Another group of Cuban mothers protest outside a government office

Food, milk, and water shortages, failing schools, and lack of medical care has led another group of Cuban mothers to risk arrest and prison to protest outside a government office. Desperate mothers gathered outside the government offices in the town of Marianao on Friday, refusing to leave until they received an answer from officials telling them when the situation would improve for their suffering children.

That same Friday, a group of Cuban mothers caring for gravely ill children protested outside the offices of the Ministry of Health in Havana over the lack of healthcare for their sick sons and daughters. Many of them were detained and arrested for the protest.

Via Diario de Cuba (my translation):

‘How long do we have to endure this?’: Another group of mothers protest at the offices of the Marianao municipal government

Another group of Cuban mothers protested against the regime this Friday at the headquarters of the Marianao municipal government in Havana to demand more food and better conditions for their children, as reported on Facebook by Yudeyvis Reinoso, one of the protesters.

“Here I am, at the Marianao government, where I request to speak with Comrade Alina (an alleged official) and I can’t. The assistant came out and tells me she’s busy, that she can’t give me an answer as to why the milk for children hasn’t arrived. I’m not going to leave here until someone attends to me,” explained Reinoso at the beginning of her live broadcast.

“The abuse they have towards the Cuban people is enough, it’s a mother claiming her child’s rights,” the mother continued tearfully. “Until when, Canel? How much longer do I have to endure this? I walk around with my child and nobody can provide a solution. And you say that children are the hope of the world, don’t tell me again it’s the blockade (US embargo). I’m at the government office, and no one can attend to me along with several other mothers here raising issues.”

Reinoso said she was tired of explanations and wouldn’t leave without a response. As she protested, this mother held her young child’s hand. “What they have is a lack of respect. I demand my rights as a mother, and I won’t get tired. You (the government) know I keep posting direct complaints one after another. Right now, I’m not employed, they dared to label me here in Marianao as a product reseller, but where do I get them if you don’t have enough for the people?” detailed Reinoso.

The mother explained that an assistant at the Marianao government told her the milk was supposed to start being distributed through the stores selling the regulated family basket, but she didn’t believe them: “Where’s the lack of respect? How are they going to distribute milk today when it was due since the 21st?”

In another live broadcast on her Facebook profile, Reinoso continued from outside the Marianao government office: “Now they told us to leave because someone named Yudisney will attend to us. Before, I didn’t say this and stayed quiet because I was afraid, but now it hurts more to see things happening to your child than to fear something happening to you. Canel, release this (the government) because you can’t handle it anymore, down with the dictatorship, down with the Castros. Look at how many children are here, how many sick people, how many are asking for humanitarian visas, and you do nothing.”

While Reinoso explained the reasons for her protest, several Cuban mothers surrounded her.

Regarding the potential consequences of her actions, Reinoso warned: “They won’t oppress me, they won’t silence me because I’m demanding the rights of my child as a Cuban mother. Let’s see how many hours they keep me standing here waiting to be attended. They’re shutting down my direct broadcasts, they’re failing.”

“It’s a lack of respect they have, giving only two miserable packages of 14 diapers. Do 28 diapers last for an entire month? That’s a lie. There’s no chicken, there’s nothing in this country for children. There are no medicines, no milk, nothing,” Reinoso concluded.

Although no connection between both events has been highlighted, this protest took place while other mothers demonstrated at the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), located in the El Vedado neighborhood of the Plaza de la Revolución municipality in Havana. They were demanding better treatments for their children due to the accumulated neglect with their respective illnesses.

Ilsa Ramos, one of the protesters at MINSAP, also provided details of that protest on her Facebook profile: “They took us to an office to give us a runaround and ask what our complaints were. There hasn’t been carbamazepine, which my child needs, for a long time, and my brother has to send it from Spain. Recently, they refused to do tests, and my child almost died from a kidney infection. I raised all that, and all they did was give me the runaround.”

Ramos was no longer at MINSAP when she made her post. At the time of writing this note, Reinoso has not posted anything further on her Facebook profile.