English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
In homes where water has not come in for days, residents have started using plastic bags when they need to go to the bathroom. Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 21 August 2024 — The trick is to insert a hose into the pipes that run through the streets and sidewalks in front of the houses. If … Continue reading “The ‘Water Thieves’, an Invention to Supply Havana Homes”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 March 2023 — The Villa Clara Police discovered 13 illegal connections and nine leaks in the Hanabanilla, a 15-mile system of pipes that supplies water to a large part of the central provinces of the Island. The farmers of the area had made multiple punctures in the pipes to divert the water … Continue reading “Cuba: Police Will Go ‘House to House’ in Villa Clara to Find the Water Thieves”
Despite the announced investments, in Cienfuegos the lack of water extends from the center to the periphery 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 9 September 2024 — Three weeks have passed since the official press celebrated that water is flowing with less difficulty in Cienfuegos, thanks to the “execution of significant investments,” but the residents of … Continue reading “In Cienfuegos’ Pueblo Griffo Neighborhood, Water Comes Only Once a Month”
Residents walk through the streets with bottles and buckets to fill them in houses with cisterns that still have a little water 14ymedio, Havana, September 6, 2024 — The government of Havana assured this Friday that it is restoring the water supply service, two days after it was interrupted in the main sources of supply … Continue reading “Havana Claims To Have Repaired the Breakdowns, but There Are Neighborhoods That Are Still Without Water”
Faced with permanent harassment on his farm in Cárdenas, Ernesto is almost thinking of selling his animals and abandoning the country 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 5 June 2024 — Ernesto has had Spanish nationality since 2008 and in recent years he has traveled to Spain a few times, but he always returns. In Cuba, specifically in … Continue reading “Thieves and Bureaucrats Make Life Impossible for Cuban Ranchers”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 January 2023 — The Artemisa Police arrested four people on Friday involved in a case of theft and slaughter of cows at the El Chorro farm, located between the municipalities of San Cristóbal and Candelaria. At the time of the arrest, made at 4:00 am, the agents seized a firearm, ammunition for a second … Continue reading “Four Armed Cattle Thieves Arrested in Artemisa, Cuba”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, July 14, 2020 – Boris grows cucumbers, some varieties of garlic and aromatic herbs on the patio of his house in La Lisa, Havana. He says he’s preparing “for what’s coming, which will be hard,” so he’s filled about 20 plastic containers, which used to hold paint, with a little earth … Continue reading “Without Water There Won’t be Squash in Urban Gardens”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 February 2020 — The strong smell and taste of oil of the water in the middle of last week in several Havana neighborhoods was not due to people’s imagination, nor was it a sabotage of “The Clandestinos,” as was rumored. The cause was a rupture of a pipeline that carries fuel to the … Continue reading “A Sunday Without Water in Havana”
The taxes and hard currency in the system of international legal consulting and special notaries — for foreigners — enabled in every Cuban province by the Ministry of Justice, does not appear in the Yearbook of the National Statistics Office, but must be one of the most profitable sources for the state bureaucracy, whose avidity … Continue reading “White-collar thieves among the legal profession / Miguel Iturría Savón”
Troubled waters, a growth in the number of jineteras — prostitutes — and thieves. With the number of unemployed expected to be more than a million in the coming year, the streets of Havana will be getting more dangerous and cheap hookers will be the order of the day. Loipa, 24, draws his weapon. After … Continue reading “Hookers and Thieves Could Increase With The Layoffs / Iván García”
They are not driven by the desire for economic improvement, because they have lived for years in the bubble of receiving remittances in foreign currency 14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 7 September 2024 — She decided to pack her bags in less than 24 hours. It was a Tuesday. Gladys had gone out with … Continue reading “Lack of Security and a Health Crisis, New Reasons for Cuban Emigration”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 18 July 2024 — The man is about 50 years old and carries two sacks loaded with empty soda, malt and beer cans. He heads to Lealtad Street, in Centro Habana, where the neighbors already know him, and sit on the threshold of their houses to watch his routine. The … Continue reading “Tin Can Carpets Are Back on the Streets of Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 June 2023 — The parents of the Cuban Catholic priest Leandro Naun were assaulted this Monday in the Santa María neighborhood, on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba. Three masked men, who broke into their house around midnight to rob them, were discovered by Elsy Hung, the priest’s mother. In their escape, … Continue reading “The Parents of a Priest Are Injured in an Assault on His Home in Santiago de Cuba”
Ivan García, 26 May 2023 — The National Highway running through Matanzas province divides Los Arabos municipality in two directions. On the left, a town of just over 23 thousand inhabitants, cracked streets, and wagons pulled by horses that in their tiresome trot leave their poop on the main road. On the right, a handful … Continue reading “Cooking Gas Is Also Lacking In Cuba”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 17 May 2023 — The ‘Special Period‘ in Cuba is remembered for the long blackouts and food shortages, but also for having been a time when vandalism and robberies reached alarming levels throughout the Island. Light bulbs disappeared from schools and hospitals, toilet fittings remained in place barely a … Continue reading “Looting, Plunder, Pillage: The Crisis Brings Out the Worst in Cubans”
