CUBAN OPPOSITION DENOUNCES LACK OF ATTENTION BY AUTHORITIES IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE

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CUBAN OPPOSITION DENOUNCES LACK OF ATTENTION BY AUTHORITIES IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE
By Cuban Democratic Directorate

Human rights activists in Cuba issue call for international solidarity

CUBA, July 13, 2005.- Numerous accounts by the Cuban opposition report from Cuba the destructive effects of Hurricane Dennis, while denouncing the passivity of the country’s authorities before this unfolding human tragedy.

“Since Friday July 8 at 10:00am they completely cut off the electric current, drinking water, and suspended the sale of bread, milk and other vital needs for the diet of the population. The grocery stores remain shut along with other commercial dependencies. Damages to both dwellings and agriculture are incalculable. People that lost their homes remain exposed to the elements, including in some cases children and elderly. Others lost the roofs of their dwellings, whether partial or total, as well as the collapse of entries, fences, walls, windows and doors. Others had their mattresses, bed linen, clothes, domestic appliances and decorations spoiled. Desperate mothers are crying because they lost the little they had and find themselves without recourse. Observers of the Cuban government report that it is immobilized and not resolving or giving solutions to these problems,” affirmed Josefa López, correspondent for Noti Cuba International, from Pedro Betancourt, Matanzas.

Official reports emitted by the regime have been contradictory and have not clarified the number of dead or victims. According to human rights activists reporting from Santiago de Cuba, the damage to Campechuela, Niquero, Pilon and other population centers of eastern Cuba have been incalculable.

“Niquero, Campechuela, Pilon and other population centers have been devastated; thousands of families remain in the street without aid. In Santiago de Cuba, where there were reports that the damage was not great nonetheless the destruction of 114 homes have been reported in all the province, and today there are 14 neighborhoods without electricity in the city of Santiago de Cuba alone. This last information has not been made known in the mass media. Estimates are that some 900 families have lost their homes,” indicated Jorge Luis Ramón Castillo, of the ICD Press in the city of Santiago de Cuba.