Holguín.– Even from the pain left behind by a hurricane, we can learn. Melissa, for example —the most powerful hurricane Cuba has experienced since we have had meteorological records— passed with its gusts, flooded land, submerged villages due to rising waters, and knocked down trees. But it also mobilized incredible forces, with the sacred precept that life comes first, and left behind many lessons that President Díaz-Canel reflected on this Thursday morning.
In the capital city of Holguín province, at the José Martí Pre-University Vocational Institute of Exact Sciences (IPVCE), he shared with reporters ideas related to those valuable lessons. It was no coincidence that the exchange took place in a space that has provided shelter to 321 people—from the municipalities of Cacocum and Urbano Noris—whose lives were in danger from the hurricane, and who on Thursday happily told the country's leadership about their good fortune in being alive and protected.
"May you return to your homes soon..." the president wished everyone, from the pre-university student who put together an itinerary that will include the provinces affected by the hurricane in eastern Cuba, and which the country's leadership has begun in Holguín.
The head of state will carry out his itinerary accompanied by the head of the Political-Ideological Work Body and the Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda, deputy prime ministers, a large group of ministers, and the authorities of each territory.
"Today we began our visit to the provinces affected by the hurricane, starting with Holguín, and what we have seen is that work has been done, good work has been done in each of the phases," he said.
The president shared his assessments and instructions, and toward the end of his speech he said: "We have been very impressed with the work done in Holguín, and we would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the congratulations we offered yesterday to all the provinces.
"Last night, the Army General asked me that, when we came to the eastern provinces, we would convey his greetings to the people of Holguín and to the leadership bodies that have been working."
Before saying goodbye, he said that the country's leadership would return to these affected areas next week. The families who have been assisted by health and psychology teams remained at the study center, where they have received the care of a young teacher, the director of the IPVCE, Andrés Barea. And once again, the humanity of a Revolution that does not abandon its own people was evident.
OTHER STATEMENTS AT THE PRE-UNIVERSITY
"There are places," said the Cuban president, "that are more complicated than the provincial capital, such as Cueto, which you have described to us; but here you can already see that there is a working atmosphere, there is an atmosphere of organization; you can see that the residents themselves have been cleaning up part of the damage, and that is one of the first tasks: sanitation, which is what removes the ugly traces of the hurricane.
"I think they are in a good position, organizing the work well, at least here in the capital city—we would have to see the rest of the municipalities—with an intense workday between today and the weekend, on Sunday the city will be almost ready to show off its best side, and then we can devote ourselves to working on the things that will take us longer, which is mainly the recovery of housing."
Díaz-Canel told reporters about places he saw before arriving at the pre-university school: "Here we saw," he said, "examples of the conservation of photovoltaic parks, which I believe should be transferred to the rest of these facilities, not only in terms of what was done in terms of preservation, but now in terms of how to interconnect and what factors to take into account to prevent further damage, now, in the wake of the hurricane."
He insisted that "the return of evacuees must be done in a responsible and orderly manner," based on the instructions given by the Provincial and Municipal Defense Councils. He also spoke of "having a plan in place for where we would have to shelter, for a time, people whose homes have been severely affected."
The Head of State emphasized the importance of the work carried out by the administrative offices: "They must be well integrated, they must be offices where people receive adequate attention, always putting themselves in the shoes of those affected, those who have lost some of their belongings, those who are also facing difficult housing situations."
On agriculture, the President of the National Defense Council recalled that there are "crops that behave differently." He commented on malanga, a moisture-loving crop that can be largely saved; on bananas, which are always badly affected by storms, whose growing areas, instead of being lost, can and must be rehabilitated.
Preserve the cassava seed; go on an offensive of short-cycle planting, in order to have a group of vegetables and greens; immediately recover all the gardens and organoponics; do not give up on the rice program or what can be done with grains. Díaz-Canel spoke to the people of Holguín about these issues.
Before these reflections, the country's leadership visited a site belonging to the Military Construction Union (UCM). In the workshop for building homes using container-based construction systems, the President highlighted that this method is "one of the quick solutions we have to solve a group of problems." And he did not rule out the progressive nature of the building, the possibility of improving its characteristics.
He then visited the Providencia photovoltaic solar park, which withstood the onslaught of Hurricane Melissa. The visit then continued to the Vladimir Ilich Lenin General Hospital, whose intensive care and neonatal services remained fully operational.
CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS
Early Thursday morning, the president of the Provincial Defense Council in Holguín, Joel Queipo Ruiz, told reporters that in these difficult times, "the priority has been the protection of all families."
The leader explained that at that moment, 275,000 people had been evacuated or were under protection. Of those, he specified, 29,000 were in evacuation centers.
"It has continued to rain in recent days and protection is the top priority," stressed Queipo Ruiz, who also reported that "in three municipalities, for example, the water has continued to rise." It is therefore an essential priority to preserve the lives of those in Cacocum, Urbano Noris, and Cueto.
Among the main impacts he referred to are fallen trees and crop losses: "We had planned to plant 35,000 hectares." Queipo said that these lands have been seriously affected "in all municipalities, without exception." This means, as he explained, that recovery in the agricultural sector is also a priority, as is the restoration of electricity in the province.
Regarding telephone service, the President of the Provincial Defense Council—who emphasized that the damage is still being quantified—commented that "at this time, we have 29,000 landline customers who are affected." He mentioned the Moa entrance area as a place where communications have been damaged.
"Yesterday, once the weather event left the province, we had to wait a while because it continued to rain," said Queipo, who also noted that there were powerful gusts of wind in some places and that the eye of Melissa passed over 11 municipalities in the province.
Among the damage reported is that to roofs in the municipality of Cueto. There, at the time of the conversation with Queipo, 30 homes remained under water "because not only the rivers overflowed, but also the dams and micro-dams."
Motivated by the recovery effort—which is the task at hand—mixed brigades have now arrived in the province of Holguin to restore communications and open up roads.
Queipo reminded reporters that it was precisely in this province where the hydraulic policy advocated by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz began to take shape in the hours of Hurricane Flora. He referred to "the amount of water that has fallen. Look, our reservoirs have received 198 million cubic meters. We already have 11 places pouring out water, between diversions and dams. And some have told us that as much or more water has fallen than during the Flora stage.
At this moment, he explained, the reservoirs are 89% full—up from a previous figure of 45%—and 11 reservoirs are already releasing water. Now, the party leader emphasized, "what we have to do is keep a close eye on where that water is going."
Queipo Ruiz discussed other issues, and without a doubt, one key word was present in every part of his explanation: the rescue and care of life, for now and forever.
