Many Catholic faithful in Santiago de Cuba believe that 2024 has been one of the most challenging years they can remember, amid an economic crisis, prolonged power outages, and social discontent.
"Sir, I want to ask you to take away all the bad, the hunger, the misery, the need we are experiencing right now, and I hope that by next year I can hold onto the good, the faith and the hope that one day the situation will improve. Take away all the bad," expressed a woman in an emotional video shared on Facebook by Catholic priest Leandro NaunHung.
In another part of the video, a woman from the Oasis community in Baconao reported being covered in soot due to being forced to cook with firewood amid the ongoing shortage of liquefied gas.
Other testimonies reported the increasing insecurity faced by residents of Santiago in rural communities, where thefts of crops and livestock are common, further exacerbating the already precarious living conditions.
"Father, it has been two months since they have supplied water here. Look at how I have clothes piling up to be washed because there is no water," said a mother who also shared some of the measures she has to take with her children to manage to rest at night due to the ongoing blackouts.
“Food is not arriving at the store. There is no rice, no sugar, nothing. Fongo is what we’re eating,” the woman said, describing the state of neglect they are suffering due to the regime's inaction.
Other testimonies collected in the video shared by Father NaunHung, who regularly gives voice to individuals and their issues, reflect the exhaustion of a community facing not only shortages of food and medicine but also a growing uncertainty about the future.
"This year has been very difficult due to needs and illnesses. Through faith, a disciple of Christ must learn to embrace with love all those challenging and adverse realities we face daily," noted a parishioner before tossing a calendar into the water, as a symbolic act to bid farewell to a disastrous 2024 for Cubans, with the hope that 2025 will be much better.
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