Two women stand with their belongings in a Havana doorway to demand decent housing

Two women remain planted in the vicinity of the “El Venus” shelter, in Old Havana - 559 Zulueta Street between Corrales and Monte - since last Monday, with the purpose of demanding housing from the authorities.

“Here in this shelter we are going to die and that is what they want, therefore, I am not going to leave here until they give me my home, which belongs to me by right,” declared one of those affected to Cubanet.

The woman, who has been sheltered for 28 years, has explained that the humidity and poor general conditions of the room she is assigned in the shelter have worsened her illnesses.

“I had to go out to protest because my lungs are being affected and what they want is that, for me to die and that can't be. Recently I was hospitalized for a month because of the humidity, the shit and the fungus that comes down the walls, and I can't take it anymore," she told the aforementioned media.

The decision to take his belongings to the shelter portal is to pressure a solution to his problem, which he has not found despite spending many years demanding attention to his case.

The woman took the opportunity to denounce to the aforementioned media the growing corruption that exists in the field of housing on the Island, where, in her opinion, houses are being sold instead of giving them to people who have been housed for many years.

The elderly woman interviewed explained that this is not the first time she has protested in a similar way, although she points out that last year the authorities convinced her and other sheltered people to abandon the protest, under the threat of being expelled from the shelter. However, he assures that this time he is not going to give up because his health is at stake.

"It seems to me that as a revolutionary Cuban, my problem must be resolved, because I can't take it anymore," concluded the old woman.

The other Cuban who has decided to protest is recovering from ischemia and has bone problems. To recover, doctors have recommended that he needs to move to a place with better conditions.

The situation described is not an isolated case on the Island, where 929,695 houses are missing, of which about 527 thousand must be built and another 402 thousand rehabilitated, as recently stated by the general director of Housing, Vivian Rodríguez.

The serious housing crisis that the Island suffers often leaves testimonies of the thousands of Cubans who live in buildings in deplorable conditions, some even declared uninhabitable due to a high risk of collapse.