, they had to resort to using a private truck.
"They were supposed to bury her at 8:30 in the morning. I called and they said the car left with another deceased person," the woman complained in statements to Mayeta, mentioning that she barely received that response before the call was disconnected.
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