A 21-year-old Cuban student named Thaly Holguín (@soy_thalyholguin) has touched the hearts of many on TikTok with a video detailing her challenges as a university student living in a rural area.
Released last Thursday, the video sheds light on a widespread issue impacting young people across the island: the struggle to pursue education and live with dignity amidst one of the most severe energy and transportation crises Cuba has experienced in decades.
Thaly, currently in her fourth year studying Dentistry, shares that while her family can grow some food and cook using a wood-burning stove, the combination of her studies and rural living has become untenable. "Living in the countryside, we can plant some things, and we have a wood stove to cook, but coming home from school and having to cook with wood is tough, really tough," she explains.
Her family's solution was to move her closer to her college in the city, yet this brought only partial relief. "Even though I live alone, I still face hardships," she admits in her video.
The most poignant part of her account revolves around transportation. Thaly reveals that she couldn't visit her family in the countryside for nearly two months due to the fuel crisis: "Here in Cuba, there’s basically no transportation. The only things operating are electric tricycles because there's no fuel of any kind for cars or trucks."
Thaly's situation reflects a broader crisis. By early May, state passenger transportation had plummeted by 93% nationwide, and the government extended the interval for internal students' home visits to every 21 days to prioritize the transport of teachers and night shift staff.
Educational institutions like the Sports Initiation School (EIDE) instructed students to return home "by their own means," without providing any official transport assistance.
In Matanzas, over 90,000 students couldn't attend 504 schools due to fuel shortages, and nearly 177,000 university students faced altered exam schedules because of the crisis.
The reliance on wood stoves, as mentioned by Thaly, is not limited to rural areas. The scarcity of domestic gas and power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day have forced even urban residents to set up makeshift stoves on apartment balconies. In Holguín, Thaly's home province, a 49-year-old woman was seen cooking in the rain on an improvised outdoor stove to feed her sick granddaughter.
Even Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged on March 14 that "not a single drop of fuel" had arrived in the country since January. With Cuba producing only 40,000 barrels of oil daily against a consumption of over 110,000, this structural deficit remains unresolved by the regime.
Thaly concluded her video by highlighting the contrast between hardship and familial love: "There's nothing like my mom's cooking, which is why I go back to the countryside often, just to see my family."
Understanding the Crisis in Cuban Rural Education
What are the main challenges faced by Cuban students in rural areas?
Cuban students in rural areas face difficulties such as lack of reliable transportation, insufficient energy resources, and the challenge of balancing education with rural living conditions.
How has the energy crisis affected transportation in Cuba?
Due to the energy crisis, state passenger transportation has decreased significantly, and the lack of fuel has left electric tricycles as one of the few operational means of transport.
What impact has the fuel shortage had on education in Cuba?
The fuel shortage has led to significant disruptions in education, with many students unable to attend school and universities altering their exam schedules.