Cuban who recently arrived in Uruguay reports abandonment after suffering an accident: "Here we are nobody."

A young Cuban woman publicly denounced the lack of medical attention and institutional neglect she experienced after being involved in a traffic accident in Montevideo.

The testimony was shared by Nora Paz, 29, in the Facebook group "Cubanos en Uruguay," where she detailed the ordeal she experienced on Thursday, May 15th.

Nora, who has only been in the country for a month, reported that while she was cycling in front of the company Urofarma, an employee there drove her car into Nora's path, causing a collision that resulted in a painful leg injury.

According to his account, he remained on the ground for more than two hours waiting for medical assistance, with no ambulance arriving.

"The police arrived in five minutes, took a statement, but nothing happened to the girl, despite it being her fault and everything being recorded on cameras," the young woman wrote.

She added that when she was finally transferred, she did not receive hospital care due to not having health insurance, and was not assigned a bed in any public facility.

Upon returning home, the pain worsened. Nora tried again to contact emergency services, calling 105 and 911, but she claims she received no response. "No one came to help me, the ambulance never arrived," she lamented.

With the help of a few acquaintances, he managed to improvise a splint using a board and a towel. "Thank God it wasn't something more serious, otherwise I would be regretting it," he stated.

The young woman also criticized the lack of humanity shown by the driver involved in the accident, noting that despite working for a pharmaceutical company, she did not offer any medication or assistance.

"Here we are nobody. Over there too, but here even less," she wrote, referring to her condition as a Cuban migrant.

Nora concluded her message by asking for her story to be shared to reach the relevant authorities and that justice be served. "I'm not asking anything from those who are reading this, just that you share," she ended her post.

This case generated various reactions among members of the migrant community in Uruguay.

Some point out that experiences like Nora's are more common than publicly acknowledged, while others argue that the young woman lacks knowledge on how to act in such situations.

"When I arrived in Uruguay the next day, I already had public health coverage and I've been doing wonderfully for almost seven years with it; otherwise, I would have switched to private healthcare. And the girl who caused your accident is not going to give you medication because she works for a pharmaceutical company; that company is not hers," clarified a woman from Camagüey.

"My husband had an accident, he had surgery, and everything was free; all you have to do is go and enroll in ASSE (State Health Services)," said a young woman.

"You need to complete the procedures for public health; they will affiliate you even with a passport..." affirmed a Cuban father.

"Go to Uruguay Street, there you'll find public lawyers who are free for everyone, and file your report there. They will advise you, and you can claim from the insurance of the person who hit you," suggested another Cuban.

"In public health, waiting two and a half days in the emergency room for a doctor to attend to my family member is not because you are Cuban; the health issue is a disaster," a Uruguayan woman asserted.

"Poor girl, if it had been the other way around and it had happened in Cuba, she would have been taken care of much better than any Cuban. But the reality is that if we are nothing in our country, it’s much worse outside, for not having our families by our side," a Cuban woman recalled.

Frequently Asked Questions about Healthcare and the Situation of Migrants in Uruguay