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The independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada reported on social media the case of a pregnant mother with three children who is living in precarious conditions in Songo, Santiago de Cuba province, and has not received assistance following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
In the post, it was reported that "in the year 2025, on Pecuario Street in the town of Songo, lives Caridad Calión Le, a pregnant woman and mother of three small children who is now facing an unacceptable reality."
Mayeta detailed that "Caridad lives in extreme conditions: a dirt floor turned to mud, without resources, without a dry mattress, without official assistance, and with the responsibility of taking care of her children while facing a high-risk pregnancy."
According to the journalist, “after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, her situation became even more critical. And while she fights alone, the response from the authorities has been indifference. The local delegate didn’t bring any aid; he only told her to put the mattress out in the sun. Shameful.”
She added that “Caridad spends the day at the maternal home in Songo with her two youngest children, but returns every evening to a house that is not safe for any human being, let alone for a pregnant woman and three minors.”
In another part of her publication, Mayeta expressed regret that “while those at the top live like kings, the people endure in neglect and mud” and asked, “Who listens to them? Who is accountable for them and their children? The people are once again the people. The State becomes silence once more.”
The images shared by the journalist show the interior of the house: open wooden walls, dirt floors with moisture, a tattered mattress, and an improvised outdoor bathroom. In one of them, Caridad stands next to two of her children inside a home that, according to Mayeta himself, “is not safe for any human being.”
The complaint generated dozens of comments reflecting the outrage and public debate surrounding the vulnerable situation of many Cuban mothers. Some users called out the lack of state assistance and access to contraceptive methods; others, on the contrary, blamed the women for their situation and the absence of family planning.
Among the messages, there were also calls for empathy and offers of direct help: individuals interested in reaching out to the family to send donations or material assistance.
While the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel promised during a visit to communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa in Río Cauto, Granma province, that “no one will be left homeless” and that “the country will help them to recover,” the reality described in cases such as that of Caridad Calión Le in Songo presents a different picture. The images shared by Yosmany Mayeta Labrada show that many families are still without assistance or basic resources, despite the support and reconstruction commitments announced by the president.
The story of this mother is not an isolated incident. In Guantánamo, another Cuban mother, identified as Mariannis, lost her home and all her possessions due to the same hurricane. In statements to Telemundo 51, she said: “The cyclone took everything from me, it took my house, it left me with nothing.”
Mariannis, mother of five children, explained that she "lives on the little that the father of her children gives her" and reached out for help through social media. Her situation is similar to that of other families in the eastern provinces who have been left without shelter or basic resources after Hurricane Melissa.
Meanwhile, Cuban-American residents in South Florida have organized shipments of humanitarian aid for those affected, without the involvement of the Cuban regime.
Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba with great intensity, leaving thousands of families affected in Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma. Numerous reports on social media and independent media highlight the lack of response from authorities and the precarious situation many mothers with young children are facing.
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