While some children play, momentarily oblivious to the circumstances around them, adults come with tanks and buckets to collect that same water and carry it to their homes, in the face of the authorities' inability to guarantee supply to households.
Behind this scene lies the abandonment of infrastructure, mismanagement, and the negligence of a regime that still has not resolved the population's most basic needs.
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Some children observe a water formation created between Prado and Neptune, between Centro Habana and Old Havana, before venturing to take a swim for a while. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas)While some children play, at times oblivious to the circumstances surrounding them, adults come with tanks and buckets to collect that same water and take it to their homes, in the face of the authorities' inability to guarantee supply to households. Behind this scene lies the abandonment of infrastructure, poor management, and the negligence of a regime that still fails to resolve the population's most basic needs. The scene was documented by Cuban photographer Alina Sardiñas, who dedicated a space to capturing the genuine moments of the little ones in a country submerged in a crisis of potable water and other areas that affect the population's quality of life. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas)At the same time, nearby residents took the opportunity to stock up on water, since the water service crisis continues to be irregular across much of the country. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas)The figures from the regime itself, released on November 4, speak of 2,681,770 people with water problems in Cuba, some 536,000 of them in Havana. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas) The hole is not new: it is an excavation for repairs that has been open for days in the middle of the street, without a tape, a sign, or a barrier to warn drivers and pedestrians. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas)Like so many of the regime's works, it started and has no end date. Meanwhile, people continue to be without water at home, and that is why they come down with buckets to draw it from a hole. (Infobae Cuba/Courtesy Alina Sardiñas)In Punta Brava, an area near Havana, it is common to see its inhabitants search for water sources for days to supply themselves. (Infobae Cuba/ YAMIL LAGE / AFP)Sixty-six percent of these problems correspond to electrical failures and 25 percent to breakdowns in pumping equipment. (Infobae Cuba/ Courtesy Mario J. Pentón)A group of people gathers next to a water tanker truck to collect water in buckets and various containers, because the severe fuel shortage has paralyzed the pumping and distribution of water in Havana, Cuba (Reuters)