English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14medio, Havana, 10 August 2015 – The drought in Guantanamo province has triggered an illegal market in water. Residents of the province are coming to pay between 300 and 500 Cuban pesos for the contents of a water truck, a lucrative business for drivers of the so-called “pipes,” which the authorities have denounced after a … Continue reading “Resale of Water, A Lucrative Business / 14ymedio”
Iván García, 8 June 2015 — This is the current scenario. About 60,000 families receive their drinking water by tanker trucks. 60% of the water distributed is lost due to breakdowns in the hydraulic system. 20% of that water is wasted due to leaks within homes. Havana Water, the city’s water utility, and state industries are responsible for … Continue reading “Havana, Between the Scarcity of Water and the Rains / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana, 25 May 2015 – A sound that is inseparable from the streets of Habana Centro (Central Havana) is the screech of the trucks filled with water, with their metal wheels on the asphalt. This symphony of necessity has become more intense in recent months because of the frequent cuts in supply that … Continue reading “About 60,000 Havanans Receive Water via Tanker Trucks / Rosa Lopez, 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, Santiago de Cuba, 9 May 2015 – The drought has become an undesirable comrade for the residents of Santiago de Cuba. For years, the city has suffered low rainfall, deficiencies in the water supply system, and an erratic distribution policy. In the midst of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of … Continue reading “The water does not come to Santiago de Cuba / 14ymedio, Yosmany Mayeta Labrada”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana, 22 March 2015 — Spring has officially arrived, but without the rain. Every day the drama worsens in the Cuban countryside, especially in the East. Throughout the length and breadth of the country, the private agricultural sector is experiencing a very difficult situation, because of the precariousness of resources and the … Continue reading “In Cuba Drought Wreaks Havoc on World Water Day / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
14ymedio, Ciego de Avila, Elvira Fernandez, 26 September 2014 – “This water will satisfy you for today. Jesus will satisfy you for eternity, do you accept him?” it reads above the two taps, in one of the most useful and widely appreciated places in Ciego de Avila today. It is the people’s filtered water service … Continue reading “Blessed be filtered water / 14ymedio, Elvira Fernandez”
HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – In Cuba there are 242 reservoirs, administered by the Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH). Together, these reservoirs can accumulate 9 billion cubic meters of water. Not to mention hundreds of small dams belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Sugar (AZCUBA), which have the capacity to store 500 million … Continue reading “Reservoirs Overflow While Farms Lack Water / Osmar Laffita Rojas”
“Not even by paying 10 CUC (12 dollars) can a family get a pipa (water truck) in order to fill buckets, tanks and containers,” says Liudmila, a resident of El Calvario, a desolate hamlet south of Havana. Although there have been deliveries of water lately, shortages continue. In the first week of January, in El … Continue reading “Havana Without Water, Another Headache for the Regime / Iván García”
Several weeks ago, in one of those tedious reflections they read on every newscast, I heard about Wikileaks. I know it seems incredible that a blogger, someone who uses the web as a means of expression, would not already know about this site with all the disclosures. But nothing is strange on this “island of … Continue reading “Wikileaks and Empty Archives / Yoani Sánchez”
It’s amazing to see the pleasure taken by so many people in this kind of cyber-paparrazi, which is very disagreeable and highly inflammable. On my planet they’re delighted, because in the cross-hairs of this unscrupulous Australian’s telescope is the eternal enemy, front and center. If there is something efficient here, where nothing works, it’s state … Continue reading “Wikileaks or Cyberpaparazzi / Rebeca Monzo”
Take note. More than 50 percent of the potable water that is distributed in the Cuban capital is lost to the poor state of the network of aqueducts and sewers. It is a drama. Also note that more than 100,000 Havana households do not have access to the precious liquid. Ask Jose Mesa, 49, what … Continue reading “Havana Water”
Ivan Garcia, Havana, 4 April 2022 — After shaving his incipient beard, Sergio, 36, a software programmer, gets his smartphone and goes online. Using the WhatsApp tool Infotienda, he tracks down which market in Havana is stocking cheese, toilet paper, and milk powder. His 10-year-old daughter and two of her friends play The Sims on … Continue reading “Shipments to Cuba to be Paid for in Miami”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 12 May 2021 — The Plaza de la Revolución Teaching Polyclinic in Havana, which claims to be a center of national reference since it was founded in 1974, is sinking these days between poor hygienic conditions and the chronic shortage of medical supplies and medicines. The three-story building, located on Ermita Street, … Continue reading “The Decline of the Polyclinic That Was a Benchmark of Cuban Medicine”
Elias Amor Bravo, Economist, 19 March 2021 — The Cuban communists have decided not to settle for applying the absurd ideas they have regarding economic affairs within the island, but now, whenever they can, they try to impose them in international forums when they have the floor. Exactly what they do not do in Cuba … Continue reading “The Public and Private Debate and the Cuban Communists”
Ivan Garcia, 1 March 2019 — Within twelve months, salaries will continue to be a joke in poor taste in Cuba. The predatory inflation caused by the dual currency will be maintained. The shortage of food in state markets will increase. Public transport will get worse. The streets will need to be paved. The water leaks will continue. Thousands of multifamily buildings, … Continue reading “Almost Two and a Half Million Cubans Didn’t Vote Yes / Ivan Garcia”
