"We haven't had electricity for three nights, and our food is rotting. Four days without electricity is an abuse to the children," resident Mary Karla, a mother of three, expressed during the protests. Her concerns resonate with many Cubans who feel the lack of basic services is not just inconvenient but harmful to their families. With the intense heat and lack of proper refrigeration, food waste becomes a pressing issue for households that are already struggling economically.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy acknowledged the challenges posed by Hurricane Oscar, stating it will bring "an additional inconvenience" to Cuba's recovery efforts as it affects regions critical for electricity generation. His comments illustrate the broader struggles of the Cuban electricity grid, which has recently suffered widespread failures, leaving many without power or access to essentials like drinkable water.
Ylenis de la Caridad Napoles, a mother of a 7-year-old girl, spoke of her emotional turmoil: "I am reaching a point of desperation." The emotional and psychological toll on families during these crises highlights the deep impact of the nation's power outages. Deprived of basic necessities, residents are forced to rely on traditional methods of cooking, emphasizing how systemic failures directly affect daily survival and well-being.
While some neighborhoods in Havana reported a restoration of electricity, vast areas remained in darkness. The city, housing about 2 million people, is experiencing a cascading failure of services, exacerbating the already dire situations in many households where electricity is crucial for basic needs such as cooking and water supply.
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