A content creator identified as Karina Emprende reported that her family went 42 consecutive hours without electricity and more than three weeks without water. Her testimony captures the desperation of millions of people in Cuba.
“We were without power for 42 hours, it’s not 10 or 15 anymore, it’s 42,” says Karina in the video posted on her Facebook profile, which has garnered over 80,000 views and more than 5,600 reactions in just a few hours.
On the water, his account is equally striking: "It’s been like three weeks since I last saw it, maybe more, I don’t even know, I’ve lost track."
To be able to bathe, she had to turn to the informal market and pay 9,000 Cuban pesos for a water tank. "Otherwise, I would be like most people who don't have water, not even to drink," she warns.
Karina also describes the impossibility of storing food. They have less than three hours of electricity a day, making it a luxury that no one can afford to buy food for several days. "If they give you three hours of electricity a day, believe me, that's not enough to keep things frozen," she explains.
The testimony also addresses the insecurity generated by nighttime blackouts. "Near my house, right there, a young man was killed at night. If it's eight in the evening, don't even think about going out," recounts Karina, linking the darkness to the rise in violence in the neighborhoods.
For her, the paralysis imposed by this crisis goes beyond mere discomfort.
"You can't go to work because there is no transportation. You can't do anything at home, because without water and electricity, what can you do in the house? So you just sit and watch your life go by." Their conclusion is straightforward: "They are robbing everyone of their lives."
The video sparked a wave of reactions among followers. "They are certainly stealing our lives in this country. Appliances break down and the food we work so hard to obtain goes to waste, and who is held responsible for that? No one. However, those who govern this country never run out of electricity," wrote a user.
Another pointed out: "The critical situation we are experiencing goes beyond the personal sacrifices you make to create a better quality of life; we are talking about basic resources, human priorities."
Karina's testimony is set against a historic electricity crisis in Cuba. The water crisis exacerbates the situation: 87% of Cuban aqueducts rely on the electrical system for pumping.
In recent days, other Cuban women have taken to social media after more than 27 hours without electricity, and the testimonies of those who have been without light, water, and gas for days have multiplied as a sustained form of citizen protest. One user summarized it in four words in the comments on Karina's video: "It’s not even surviving."
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