The husband and father of the young woman and the girl who died this month from poisoning after ingesting nitro salt in their home in Guanabacoa, Havana, is now left alone with his two youngest children and struggles to survive following the tragedy that has mourned his family and shocked all Cubans.
The young man who lost his wife Doraima García Moroña, 25 years old, and his five-year-old daughter, Nashlyn Salet Hernández García, in mid-February, sought assistance from former boxer Lino Tomasen, known as “The Cuban Iron Man”, who promotes solidarity campaigns to help vulnerable individuals.
A supporter of the activist recorded a video of the father as he loaded three bags filled with recyclable cans onto his bicycle, work that provides him with a little money to support his children, which is not enough given the crisis and inflation the country is experiencing.
In another clip, the man appealed to the solidarity of Tomasen and everyone else to help him in any way they could. Sitting next to him was his young son, while he cradled his baby daughter, who is under a year old, the same one who managed to survive the tragic poisoning.
“The Cuban Iron Man” shared on Facebook the videos recorded by his follower along with another one that documented his visit to the father and his two children this Sunday.
In the neighborhood of Guanabacoa where the family lives, surrounded by neighbors, Tomasen gave the young man 1,000 pesos in cash from his own money and food he purchased worth a total of 10,000 pesos, as revealed in a comment on the post.
"The Iron Man of Cuba" expressed that it was "sad to see a father who loses his wife and has to take care of his children" and thanked God for giving him the opportunity to provide aid to that family and others in need.
The altruistic gesture of the former boxer was joined by a Cuban resident in the United States, Eduardo Suárez, who also made a donation to the young father.
On February 15th, a young mother and her daughter passed away at the clinic in Guanabacoa due to poisoning from consuming food prepared with nitrite salt, which was mistakenly used instead of regular salt, according to a statement from the Provincial Health Directorate of Havana.
The couple's baby, less than a year old and breastfeeding, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit, but was out of danger, according to health authorities at the time. Two other adults - Doraima's mother and an uncle - were also hospitalized after tasting the food, the official sources indicated.
Initially, the victims' uncle, 74 years old, told authorities that he had purchased the nitrite salt on Compostela Street in Old Havana.
Two days after the tragedy, the police revealed new details about the case: they dismissed the idea that the toxic substance came from the informal market and indicated that the uncle of the deceased played a key role in the confusion that led to the poisoning.
A post published on the Facebook page "Héroes de Azul en Cuba," linked to the National Police, claimed that the man, who works as a raw material collector - just like his late niece's husband - had found a package of saltpeter, which he mistook for regular salt and brought home, resulting in accidental consumption by his family.
The saltpeter, or potassium nitrate, is a chemical compound used in food preservation, especially in curing meats. It has bactericidal properties; however, ingesting it in uncontrolled amounts can be highly dangerous, causing poisoning and even death.
The salt shortage in Cuba for several months, due to unresolved logistical and transportation issues by the authorities, has forced the population to purchase the food in the informal market or in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) at high prices, even paying more than 500 pesos for a package.
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