Related videos:
As Hurricane Melissa approaches the eastern region of Cuba, heartbreaking stories emerge: Cuban writer and activist Yasser Sosa Tamayo shared on social media the story of a 17-year-old young mother who asked for help to obtain milk for her baby.
“Some scenes hurt so much that they force you to open your eyes,” Sosa wrote on his profile, recounting how the girl sent him a message with the words “I don’t have milk for my child,” a phrase that, he said, “breaks through any language.”
The activist said that he met with her this Saturday and gave her a bag of food, money for milk, and the promise to help her resume her studies.
Sosa explained that the young woman's identity is protected to prevent her public exposure and reflected on the vulnerability of adolescent mothers in today's Cuba, marked by poverty, a lack of basic resources, and state indifference.
“The shame is not yours, the shame is ours,” he wrote, while urging not to normalize these kinds of stories.
In the post, numerous users expressed their outrage and solidarity regarding the situation of the girl and her son.
Cases like this are recurring in various provinces across the country, especially in the rural areas of eastern Cuba, where the shortage of food and basic products has worsened in recent months.
And in this context of great insecurity affecting the eastern region, just a few hours before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel stated this Saturday that the regime's authorities are “in permanent contact” with the provincial leaders of the Communist Party in the areas that could suffer the direct impact of Hurricane Melissa.
The account of Sosa emerges as Hurricane Melissa, a category 4 storm, approaches the eastern region with sustained winds of 220 kilometers per hour, according to a report this Sunday from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States.
The provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguín remain on alert for heavy rains, landslides, and storm surges.
The situation in those provinces is critical: power outages of more than 18 hours a day and a lack of information hinder preparations for the impact of the cyclone.
Authorities recommend that the public stay informed through updates from the Meteorological Institute and the NHC, and to follow the guidelines from Civil Defense.
As the country braces for the impact of the hurricane, the story of this teenage mother brings a human face to the crisis faced by thousands of Cuban families who, with barely any resources, confront both the storm and their daily struggles.
Filed under: