Category: Yosmany Mayeta Labrada

During the meeting with the PNR, a representative of the Provincial Administration Council (CAP) of the People’s Power of the capital confirmed the increase in robberies around ATMs. Police major Manuel Alejandro Godinez warned that “security measures” will be taken to address “the increase in assaults” at the cash machines, whose victims are mostly elderly people.

In Havana there are 398 ATMs of the 700 in the country, although the years and wear have taken more than a dozen of them out of service. Vandalism has also contributed to the reduction in the number of cash machines, like that suffered last May be three ATMs in Branch 295 of the Metropolitan Bank in the Luyano neighborhood in the Diez de Octubre district.

However, the biggest concern for the police authorities focuses on the increase in the first half of this year of robberies, as was noted at the meeting. The most affected municipality is still Centro Habana followed by Arroyo Naranjo, Diez de Octubre, San Miguel del Padron, Marianao, La Lisa, Boyeros, Guanabacoa and Habana del Este.

“These are events that occur primarily in outlying neighborhoods and where there is a higher crime rate,” a government specialist in Central Havana who works in crime prevention explained to this newspaper, declining to give his name. “The most common victims are elderly, because they are easier to frighten and because the country has more than one million magnetic cards issued to retirees.”

Major Godinez said during the meeting that the neighbors should be alerted to “avoid older people from frequenting these places alone.” He also stressed that the police have arrested several youths, suspected perpetrators of this type of theft, who are “under investigation” and “some are minors, so their parents will be sanctioned for not having them under control and monitoring their children.”

One solution for reducing theft is to better illuminate the areas around cash machines, says a customer who frequently uses the ATM on the main street of Villa Panamericana. “Sometimes I come here and it is pitch black, you can’t see your hands in front of your face,” she says.

However, Cubans have no choice: they need cash to pay for purchases, since magnetic card payment in shops is often hampered by poor communication between point-of-sale terminals and the bank.

The plan includes enabling internet accounts for doctors and specialist in the healthcare sector. That initiative began last September when the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) opened internet access to its professionals through accounts on the network of the Medical Science Information Network (Infomed).

The cost of each vehicle will range between 3,000 and 7,000 Cuban pesos (CUP), the equivalent of 150 to 300 Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) [and the same in dollars], although the first 200 are being delivered free to prominent doctors. After this first stage, the beneficiaries will be able to get bank loans to finance the purchase. The computers are being sold for about 600 Cuban pesos each.

The National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR) received four vehicles to allocate, like the rental cars for the tourism sector. Other facilities have had better luck, such as the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, which received 12 vehicles, according to an employee linked to the union leadership.

Health personnel have criticized the small number of cars being distributed and the ways in which they are being handed out. The authorities have not made public the rules for allocating the cars, leading to disgust and even small conspiracies.

At Calixto Garcia, one of the cars was assigned to Dr. Martha Larrea, professor and chair of the center’s Scientific Committee, who a few years ago returned from a mission in South Africa. “She has a car,” says an employee unhappy with the decision. “She served on mission in a country where all the doctors want to go because they pay well, and to top it off, they assign her car without seeing that she already has one,” he protests.

In other hospitals in the capital, where the distribution has already begun, the first deliveries have prioritized managers and staff linked directly to the Ministry of Public Health.

Outside the capital expectations are growing. The young doctor Yanelis, who manages a medical practice in the community of Veguita Galo in Santiago de Cuba, considers the measure a “very good” thing, focused on reducing the “leakage” of doctors who leave during missions in other countries.

Doctors Gertrudis and Carlos, a married couple who travel every day from the town of Il Frente to Juan Bruno Zayas Hospital, are excited about possible access to Internet connections, but are skeptical given the poor coverage in the area where they live. “Given how bad the cellphone service is here, imagine the internet,” they warn.

In June 2014, the Cuban government raised salaries for health professionals on the island. The increases ranged from 275 CUP to 973 CUP, the latter for grade two medical specialists.

The audience that gathered in the centrally located theater turned out to be very diverse, especially considering that Cuba does not have diplomatic relations with South Korea and this Asian country lacks official representation on the island. Nevertheless, officials from the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) attended, along with the very official Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).

Also in attendance were South Korean students residing on the island and several diplomatic representatives of other nations, including the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China.

The founder of the Busan International Film Festival, Kim Dong-Ho gave the welcome in Spanish and said that a week of the films of his country would help with “understanding Korea” and “improving our relationship.” After he praised the cultural level of Cubans he closed with an emotional “thank you” that hastened the applause of spectators. Then came darkness and with it a point of light that widened on the screen.

The night gave way to “A Hard Day,” by South Korean director Kim Seong-Hoon. The thriller maintained its suspense until the end, with the avatars of Detective Gun-Su, trying to hide the body of a person he ran over. A standing ovation just as the credits started to roll confirmed that the organizers were right to choose this film to “break the ice” for the week.

Among those responsible for the careful film selection is Susana Molina, vice president of ICAIC, who told 14ymedio that “all the films in previous years have been good quality, but the curation of these was done by Tony Mason and also this edition presents a wider program.”

The programming for Korean film week will run until next Thursday. Stand outs among the films are titles such as: I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK, Moebius, 200 Pounds Beauty, Coin Locker Girl, and The Satellite Girl and the Milk Cow. Productions that deal with romance and survival in a world of violence, as well as police dramas and the conflicts of an obese girl trying to make it in the world of pop music.

However, few moments are likely to exceed those of opening night, when the cinema mixed diplomacy with a certain dash of showbiz. After the screening of the first film, the celebrations moved to the Bar Su Restaurante in Miramar, where the surprise of the evening was the presentation of young Cubans who sang in Korean and danced typical dances of the region.

From the tables nearest the stage well-known actors such as Enrique Molina, Isabel Santos and Luisa Maria Jimenez applauded and laughed, all spellbound by that distant but nearby country.

Ana, a CubanAmerican who had been in the US for 48 years without visiting the island, told 14ymedio she was “very emotional.” With tears in her eyes she repeated, “I am Cuban,” and was received by dozens of Cubans to whom she said, “I am optimistic about the future of Cuba and its people.”

Mily Gonzalez Martinez said she left Cuba when she was four. Born in Ciego de Avila, she has been living in the United States for 46 years. Also in tears, she said: “I am very excited, very happy and glad to be here in Cuba.” And then she said: “Although I live in Miami, I grew up Cuban, my mother would not let us speak English at home.” On the changes that have recently taken place between the two countries, she said: “We have a lot of hope that these changes are good for the future and that this means they are beginning to open more doors for the people of Cuba.”

The United States firm Carnival carried about 700 people on the cruise, including some dozen CubanAmericans. This is an unprecedented event. In 1999, the government decreed a ban on Cubans entering or leaving the national territory by sea, with the aim of avoiding and preventing “terrorist actions” of which “Cuba has been a victim on numerous occasions since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.”

The arrival of the cruise ship on the island has been marked by controversy. Members of the Cuban exile community in Miami filed a lawsuit for discrimination against the cruise company Carnival, the world’s largest, when it announced that on its new route to Cuba tickets would not be sold to Cuban Americans.

The protests against the giant of recreational ocean travel led it to reverse its decision, and on April 18 it was announced that there would be no distinctions, all passengers would be welcome regardless of national origin. The Cuban government also relented and allowed Cuban Americans to arrive by sea to the island.

Travelers on the Adonia requested visas for cultural, sporting, religious or academic purposes, given the existing restrictions in the United States on tourist trips to the island. The cruise will also visit the Bay of Cienfuegos, on the southern coast of the country, and Santiago de Cuba in the east of the island.

The spontaneous welcome of the cruise passengers this Monday occurs 24 hours after the May Day parade of “confirmation and commitment” to the Revolution, held in Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution.

On the newly opened floating dock at Paseo de Paula, there were handshakes and tears of emotions. It is an event that marks a before and after in the long separation of the Cuban family.

An individual with an American flag was removed from the crowd by a group of people who appeared to be members of State Security, according to what this newspaper was able to verify

People also swarmed around the area from the Muelle de Caballeria to the San Jose warehouses, where there is currently a huge artisan and souvenir market. From there, many shouted with joy, captured the historic image on their digital cameras and cellphones, and waved Cuban and American flags.

The ship was escorted by several boats with 590 people on board, of which about half were representatives of media, according to the newspaper El País.

Passengers aboard the cruise ship disembarked after noon, facilitated by a worker from Cuban Customs. The employee said that the “Cubans and crew members” would be subjected to “rigorous control” to verify their visas.

 

Engineer Iris M. Duran Fonseca, a specialist in ETECSA’s Marketing, Communication and Business Management Support division, said the new service will benefit the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolucion, La Lisa, Centro Habana, Habana del Este, Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros and 10 de Octubre.

Arroyo Naranjo currently has one of these areas in Santa Amalia Park, where hundreds of people connect to the internet daily to communicate through social networks or by Imo, an application that lets you chat in real time with family abroad.

Alejandro, a young student in high school, told 14ymedio the advantages offered by this connectivity, despite the high price, which is 2.25 CUC (about $2.25 US) per hour of navigation. “I come every day,” he claimed, since he discovered that he could connect near his house. “Always in the evenings, because I go to school in the mornings and then I communicate with la pura (his mother) who lives in Spain,” he said.

The Mantilla Council in Arroyo Naranjo has been one of the outlying areas visited by ETECSA’s WiFi implementation specialists. El Parque de la Leche, on Caballero Street, between Pizarro and Ponce de Leon, is where the new technology will be installed. To that end, the park is in the first phase of a total refurbishment.

Yolanda, a retired teacher and resident of the area, says that since they put the first WiFi antennas in the capital she has been able to communicate with her son who lives in the United States. “Now with this Samsung phone he sent me I can see and talk to him; he left in 1994 and since then has not come over to the island,” she explains.

Neighbors near the park highlighted the need to rescue this completely abandoned place. “This may be a better option,” said Sergio Mendez, who feels happy because the “area is coming alive.”

“They will have to light the place well and also fix the access roads, because they are in poor condition,” insisted Elena, an executive member of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR).

The custodian of Mantilla park criticized the instability of the builders in this first phase. “They come one day then don’t come the next, and so the work scheduled to be completed later this year will never be completed. If they aren’t consistent in their work, the effort will be in vain,” he said.

Food vendors see the WiFi zone as a chance to improve their businesses. “There will be more people here, so soft drinks, food and the navigation cards will be in greater demand,” said Rosi, who sells sandwiches and milkshakes a few yards from the park.

The ETECSA communication specialist said it was necessary to “evaluate a set of elements according to the Board of Management of each territory and other agencies such as the National Police, the Electric Basic Organization and local representatives of Communal Services.” However, she said that neighboring towns have been included, some rural, in order to improve the communication services of their residents.

A director of the Arroyo Naranjo Council of the Municipal Administration told this newspaper that Mantilla Park was selected because it was located in a marginal area and has considered very dangerous. “Now we have to take steps to eliminate crime a little, lighting the area, putting surveillance cameras and constant control of the police in the area, which will reduce the tragic reports quite a bit,” he said.

So far, in Havana there are 17 public WiFi areas already equipped with lighting and with improved amenities. In early February, the newspaper Granma reported that the capital will have 30 new WiFi areas this year, two more for each municipality.

ETECSA also announced that in the coming months it will enable connectivity in at least three parks for each province and in other sites with a large influx of people, such as recreational and cultural centers. However, managers clarify that it will be done when the conditions exist to install the necessary technology and when they can guarantee both the comfort and security of Internet users.

A doctor from the Fifth Canaria Health Center in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, said that “seniors roaming the streets of Havana’s various municipalities will be interned” there. The employee acknowledged that she expected an influx of a little more than 200 elderly, “although this is a very high figure for the facility because it does have ideal conditions for sheltering them.”

Yaneysi Rios, a doctor at the 14^th Clinic in the municipality of Habana del Este, explained that many homeless people do not have family and need to be hospitalized for life. “It is up to us to see to these people who belong to our medical center, many are elderly and that have no family nor do they receive care from any parallel institution. In reality they need to be hospitalized for better care of their health,” she added.

One of those elders who wanders around the city is Rogelio. He can be seen in a centrally located park in Vedado as well as in the remotest neighborhoods on the outskirts. “I’m retired from transport for more than 15 years ago and since then I collect cans in different places and in nightclubs. With over 42 years of work I have no place to live, so today I stay here and tomorrow there,” he said.

Now he is trying to hide from the eyes of the police and medical teams who are inspecting the streets. He does not want to go to a detention center because he prefers “to have my independence.” Xiomara Kindelan agrees with him. Her 69-year-old brother was taken to one of those temporary centers while she wasn’t home. “Truly he roams” she declared, “but if they had told me to control him so he would not to leave the house for several days, I would have no problem, ultimately he is my younger brother.”

Neighbors on Monte street, in the municipality of Old Havana, watched when employees from Public Health approached several people begging in the streets and put them on a bus. A worker from Community Services in the area said that since early Monday the raid has been massive: “I have not seen anything like it and I have spent years working here, anyone with the hint of a being beggar was forced on the bus, many are elderly people living in the area who have children and grandchildren who are dedicated to their care.”

Reinier Lopez, a resident of Monte Street at the corner of Angeles, said he was angry because his grandfather was taken away “like a dog in the street… I do not agree with these actions, I am a trained young man and for five years I have devoted myself to my job, my house and caring for my grandfather who is 78. Now he is in a place for people with mental disorders it is not the right thing when you have family members who care for you,” he argued.

Although these measures were never officially announced, some homeless migrated to more distant neighborhoods, while the families of others are hosting them temporarily until Obama finally says goodbye to the island and life returns to normal.

María Gloria Vidal, president of the Society for Animal Welfare, lamented a few months ago in the official press that the Cuban population “suffers from certain culture and level of responsibility on the keeping of animals,” so when economic hardships affect a family “the solution is to get rid of them. Most of the time are thrown into the street.”

Since the late eighties, several groups have tried to promote Animal Welfare and Protection Act, without success. In 2000 a meeting of on the control of the dog population sponsored by the World Association of Animal Protection was held, but so far neither the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, nor the Ministry of Public Health have implemented the agreements reached at the event.

“Here is is difficult to find food for people, imagine also keeping an animal,” says Flora, a retired teacher who took her dachshund to get the surgery because she fears “having to share” her limited resources “with more animals.” Flora says she has never abandoned a pet, “I would die before I’d through an innocent into the street.”

Appointments for the sterilization operations ran out early in the last three days. Susana Hurlich, a Canadian leading the project, explained that the plan is to take care of 40 dogs and 40 cats every day until 26 February, and they have also registered some groups of animals picked up in hopes of adoption.

Hulrich explained that “given the demand for the campaign, we are now starting a new list” and they have taken steps to prepare “a space in Quinta de los Molinos” although there is still no date for its opening.

Initiatives like this should be “repeated more often” said Damian, a young man waiting his turn with a male Boxer. “We need to teach children from an early age to love animals, in order to avoid what we are seeing with abuse and abandonment,” he added.

Yanelis Nunez, a resident in the 10 de Octubre municipality, looks at the sterilization campaign with relief. “I have two cats and one has given birth several times. I think it’s time to tie it off,” she said. Nunez said that for these animals the situation for abused and abandoned animals “is worse,” because “there is much less sensitivity to it than with dogs.”

An investigation by Aniplant revealed that in Cuba about 1,500 convertible pesos a year is spent on sterilization for every 5,000 dogs, while the slaughter of these animals caught in the street uses more than 10,000 liters of gasoline a year, just to transport them. They are taken to places where overcrowding and the cruelty of the practice of euthanasia horrifies pet lovers.

The Spanky Project proposal has emerged to improve this situation. The association is led by the Canadian Terry Shewchuck, who was vacationing in Cuba several years ago and found himself alarmed as the absence of a system to care for animals. For over a decade, his group has provided clinical care and sterilization services to thousands of pets.

This coming Saturday the campaign will offer vaccinations and deworming in the Laika clinic, also in Old Havana. A moment that will again draw to the scene dozens of people who share a common feeling: a love for animals.

*The ambulatory clinic with instruments donated by the Canadian side has been opened in Casa Calderson on Oficio Street, between Santa Clara and Sol, Old Havana. Due to its limited capacity it invites interested pet owners to book an appointment by calling +53 78609463.

This is one of the factors that keeps the national rental market “irregular,” and deprives tenants of the limited guarantees granted to them by law. Carlos, 28, is a native of Ciego de Avila and since he arrived in the capital in 2009 he has moved more than ten times, “from Central Havana to Guanabacoa.” Arbitrary rent increases are the biggest problem he faces. Until recently he paid 35 convertible pesos (CUC) a month (more than $35 US) for a small room in Old Havana, but he had to leave because the owner announced a price increase.

“Most of the places where I’ve been have serious problems with the bathroom or water leaks, but as it is not my house, I don’t want to invest in it,” says the young man. The owners also don’t fulfill obligations to repair their homes, or provide minimal amenities. “I have run into everything from toilets that don’t flush to houses full of rats,” says Carlos. In Cuba, more than 60% of the housing is fair or poor condition, according to official data.

Many of those who lease in the capital are people coming from another province, trying to settle in Havana. But many are couples who don’t want to share space with their parents or in-laws. Cuba is experiencing a profound housing crisis with a deficit of more that 600,000 housing units, and an average annual construction of no more than 30,000 homes.

But not all cases are like that of Carlos. Zoila, 41 and from Santiago, has a degree in economics and works in the capital and claims to have had no problems “with shelter.” She came “on the right foot [legally**] in 2013” and since then has been paying 60 CUC for a house for herself alone, for an indefinite period.

As an economist working in the private sector she has a monthly salary that allows her to pay such a high rent, but someone working for the state would find it impossible to maintain payments that high. “I would have to go stay for a while in my parents house in Santiago,” she admits.

Many owners who have emigrated rent to foreigners, especially now with the rise of tourism and the opening to foreign investment that enable entrepreneurs to work in Cuba.

Current legislation gives Municipal Housing Directors the right to cancel a lease if, within the rental property, there are “illegal or antisocial activities, by the owner, his roommates, tenants or their companions.” The law leaves open to the interpretation of government institutions what can be considered “illegal” or “antisocial.”

In the Havana neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado, a small house that is rented for a long time can cost up to 180 CUC monthly, and a large house can exceed 300. Very few nationals can pay those prices, but those renting them focus on foreign students or entrepreneurs planning stays in Cuba of longer than three months.

As in any real estate business, there are highs and lows dictated by the invisible hand of the market. Article 74.1 of Decree Law 322 specifies that the payment of these leases is “by price freely agreed upon.” The lowest average in the capital is one convertible peso a day. This is called the “cruise price” and the only thing offered for less are properties with no bathrooms, and no security or guarantees.

Renting by the hour has also greatly expanded, in the so-called “riding schools” that function as motels. But this method can be a source of problems for the owner. “With each customer, I’m playing with fire. If a man comes here with a large woman and it turns out she is a minor, I could lose my house,” a Central Havana resident who rents a room by the hour told this newspaper.

This self-employed man is considering renting for longer periods, but fears that “people would become attached to the place, and then they won’t want to go and I would have to call the police.”

Translator’s notes:
* It is impossible to calculate the exact value of this in purchasing power then or now, but today 600 Cuban pesos is worth about $25 U.S.
** Cubans from elsewhere in the country cannot legally live in Havana without acquiring a resident permit.

A doctor at Julio Trigo Hospital details that rooms for people with dengue fever remain full because “this municipality has several unhealthy neighborhoods and slums, many streets are unpaved and the sewers are not working.” The doctor fears that under such conditions “zika will come to the country and we’ll have a situation favorable to its propagation.”

The problem is worsened by the shortage of repellents and mosquito nets in the stores in the city. A search conducted by this newspaper in shops and markets in Havana, including pharmacies that sell products both in local currency and in convertible pesos, confirms the scarce supply of these products.

Only in the centrally located Carlos III market, in Central Havana, was it possible to find a bottle with less than 3.5 ounces of repellent, and the price was 1.65 convertible pesos (CUC), equivalent to two days’ wages. Mosquito nets, meanwhile, are only for sale in departments for newborns, at small sizes and prices that exceed 15 CUC (more than $15 US).

Cases of patients who are not reported to any health center are also increasing. Many prefer to endure the illness at home rather than in a hospital, where hygienic and supply problems abound. In the case of Lucia, who had “fever, headache, red spots all over my skin,” she declined to be admitted. “”I didn’t even tell my family doctor,” she said.

TV ads warn that when a person is infected with dengue and is bitten by the Aedes aegypti mosquito it acts as a bridge to transmit the virus to others. If the patient does not remain isolated under a net, the chances of infecting family members and neighbors increases significantly.

As a part of urgent measures to eradicate the infestation in the most affected areas of Arroyo Naranjo, family physicians have developed plans for educational talks in the neighborhoods with the highest rate of infestation. In Las Manzanas, with an increased number of identified cases, they have also increased fumigation and inspections for breeding sites and larvae.

Jorge, a vector campaign worker in the Fraternidad neighborhood, explains that “with these rains, the mosquito lays her eggs anywhere water collects and this is how the epidemic grows.” He also warns, “Another danger is the accumulated garbage on street corners and makeshift dumps that trigger outbreaks.”

For many residents in the district, the greatest danger in the area is no longer badly lit streets or the frequent robberies, rather it takes the form of a small mosquito that spreads the dreaded “Breakbone Fever.”

Dayana Despaigne, mother of two, uses the water given to her by some neighbors with more resources, to clean, wash and do the cooking. She says she doesn’t have the money “to buy the water,” so she hopes for the generosity of others or of the “the workers on the aqueduct” supplying the neighborhood where she lives.

Not far from Dayana’s house is the Chicharrones neighborhood, where Luisa Hernandez said that “almost a month has gone by with no water coming to the block, and this is not only the fault of the drought.” The lady complains of the lack of organization and a regular supply schedule and says that “they have forgotten to open the aqueduct when it touches us,” referring to the taps that allow the water to flow to different areas of the city.

The situation extends to the area known as Venceremos, where the water comes every 15 days. On this occasion, according to comments from Juana Milagros Bonne, “They passed us up, because it’s been more than twenty-five days without a drop and it seems that for now it won’t come our way, because we have been informed that there is a break and that the cistern that supplies us is empty.”

The water trucks, commonly known as “pipes,” should help to ease the situation when the water doesn’t come through the actual water pipes. However, much of their cargo ends up diverted to the black market, where there is a growing demand due to need.

A resident of Altamira commented to 14ymedio that on several occasions they have bought water from the trucks because “the cycle is very long and my tank supplies several family houses.” But he considers “ten convertible pesos to be a lot of money,” and “in the neighborhood we’ve never seen the supply trucks sent by the government to supply water to the people.”

The problem is not just that the water doesn’t fall from the sky, but how much is lost through leaks and breaks. A worker on the aqueduct revealed to this newspaper that “the meters that measure the water are in poor condition in many houses, which negatively affects the wasting of water.” The employee also recognizes that “the company does not have the necessary means to repair the networks in the short term.”

Just two years ago, Raul Castro made a speech at the 26^th of July celebration in the Santiago capital where he set as a goal repairing the water system throughout the city. Today, many families in the area give up a good part of their wages to pay for the water trucks or the water carriers who sell buckets and bottles. Water days don’t seem to arrive for Santiago de Cuba.