A 56-year-old Cuban who searches garbage containers in Central Havana to collect raw materials that he then sells, assured that he does this to be able to feed his daughter.
The man, named Rafael, has been living and eating from garbage for a decade. According to what he told the agencyWHICHIn the best months he collects 2,000 pesos, with which he travels to his native Sancti Spíritus to give money to his 27-year-old daughter.
"I dedicate myself to this so that she can eat," he revealed.
Rafael, a former rancher, accused the government of the crisis. "How many strays don't you see out there? Thousands you're going to see!" he exclaimed.
The "divers" swarm throughout the city, not only in the humblest neighborhoods, but in the most exclusive ones such as Miramar, where numerous embassies and residences of leaders are located.
Over there,WHICHHe spoke with Jorge, 54 years old, who stated that with this activity he can compensate for his meager state salary.
"I spent 8,000 pesos on this last month. It's better for me to do this than the other," he said proudly.
A plumber who combines his work with searching for cans in the waste said that on one occasion he even found a lobster.
"I also took the cell phone that I have from there," he explained.
It is increasingly common to find people in Cuba who survive by searching for things in the trash that they can then sell to get some money, or in the worst case scenario, taking leftover food to eat.
In September, the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP) denounced the case of a74-year-old woman and her granddaughter searching for plastics and other objects in the trash, they take them to raw materials stores and with what they earn they buy food.
"This old woman goes through the city's garbage dumps, along with her granddaughter, looking for plastic and cans of beer and soda to later sell them, since her 1,500 peso checkbook is not enough to live on," ICLEP detailed on Facebook.
During those days, the opponent and former political prisoner Silverio Portal spoke with a humbleold woman who is dedicated to searching for clothes in the garbage containers of Havana, and assures that she does it to help a friend who lost all her property.
The woman showed Portal a stick with which she takes out the clothes so she doesn't touch them with her hands.
"I don't touch any of that, I boil it with chlorine, I already bought the chlorine and then I boil the clothes well. They don't have clothes there, the roof fell in, they are living in the doorways...", he explained.
In Santiago de Cuba, aman was captured while looking for food in the garbage deposits in Heredia Park.
According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), he is a man with mental problems and without medical treatment who wanders around the park, where he usually checks the garbage cans in search of food.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled in: