A family from Guantánamo with three children reported that authorities denied assistance following the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, despite the loss of roof tiles, bathroom, and kitchen, and having to sleep in precarious conditions while trying to repair their home on their own.
In a testimony recorded on-site by activist and TikToker Freddy King Flow, the father recounted that neither the representative nor social services provided materials, claiming that “the house had no solution” or that “it was not affected by the cyclone,” a reasoning that left the family without institutional support in the midst of the emergency.
According to the family, none of the authorities came to assess the damages at the critical moment and, when they finally arrived, they refused to deliver tiles and resources because —they claimed— the structure could not support them.
The affected individual showed the damaged areas, insisted that the storm took away the tiles, and described the effort over several days to replace parts of the roof with what little they have managed to gather.
The situation is worsening, he said, due to the children's respiratory condition and the inability to maintain minimal routines in the home.
In response to the lack of state response, Freddy King Flow, who documented the case, questioned the absence of an in situ technical assessment and rallied support to address immediate needs.
According to the published report, the solidarity campaign launched by Freddy has already raised 850 dollars in its first hours, with a commitment to continue gathering support and channeling new shipments of basic supplies to the household.
While the family is trying to stabilize the roof and restore minimal habitability, they emphasize that they have not received a formal technical visit to assess the scope of the repairs nor a commitment from local authorities to supply materials.
The Cuban TikToker traveled to the community of Vallate, in Guantánamo, to deliver donations to families who lost almost everything after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, in one of the most affected areas of eastern Cuba.
In the videos posted by the creator, there are houses without roofs, collapsed walls, and families cooking among the rubble, while they express gratitude for the donations gathered by their supporters.
The young man explained that his team ventured into intricate places to deliver basic food items such as rice, sugar, chicken, oil, and soft drinks.
Unlike the triumphalist rhetoric of the government, Freddy's content reveals the despair and abandonment of families who are still not receiving official assistance. In one of the scenes, the TikToker hands a bag of groceries to a man who has lost the roof of his home.
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