A netizen requested support this Monday to help a father and his two small children, who sell peanuts and collect cans on the streets of Santiago de Cuba.
Yelsira Nápoles reported on the situation of this family in the Facebook group "360 Santiago de Cuba Compra y Venta Revolico" and expressed her concern upon seeing the children in need, especially a six-year-old girl carrying a bag of cans.
"This is tough, but we always have something from our children that we don’t provide," pointed out the woman, who emphasized that these people "are very healthy" and really need any kind of help that can be offered to them.
Nápoles invited those interested in collaborating to contact her at the number 58807465 to send donations, as she offered to serve as a liaison to deliver them.
It also provided the family’s address, at D Street #157, between 5 and 7, in the Desy neighborhood, for those who want to come by to offer their help directly.
The deep economic crisis in Cuba has made it increasingly common to see children working in the streets to help the family economy.
In March, for example, two Cuban children were seen selling candies to make a living in Havana, despite the fact that the regime has historically claimed to have eradicated child labor.
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP) published photographs of a minor selling marquesitas in Havana and another carrying several bags on his back that appear to be bread, amidst a climate of rising inflation that leaves thousands of households on the brink of poverty.
In recent days, the case of a boy in Camagüey selling tamales to help his family went viral, and this story quickly mobilized the community of Cubans who helped the little one.
Independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada reported this case on his Facebook profile, highlighting the harsh reality faced by many minors in Cuba, trapped in an economic crisis that compels them to work from a young age.
Child labor has become so prevalent in recent months that even the official press has had to acknowledge it, reflecting the severity and complexity of the current socioeconomic context in Cuba.
An investigation conducted by the newspaper Sierra Maestra revealed cases of primary school students who miss classes to work. They arrive late or are absent from school to help their families, something that the regime criticized for decades, blaming capitalism and claiming that "that doesn't happen in the Revolution."
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