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A man was photographed on Friday rummaging through cardboard boxes, torn bags, and debris on a central street in Santiago de Cuba, searching for something to eat that could be his only meal of the day.
The image was shared on Facebook by the communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, who documented the scene with the title "Hunger in the Street: When Trash Becomes a Table."
Mayeta accompanied the photo with a description that summarizes the gravity of the moment: "The image hurts. And it doesn't need many words. A man sits on the sidewalk on the busy Santa Rita Street, rummaging through trash for what might be his only meal of the day. Amidst cardboard, torn bags, and discarded remnants, he searches for something to put in his mouth..."
The reporter highlighted that it is common in Santiago to see people who, driven by necessity, find sustenance in waste.
"When a human being has to eat from the garbage, it's no longer just poverty. It is the most brutal symptom of a system that has failed," he declared.
Mayeta stated that the incident occurred on Santa Rita Street, but several residents in the area identified the corner of Carnicería and Santa Lucía.
The post generated numerous comments from Cubans who described the scene not as an exception, but as part of the everyday landscape of the city and the entire country.
"You can see that on every corner and at any hour," "In every dump created today in the streets of Santiago de Cuba, we see this, how sad," "On all the streets, children, adults, and the elderly search for cans, cardboard, clothes, shoes, food, and many are already sitting on the sidewalks eating, because need and hunger know no shame or dignity," were some of the opinions.
A railway worker bluntly summed up the situation: "It's sad what this town has come to due to the hunger and misery in which we live."
Recently, an elderly man without a shirt eating directly from a pile of garbage was documented on the streets of Santiago de Cuba.
Extreme poverty scenes have multiplied across the Island. Heart-wrenching images have shown the elderly, children, and adults in a state of extreme thinness digging for onions among waste, a picture that reflects the collapse of the supply system in the country.
Santiago de Cuba is among the five provinces with critical levels of food scarcity, according to recent reports that warn of the accelerated deterioration of living conditions in the eastern part of the country.
The data supports what the images show: according to recent figures, 89% of the Cuban population lives in extreme poverty, a number that sharply contrasts with the official discourse of the government. Everyone claims that the current crisis is worse than the Special Period of the 90s.
The reality depicted on the streets of Santiago contrasts sharply with official statements which at the time claimed there were no beggars in Cuba—assertions that sparked controversy and are now impossible to uphold in light of the graphic evidence circulating on social media.
Cases are piling up. Last December, a 75-year-old man was found surviving on scraps in Santiago de Cuba. Weeks later, a young person was seen eating off the ground in the middle of the street, also in the same city.
"You can see that on every corner and at any time... it's the only achievement of this misgovernment," wrote one of the users who commented on Mayeta Labrada's post.
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