Cuban Voices Cry Out: "We're Living in a Nightmare" Amid Health Crisis

The recent report by CiberCuba on the crisis of “combined arboviruses” in Cuba has sparked a flood of reactions on social media, with hundreds of citizens revealing a reality far worse than what the regime officially acknowledges. On the Facebook page of the media outlet, comments echoed the healthcare collapse, collective despair, and total loss of trust in public institutions. “What we are living through is a nightmare,” wrote one user, capturing the general sentiment.

Cubans expressed frustration not only with the mosquito-borne viruses like dengue, chikungunya, and Oropouche but also with the conditions exacerbating their spread: endless blackouts, water shortages, piles of trash, overwhelmed hospitals, and lack of medicine. From Old Havana, a reader sardonically noted, "There are more mosquitoes than food." Others added that the city is a "dump," that "fumigation is nonexistent," that "blackouts give life to mosquitoes," and that the government "turns a blind eye while people fall ill and die."

A Sick Nation Without Answers

Many comments pointed to a shared conclusion: environmental degradation and government inaction are the perfect breeding grounds for epidemics. Several users described how “there is no hygiene in the streets, the water runs muddy like sludge, and hospitals lack reagents and electricity.” From various provinces, others declared that “there is no fuel for fumigation or medicines to treat anyone,” and that healthcare centers “are overwhelmed” with doctors doing their best without resources.

A pregnant woman shared her ordeal of falling ill in recent weeks: “It’s the most horrible thing. Hospitals are overrun, and there’s nothing to help us. Pregnant women are enduring this alone.”

"They're Killing Us Slowly"

A particularly shared post went viral, summarizing the widespread frustration: “How much longer will we endure... There’s no health, no education, no electricity, no water, no food. They’ve taken everything from us, even our smiles. We almost look like zombies because we can’t even sleep with the blackouts and mosquitoes.” The post gathered hundreds of reactions and responses in a matter of hours, with most agreeing on a diagnosis of total collapse. “They’re killing us slowly, without medicine, without food, without water, and with inadequate hospitals,” wrote one user.

Other comments displayed desperation and resignation: “Better to die than continue with this agony,” one said; “In Cuba, staying alive is a miracle... it’s as if we were dead, because we’re not really living,” another wrote.

The Deadly Mix of Trash, Mosquitoes, and Blackouts

Many testimonies linked the current epidemic to the collapse of basic services. “Between the arboviruses and hunger, we’ll all die here,” a reader expressed. In neighborhoods of Havana, such as Vista Alegre and Juanelo, residents claimed that “every block has several people sick with the Oropouche virus.” “On my block, every house has sick people, and public health neither fumigates nor does anything. The trash is on fire,” described another person.

Others recounted scenes of absolute neglect: “I’ve had a sewage trench in front of my house for a year. I went with a letter, and they never came,” shared a neighbor.

Between Anger and Sarcasm

While most reactions were of distress, many also expressed anger or sarcasm toward the official narrative that insists “everything is under control.” “The medical powerhouse,” several Cubans wrote with irony, accompanied by yawning emojis. Others added: “They made us believe we were a medical powerhouse, but COVID showed there’s no power here.” Some users took the critique to a political level with dark humor, saying that “the real arboviruses are the leaders, ticks sucking the life out of the people.”

"This is War"

Comments from older individuals, many sick or caring for infected relatives, revealed a harsher dimension of the problem. “This is war, a cold war,” one woman wrote. “I never thought we’d live like this, without food, without light, without medicine. Surviving isn’t easy.” Others mixed complaints with religious invocations: “God have mercy on the Cubans,” dozens of messages repeated. “Only a miracle can save us,” some affirmed. “What’s happening is strange and very difficult. All who have gone through it have suffered terribly.”

"They're Letting Us Die"

In recent hours, numerous comments agreed that deaths from fever, vomiting, and hemorrhages are multiplying, although authorities do not officially attribute them to any virus. “They don’t recognize it because they don’t have the means to confront it,” wrote one user. Others added: “Hospitals have no reagents, no medicines, and they don’t even acknowledge that people have died. It’s a disaster of inept rulers.” A woman bluntly summarized the popular sentiment: “They would have to get infected themselves or their families to acknowledge what’s happening. People are dying, and they shamelessly won’t admit it.”

An Exhausted Nation

Messages also depicted a broader social crisis, where illness is just a symptom. “Everything is lacking: food, medicine, transportation, cleanliness, and shame,” one user wrote. “This is the complete package.” Others pointed to political despair: “They’re letting us die. The government knows what’s happening, but they don’t care,” read a message. “Cuba is dying slowly,” several others repeated. Some blamed collective fear: “Cuba isn’t being killed; we’re letting ourselves be killed. Fear has become a terminal disease.”

The Silent Cost

Amidst anger, sarcasm, and prayer, voices agreed on one perception: the country is sick, and the State lacks both the will and resources to heal it. As blackouts leave homes without fans, hospitals without light, and neighborhoods without fumigation, the mosquito—now a symbol of a nation in crisis—continues its unchecked course. “Every street is a dump,” summed up one of the most repeated comments. “Mosquitoes lift you off your feet. People are getting sick and dying, and no one does a damn thing.”

Cuba, as the voices on social media say, is experiencing its most dangerous epidemic: abandonment. And as one reader concluded, with resignation and hope: “When a nation is sick and its government remains silent, silence also kills.”