A video shared on TikTok reveals the harsh reality that many Cubans face in order to access water amid the ongoing crisis of basic services on the Island.
The images, posted by the user identified as @.daris.isisda.a.d, show a group of people transporting a wheelbarrow and several plastic gallons to the tracks of the Argentina sugar mill, one of the two sugar mills in the municipality of Florida, Camagüey, to collect water and use it, at least, for bathing.
"Look at where we get water to bathe, gentlemen; isn't it true that Cubans have to struggle?" comments the woman recording the video as she focuses on the location: a stretch of dilapidated railway tracks, surrounded by weeds and crumbling industrial structures.
The images show how the young people place the containers in a spot where water accumulates and fill them manually. Afterwards, they transport the gallons in an improvised wheelbarrow along a dirt path, amidst surroundings characterized by neglect.
The Argentine central, apparently out of operation for years, shows rusty wagons and dilapidated industrial buildings, symbols of the decline of an industry that was for decades one of the economic pillars of the country.
The scene has prompted numerous reactions on social media, where users lament that in the year 2026, there are still Cubans forced to rely on makeshift water sources due to the instability of the supply in their communities.
The drinking water crisis has become a recurring problem in various provinces of the country, affected by leaks, breaks in the hydraulic systems, and lack of investments.
Meanwhile, the population continues to find solutions on their own, in a context of hardship that particularly affects the most vulnerable neighborhoods.
The video brings to light a daily reality for thousands of Cuban families: the need to "invent" solutions in the absence of guaranteed basic services.
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