A doctor from Matanzas named Griselda has been without electricity in her home in the Versalles neighborhood for nearly three months, while caring alone for her mother, who is bedridden after suffering two pelvic fractures.
The complaint was published on Facebook by journalist Yunielis Moliner Isasi, known as Yuni Moliner, correspondent for Radio Habana Cuba and collaborator with the state media outlets in Matanzas, Radio 26 and TV Yumurí.
Griselda's family history has been marked by successive hardships. Eight months ago, her father passed away. Just three days later, her mother, Nereida Granja Alfonso, had a fall that resulted in two pelvic fractures, leaving her bedridden with orthopedic issues that prevent her from getting up.
Since then, Griselda left her job as a doctor to become her mother's sole caregiver.
The electrical problem compounded that burden on June 11, when some street cables came into contact and left two entire blocks without power. About ten days later, a vehicle from the electric company arrived, but there was no power at that moment to verify the fault.
When the service was restored in the area, four houses—two on the ground floor and two on the upper floor—were left out, including this family's home.
Since then, Griselda made efforts with the Basic Electric Office (OBE), personally visited their offices—leaving her mother in the care of someone she could barely afford—and contacted the municipal government and the technical deputy director of the company. The response was always the same: they would take note. But the solution never arrived.
On September 2nd, two electrical engineers who reviewed the case determined that it apparently involved a dropped phase from the pole supplying power to the homes. However, there was no current at that time, and the visit was unfruitful.
The telephone complaint system also failed to function. On one occasion, when calling 188888, the complaint was marked as "resolved" even though the problem had not been addressed.
On September fifth, the situation worsened: the "little horse" on the pole in front of the house fell during the early morning, right when there was electricity. A company vehicle arrived, but Griselda was in the back of the house taking care of her mother, and no one notified her.
Since then, she continues to call, and the response she receives is that the case will be reported to the Office.
"But electricity still hasn't reached their home," emphasizes Yuni Moliner in her post.
What the journalist describes goes beyond a technical breakdown: "a healthcare professional who stopped working to care for her bedridden mother after losing her father, and who has been trying for months to resolve a basic issue that becomes even more serious when there is a person in the house with very limited mobility."
The case is another example of the severe electrical crisis that Matanzas is experiencing, where residents reported in June going 85 hours straight without service.
It is not the first time that a localized failure in the distribution network has left the people of Matanzas without electricity for weeks. In July, around 80 homes in the Frutas Selectas circuit went several days without power due to a blown fuse, with no technician arriving to replace the part.
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