A Cuban woman, known on TikTok as @emprendedesdecuba, recently shared a raw account from the streets of Havana, highlighting the harsh realities of life in the nation's capital. "I live in Cuba and went to Havana, you know, to buy myself a pair of earrings," she begins in the video. The footage exposes crumbling archways, stagnant sewage, peeling walls, piled-up trash, and street vendors selling food.
She remarks, "If Eusebio Leal saw this, he'd leave again... look at this, folks, Cubans have turned against each other." As she walks, she points out the absence of gas in homes and the sale of low-quality electric stoves: "You know that gas is scarce and extremely expensive, so they sell these little stoves that last two days for a ton of money. We're gouging each other's eyes out."
The Daily Struggle for Basic Necessities
She questions, "And what about those who can't afford it, what do they cook with? Wood?" Later, she comments, "We're turning on each other. Look at the prices, folks. Children begging for money, it left me traumatized. I hadn't seen this here so much before."
She observes, "They're building another hotel to squeeze money from all the tourists, for the well-fed, because the locals here don't see a dime." Throughout her walk, the woman captures scenes of streets with stagnant water: "How can there not be dengue, my dear? It's not just dengue, it's chikungunya, gorongonga, and purongonga... diseases we don't even know the names of."
Voices of Desperation
"We're living as if time has stopped, as if the apocalypse has arrived. God have mercy on Cuba, please, how long will this last?" she concludes. The post sparked numerous comments from people expressing similar emotions: sadness, concern, support, or resignation. Frequent responses included phrases like "Havana is falling apart," "It's my neighborhood, my city, how sad," or "It's heartbreaking to see how our country has been ruined."
This video follows a previous account by the same user, where she detailed paying 23,000 pesos for a small amount of pork and 9,000 pesos for gas in Bahía, east of Havana, all while navigating through accumulated trash and unsanitary conditions. "You don't live here; you survive," she expressed at the time.
Environmental and Health Challenges
The scenes align with recent admissions from Armando Rodríguez Batista, Cuba's Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment, who acknowledged that "trash is scattered across Havana" and labeled the issue a "sanitary, environmental, social, and spiritual" risk. Additionally, there's been a resurgence of arboviral diseases. In Matanzas, dengue and chikungunya have been confirmed in at least six municipalities, with control efforts hampered by resource shortages. Furthermore, several patients have been admitted to intensive care due to dengue complications in various provinces.
Understanding the Crisis in Havana
What did the TikTok video reveal about Havana?
The video highlighted the severe deterioration of infrastructure, with images of crumbling buildings, stagnant sewage, and people struggling to purchase basic necessities due to inflation and scarcity.
Why is the lack of gas a significant issue in Havana?
The scarcity and high cost of gas have forced residents to rely on low-quality electric stoves, exacerbating the economic burden as these stoves are expensive and unreliable.
What are the health concerns in Havana?
The accumulation of garbage and stagnant water has led to the spread of diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, posing significant health risks to the population.