How Cubans Are Surviving Endless Blackouts

“This homemade kerosene lamp doesn't have any kerosene, so it barely gives off any light,” said Marianela Vallín, a retiree from San Miguel de los Baños, Matanzas.

“We don't have electricity. We don't have the conditions for anything,” Vallín explained.

“We have to cook with charcoal because of the blackouts. Many people even make sawdust stoves, but there's barely any sawdust either.”

“Charcoal is very expensive, and I don't have the money. I'm retired. My pension was increased to 3,000 Cuban pesos, but I still can't even afford a liter of milk,” she added.

“Since the United States imposed an oil blockade, Cuba has faced prolonged power outages. Life without electricity has become the new normal,” the report continues.

“Cuba has already suffered three nationwide blackouts this year,” the narration notes.

“We go for hours without electricity,” Vallín continued. “The power went out yesterday, and it's still out today because of a local outage.”

“I get really bored because the blackouts are constant,” said Leidys Mariam Santacruz, a young resident of the community.

“I spend time with the neighborhood kids because there's not much else to do.”

“Sometimes there's no cell service because the telecommunications network runs out of fuel,” Santacruz explained.

“Where are we supposed to go?” Vallín asked. “There's nothing to do. We have to pick the kids up early because of the darkness.”

“Seeing my grandmother cooking with charcoal like this breaks my heart,” said Vallín's granddaughter.

“It's exhausting. Sometimes we even have to cook with firewood because of the crisis,” she added.

“Someone got me a small flashlight,” Vallín recalled, “but it's not in great shape, and the battery runs out quickly.”

“I just sit here until I fall asleep.”

“For me, it's incredibly hard. I don't see things getting better,” she concluded.