‘The island has the sky for a ceiling’
Cuban
Radar
The
housing situation is critical
Although
the government still has not provided figures for the damages caused
by Gustav, preliminary data indicate that about 100,000 homes were
totally or partially destroyed in Pinar del Río province.
In
the municipalities of Los Palacios and Consolación del Sur,
homes were smashed; many lost roofs, doors and windows. In those
towns, the buildings are at an undefined point: about to be built or
about to be demolished.
Cuban
Radar Read Spanish Version
Storm
delays start of school year
A
news service from Radio Progreso Alternativa’s Havana bureau
The
new school year, which should have begun Sept. 1 nationwide, was
launched gradually because of Hurricane Gustav.
The
Ministry of Education made the startup contingent on the conditions
present at the schools in the western provinces of Pinar del Río,
Havana, City of Havana, Matanzas and the special municipality of Isle
of Youth.
In
Pinar del Río, about 500 schools were damaged to some degree.
In the municipalities of Los Palacios, Candelaria, Consolación
del Sur, almost all devastated, the startup was held in abeyance.
In
the Isle of Youth, where school buildings were practically blown
away, classes will begin when the minimal operating conditions permit
it.
In
the provinces of City of Havana and Matanzas, elementary school
classes started on Tuesday, Sept. 2. In the provinces of Havana,
Camagüey, Las Tunas and Granma, they started on Thursday the
4th.
The
University of Matanzas opened its doors on Sept. 2, the University of
City of Havana on the 3rd, and the University of Pinar del Río
will open on the 8th.
According
to Jorge Hidalgo, Deputy Minister of Education, the country has spent
about US$50 million in the purchase of indispensable school
materials. Most of the books have been printed in Cuba, the official
said.
The
housing situation is critical
Although
the government still has not provided figures for the damages caused
by Gustav, preliminary data indicate that about 100,000 homes were
totally or partially destroyed in Pinar del Río province.
In
the municipalities of Los Palacios and Consolación del Sur,
homes were smashed; many lost roofs, doors and windows. In those
towns, the buildings are at an undefined point: about to be built or
about to be demolished.
Out
of 13,000 homes in Los Palacios, about 10,000 were damaged; 6,000
were totally demolished.
Aid,
in the shape of basic foods and building materials for
reconstruction, is already coming in.
‘The
island has the sky for a ceiling’
That’s
how Carlos Lage, Vice President of the Council of State, described
the condition of the homes and other buildings on the Isle of Youth.
Preliminary
estimates made by the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
in the region set the damage at 85 percent. But after a helicopter
flight over the island, she said she had underestimated the
destruction.
Homes,
shopping centers, markets, and the campus of the Latin American
School of Medicine resemble a battlefield.
"In
the countryside, the trees that remained standing were stripped of
their leaves," said a resident of La Reforma, 7 kilometers from
the capital, Nueva Gerona. "And the grass looks charred,"
he added.
The
most urgent need is electricity, Lage said. The entire electrical
system collapsed.
The
armed forces and recovery in devastated areas
The
newscasts on national TV and the nightly program Round Table have
been showing shocking images of the destruction wreaked by Hurricane
Gustav as it roared through Cuba’s western province. They also have
shown the presence of high-ranking political and administrative
leaders in the disaster areas.
Since
Sunday, the newscasts have prominently featured the participation of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces (RAF).
Three
top RAF chiefs — Army Gen. Álvaro López Miera, Chief
of the General Staff; Leopoldo Cintra Frías, commander of the
Western Army; and Gen. Ramón Pardo Guerra, chief of the Civil
Defense’s General Staff — have toured the areas devastated by
Gustav.
After
their visits, television images showed trailers and large trucks
moving toward the disaster areas.
The
RAF combatants, who used armed personnel carriers to help people in
isolated areas or hard-to-reach towns, said they would transport food
and supplies for the recovery efforts.
The
high profile of the RAF and important military chiefs can be
interpreted not only in terms of solidarity but also of providing
assurance to the population, because the general opinion is that the
RAF constitute the country’s best organized and most efficient
institution.
Hemodialysis
in the capital
Patients
on the Isle of Youth who needed hemodialysis treatment were
transported at dawn Monday to hospitals in City of Havana.
In
Nueva Gerona, the capital of that special municipality, the patients
who must receive that treatment periodically could not get it because
of the existing conditions, so they were flown to City of Havana
early Monday.
According
to sources at the Ministry of Public Health, these patients will
remain in hospital until conditions on the Isle of Youth allow for
their safe return.
Five
missing fishermen are rescued
The
National TV Newscast reported on Sept. 1 that five fishermen who had
disappeared on Aug. 29 had been rescued south of the peninsula of
Zapata.
For
four days, naval and air craft had searched for them unsuccessfully.
The
fishermen were aboard Langostero 100, a boat belonging to the fishing
company Pescahabana. In view of Gustav’s approach, they were ordered
to return to their base at Batabanó Port (south of Havana
province) but they were unable to.
The
NTV announcer identified the fishermen as Osniel Cánovas,
captain of Langostero 100, and crewmen José Miguel Cruz, Jorge
Amaya, Yasiel Valdés, and Ismael Domínguez.
All
were found to be in good condition and were welcomed by relatives and
fellow workers at Batabanó Port.
The
official announcement surprised viewers, because the disappearance of
the fishermen, and the search for them, had not been previously
reported.
International
aid for Cuba
As
of Tuesday the 2nd, the governments of Venezuela, Spain and Russia
have expressed their willingness to cooperate in the recovery of
Cuba, extremely affected by Hurricane Gustav.
Unofficial
sources estimate that the damages could reach billions of dollars.
