An 83-year-old Cuban grandmother has touched the hearts of thousands after sharing, with both helplessness and a serenity that moves, the struggles she faces on the island after a lifetime of hard work.
"57 years I worked in this country and what do I have?" he lamented in a video published on Facebook, during a conversation with the Cuban priest Leandro Naun Hung. His straightforward and unembellished statement encapsulates the feeling of abandonment that many elderly people in Cuba are experiencing today.
The woman, who was a teacher, does not speak from a place of political complaint but rather from hunger. "An 83-year-old woman going hungry. How is this possible?" she questions during the conversation. She admits that she hasn’t been to a store to buy rice in a month and that she survives thanks to the assistance she receives. "I am here waiting for something," she says, as the priest hands her a package with milk, cereal, and other basic food items.
In the midst of the gesture of solidarity, the scene takes on an even harsher tone. "This is so that you can gain strength and not die on me before seeing what’s going to happen," the priest jokingly remarks. She responds with a plea that reveals both despair and faith: every night she prays to God for life so she can witness what happens with Cuba.
The testimony comes at a time when the economic crisis is hitting Cuba, particularly hard on retirees. Pensions, eroded by inflation and shortages, barely cover basic necessities, while prices for food and essential goods continue to soar. For many seniors, relying on remittances or informal assistance has become the only option.
The story of this grandmother is not an isolated case, but her phrase — "I worked for 57 years and have nothing" — has resonated deeply because it gives a face and a voice to a reality that thousands live in silence.
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