Cuban bureaucracy has once again disrupted another life project. Cristopher Olivera Santos, the orphaned boy from Bayamo, has lost his humanitarian visa because the Cuban regime delayed in processing the legal custody in favor of his grandmother, and the visa has now expired.
The five-year-old has been waiting for some time for an operation to repair the internal damage caused by ingesting acid. Due to this incident, he receives nutrition through a feeding tube.
This Wednesday, Cristopher Olivera suffered a relapse; he was dehydrated and was taken to the hospital, but they did not have the necessary size 22 catheter. Cuban activist Diasniurka Salcedo urgently requested help on social media, and the boy received the catheter through a generous (and anonymous) donation in just five hours.
"Thank you all, thank you. I won't mention names. It was everyone. Thank you for sharing. Cristopher already has the probes. He is on cefazolin. It's a very strong antibiotic. He will be fine, thank you," wrote Diasniurka Salcedo on her social media.
Sources close to the child say it wouldn't hurt to send more probes, as they need to be changed every fifteen days until he undergoes surgery, which could happen in three to six months.
From the very beginning, it was clear that the legal process to obtain all the permits for Cristopher Olivera to travel abroad with his grandmother for surgery was a challenging ordeal. Salcedo worked directly with the attorney handling the case to secure every document required for this highly sensitive file, given that it involved an orphaned child, abandoned by his mother, who was ill and cared for by an elderly woman.
To obtain legal custody in favor of the child's grandmother, it was necessary to present the birth certificates of the minor and his mother, as well as the father's death certificate (who committed suicide); in addition to witness statements, documentary evidence, and a medical summary, among other documents.
On October 31, the Provincial Court was just awaiting the oral hearing to rule in favor of the grandmother. The legal custody did not arrive in time, and the child's visa has expired.
Last September, also thanks to the solidarity of the Cuban people, Cristopher Olivera moved in with his grandmother to a house that was purchased with donations. The elderly woman and the boy had been living in deplorable conditions until Cuban activists Michaela Díaz and Diasniurka Salcedo began organizing actions on social media to assist them.
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