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The official response to the lack of beds for those affected by Hurricane Melissa has sparked a heated debate about ethics, humanity, and the political will of Cuban authorities, as well as the resources available in the country.
The controversy erupted after a video circulated in which the president of the National Defense Council and ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel responded in a disheveled tone to a woman who complained about the loss of her bed: “I don't have one to give you right now either,” after days of hardship and waiting for resources following the devastating storm.
By the way, the engineer and entrepreneur Yulieta Hernández Díaz questioned through her profile on Facebook the lack of management and empathy from the leaders, pointing out that there are viable alternatives and enough resources if there were a real will to take action.
Hernández recalled that companies such as Muebles Ludema (Las Tunas), Konfort, or the Dujo complex, suppliers of furniture for luxury hotels like the Packard, the Manzana Kempinski, or the Torre de K and 23 in Havana, could meet the demand for beds and mattresses with the substantial donations already received.
“If you really want to stop investing in hotels, that’s part of the answer,” he emphasized.
As a possible solution, he reminded that the furnishings of hotels, including beds and mattresses, "must be renewed frequently to maintain their standard and classification. Let's add the thousands of empty rooms currently in the hotels across the country, along with the mattresses received as part of international donations."
The author also insisted that poverty should not be used as a media spectacle, but acknowledged that many of the images circulated after the hurricane have allowed the visibility of the structural poverty that the official discourse attempts to conceal.
"A mattress is not a luxury. It is a minimum foundation for rest, health, and recovery. One cannot ask for patience from someone who sleeps on the floor or without a roof. One cannot speak of dignity without ensuring the basics," Hernández argued.
Dozens of users supported the young engineer's reflection with comments that reveal their anger towards the government's management.
"If there’s no bed, president, take yours and give it to that lady," wrote an outraged user.
Others criticized the "media show" of the official tours and the lack of a real contingency plan that prioritizes the dignity and basic needs of those affected.
Other voices agreed that the emergency is not only a consequence of the hurricane but also of the country's structural deterioration and the lack of will from a government and officials who, without any shame, claim that “the hotels belong to the people,” while spending more on luxury facilities for tourism than on essential supplies for people who are now much poorer.
Despite the prolonged stagnation of the tourism sector, the drop in the number of visitors, a very low hotel occupancy rate, and the profound shortages affecting the population in key areas such as public health and food production, the government and the military elite managing the Business Administration Group S.A. (GAESA) continue to prioritize investments related to the sector.
The hurricane Melissa has left numerous families in eastern Cuba living in inhumane conditions, without access to drinking water, food, or medical care.
Testimonials from those affected corroborate the poverty and dire conditions in which many of the affected individuals lived, many of them without even a bed or an adequate mattress to sleep on.
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