A Cuban woman living in the United States shared on social media a shocking and heartbreaking incident her family experienced in Cuba. Amid the island's severe crisis, their pressure cooker filled with beans was stolen while cooking on a charcoal stove.
The footage of this account was posted by La Familia Cubana Clips on Instagram and has garnered thousands of views and numerous comments.
A Daily Struggle in Rural Cuba
The woman recounted that her family, residing in a rural area of eastern Cuba, had resorted to using a charcoal stove in their yard due to the lack of electricity and cooking gas. This has become a common scenario for many Cuban households facing extended power outages and fuel shortages.
As the beans were simmering, the cook briefly stepped inside to prepare a sofrito. Upon returning to the yard, the charcoal was still burning, but the pressure cooker was gone.
A Desperate Act Amidst Scarcity
“She searched frantically for the pot but couldn’t find it, although she heard the hissing steam in the distance. Looking up, she saw someone running off, clutching the cooker,” the woman recounted.
Beyond the immediate danger—since the cooker could have exploded during the escape—this incident underscores the hunger, desperation, and poverty currently gripping Cuba.
A Reflection of a Society on Edge
Stealing a hot pressure cooker filled with boiling beans is emblematic of a society at its breaking point. The constant food shortages, frequent power outages, and lack of domestic gas are driving people to unimaginable actions.
“It’s sad, but respect and compassion have vanished. People will steal anything, even a hot pressure cooker with beans,” lamented the Cuban woman from her home in the U.S.
Such stories are commonplace in a country where the food and energy crisis is severely impacting millions of families, forcing them to cook with wood or charcoal and to survive amidst the collapse of the socialist economic system.
Community Reactions
In response to the post, one person commented, "The same thing happened to me. They stole my pot too, right after I made yellow rice." Another user replied, "It's not theft with force anymore. This is theft under pressure."
Understanding Cuba's Crisis
What caused the current crisis in Cuba?
The crisis in Cuba is largely due to the failure of the socialist economic system, which has led to severe shortages of food, fuel, and electricity, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions and the global pandemic.
How are Cuban families coping with the crisis?
Many Cuban families are adapting by using alternative cooking methods like wood or charcoal stoves and relying on community support to share scarce resources.