The independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada shared a video on social media that shows the precarious conditions in which the residents of the Altamira neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba live following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. In the footage, testimonies can be heard from individuals who claim they have no food, water, or electricity, and that they are surrounded by garbage and debris without receiving aid from the authorities.
From the neighborhood, a resident shared her reality and denounced the conditions they are living in, saying, “it looks like a desert.” In her testimony, she stated that “absolutely no one has come to pick up the garbage or ask anything.” She explained that they are “without food, without water, without electricity,” and “completely uninformed.”
At another point, it shows how the neighbors cook with firewood due to the lack of gas and electricity. "This is how we all are; it's not just here, all of Santiago de Cuba is cooking with firewood," one can be heard saying.
The journalist, a native of the neighborhood, described the situation as a blend of neglect and popular resistance. In the text accompanying the video, he noted that the streets of Altamira "remain filled with garbage and debris" and that the electric and telecommunications poles "lay collapsed as symbols of an infrastructure that was never a priority."
Mayeta asserted that in the area "neither authorities, nor social workers, nor institutional solidarity have shown up," and emphasized that the neighbors themselves "organize, note the affected individuals, and help each other without asking about politics or ideology."
In another subsequent post, the reporter shared that his brother lost his home during the hurricane. “A zinc wall of his precarious house collapsed. The fibrocement roof, pieced together from scraps he collected after Hurricane Sandy thirteen years ago, came down as if time had been waiting for this moment to reclaim every day of silent effort,” he wrote.
In that same message, he reflected on the lack of institutional response and the value of solidarity among neighbors: “When the state abandons, the people come together… Altamira lives, Altamira resists, Altamira rises with us or without anyone else.”
Subsequently, he launched a call to gather humanitarian aid for the victims. This Tuesday, we open our hands and hearts to collect humanitarian assistance for those affected by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba. From one dollar to whatever you can and wish to contribute. Every little bit counts in bringing food and essential products to families in need,” he wrote while announcing the campaign.
The posts generated numerous reactions from people who identified with the described situation and denounced the lack of institutional response. Many commented that throughout the city, the streets are still filled with fallen trees and garbage, that there is no water or electricity, and that the internet connection is frequently interrupted. Others lamented the hunger and precariousness faced by the population, describing the outlook as inhumane and sad.
Santiago de Cuba after the hurricane
The hurricane Melissa, with sustained winds of 195 km/h, caused significant material damage in Santiago de Cuba. Reports indicated landslides, fallen utility poles, prolonged interruptions in water and electricity service, and impacts in the municipalities of Guamá, Palma Soriano, San Luis, Contramaestre, and El Cobre.
After the beating, the opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, head of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), reported on his Facebook account that "dozens of people are without electricity, without food, without fuel to prepare whatever may appear" and warned about the increase in cases of arboviral diseases. “Everything is chaotic. Cuba needs to change,” he wrote.
The provincial authorities, headed by Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, acknowledged that the situation "is very complex" and that recovery will be gradual.
Meanwhile, in neighborhoods like Altamira, testimonies gathered by Yosmany Mayeta Labrada reveal a community trying to move forward amidst destruction and a lack of official support.
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