Difficult Days of Solidarity

By Graciela Ramirez and Victor Villalba Gutiérrez on August 9, 2010 from Matanzas

image: Victor Villalba Gutiérrez

It is shocking to take pictures, even from a distance, of the industrial zone of Matanzas. Black smoke and flames consume the fuel of the 3rd tank that collapsed last night. The images we have taken hardly give a true account of what we witnessed.

The area has been totally evacuated; the technical teams from Mexico and Venezuela have not been able to go into action due to the unfavorable weather situation. The northeast wind is still blowing in the area of the Supertankers. Only the helicopters, in a truly heroic action, are constantly spraying water to cool the 4th tank, doing their best to prevent it from catching fire.

The aircraft load the water almost at sea level, then rise and head straight for the area covered in thick, black smoke. We are speechless as they disappear in front of the cameras and catch our breath again as we watch them finish spraying and return in a straight line to load. They do it with great skill and in minutes, negotiating the immense danger. How do they observe the journey once they are going through a fire of this magnitude? How do they breathe? How do they endure the enormous heat?

Those of us who went today asked ourselves, not only to write this chronicle but also to bring encouragement and solidarity.

Adela Segarra, former senator, militant and feminist, wife of the Argentinean ambassador in Cuba, brings in her car two large boxes of masks donated by the Argentinean comrade María Santucho with long roots on the island. Adela also brings hygiene products. Marco Gonzalez, a Chilean comrade representing the International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity for the Peoples, is with us.

At the entrance of the city, Randy Perdomo García, whom we know and love since his time in the FEU in Havana and his work in the International Committee for the freedom of the Five, is waiting for us. He is the Delegate of the People’s Power of the 78th District of Peñas Altas in Matanzas.

While we are waiting for the press conference to be held in the afternoon at the Cafeteria Bahia, we are going to visit two of the places where the evacuees are being held and if we have time we will also visit the Faustino Perez Hospital.

The Alfonso Pérez Isaac Vocational School of Art is one of the evacuee centers. We are received by its director Yudelky Perdomo García.

There are about 85 evacuees, 20 of them are children, many young people and some elderly. There are no pregnant women. A small group of social workers take notes and make a careful count of what seems so little to us and we lovingly hand it over.

The director gets a lump in her throat and her voice breaks as she thanks and explains how everyone is helping to mitigate the emotional impact that this situation represents for those who have had to leave their homes and leave with only a small change of clothes. “We are planning activities for the children,” she says with tears in her eyes. We receive support for food and we try to make their days here as bearable as possible, she tells us with emotion. They have doctors for any need that may arise. On the way out, we pass a self-employed man who brings 100 sandwiches for snacks. It is not the first time he has done this, completely free of charge.

We go to the University of Matanzas, one of the centers with the largest number of evacuees where we are received by the Rector, Leyda Final de la Cruz and the Vice Rector of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Edgar Borot.

Since Saturday they have sheltered 574 evacuees from the industrial zone, 252 are women, 149 men. There are 84 older adults and 163 children, 22 of them are babies under 2 years old. There are 5 pregnant women. Many of the elderly are workers of the Rayonitro Industry.

The University of Matanzas, which has been in existence for half a century, has a total enrollment of 14,000 students. The Rector tells us that in view of the magnitude of the fire, no one hesitated to interrupt their vacations and go immediately to open the doors of the University for the evacuees.

They have an agreement with an important number of Universities from different countries. We took advantage of the occasion to start links with Universities in Argentina. We left our small contributions of solidarity  with the promise to deliver books for the children.

At the Faustino Pérez Clinical Surgical Hospital we see again its director Dr. Taymí Martinez Naranjo together with the doctors who accompany her. The injured patients are still recovering, 1 of them in critical condition, 4 others in care.

We deliver masks, hygiene and cleaning materials so that they can be sent to those who need them. Adela hugs everyone, she appreciates them very much. There her colleague, Argentinean Ambassador Luis Illarregui, was attended to.

Just before leaving, Dr. José Ángel Portal Miranda, Cuba’s Minister of Health, arrives. With the simplicity, professionalism and closeness that characterizes him, he tells us about the situation, the impact that this huge accident means for Matanzas and the country and the follow-up of the government as a whole to face it.

We express our solidarity which is also on behalf of the friends of Cuba around the world who at this time are collecting material support and feel as their own the pain of the Cuban people. We ask him to send a big hug to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, at the head of so many heroic deeds of this people in these difficult years.

We arrived on time to the press conference offered by the Provincial Director, Dr. Luis Armando Wong Corrales, of the Provincial Health Directorate of Matanzas. We know that on Friday, August 5, when the 1st tank collapsed in only 30 minutes, 56 patients were received, most of them for skin burns.

During the course of that night and Saturday, the number of patients increased to 125. Of these, 118 were men and 7 women. A total of 103 patients have been discharged, 97 men and 6 women. Today 5 of them were discharged.

There is still only 1 confirmed death. There are currently 22 hospitalized patients, 21 men and 1 woman. In serious condition there are 2, in critical condition 5 and in care there are 15 patients. Regarding the missing firefighters, Dr. Wong clarifies. Initially the preliminary figure was 17, but two of them turned up alive. Of the 15, one is deceased. At present there are 14 missing.

We left Matanzas in the late afternoon as it was starting to rain. The white car was covered with a gray-black patina, while the 3rd tank is still burning. There is no room for tiredness; only to admire so much resilience and heroism.

Graciela Ramirez is the editor of Cuba en Resumen in Havana

Source: Cuba En Resumen