By Alejandra Garcia on October 5, 2023 from Havana
photo: Ricardo López Hevia
A new tragedy has shaken the whole country as if we had room for one more to endure. A building in the emblematic Old Havana, a few blocks away from the National Capitol, has left a toll of two dead, two rescuers, who died while trying to save lives. The first collapse of the façade of the three-story building left several people buried in the rubble.
First Lieutenant Yoandra Suarez Lopez, 40, and firefighter Luis Alejandro Llerena Martinez, 23, were caught by surprise by a second collapse of the structure while they were inside attempting to free those affected in the building where 13 families -more than 50 people, including children- used to live.
The images of the debris scattered on Lamparilla and Villegas streets are painful for a city that had already seen the Saratoga Hotel explode a few blocks away, and the Super Tanker Base of Matanzas go up in flames for several days, all in less than two years. On each occasion, firefighters and rescue workers are the first to step forward and almost always the first to die in their line of duty.
While the reason for the collapse was not immediately known, the area has several aging buildings that lack maintenance due to the difficulties the country faces in obtaining supplies because of the U.S. Blockade. The buildings also deteriorate more in tropical rains, like those currently hitting the island.
Yoandra Suarez Lopez
Yoandra Suarez Lopez joined the National Special Detachment of Rescue of the Havana Fire Department in 2012, becoming the first and only Cuban woman to perform this work in the country. An image of her is circulating today on social networks and WhatsApp. She is seen on her back with an infinite blue sky above her, as she delicately arranges her long blonde hair to one side of her shoulder so that the anonymous photographer captures the letters on the back of her uniform: RESCATISTA (RESCUER).
“The simple fact of not having been born a man forced her to work twice as hard as the rest since she was qualified to carry out the multiple and difficult exercises required by the academy,” journalist Nailet Rojas recalled in a book of interviews with outstanding Cuban women, in which Yoandra was one of the protagonists.
In a statement, the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), to which Yoandra belonged, assured that, among her many awards, she received a medal for ten years of uninterrupted service in the Ministry and the Medal for Bravery, awarded by Presidential Decree for her outstanding work in the events of the Saratoga Hotel in May 2022.
Luis Alejandro Llerena Martinez
Young Luis Alejandro Llerena Martinez also earned the respect of his colleagues for his bravery. He did Military Service at the “General Maximo Gomez” Naval Academy and joined the Ministry of the Interior in July 2022.
“He was an exemplary young man, who influenced his group with his initiatives and personal example,” the statement highlights.
Among other recognition’s, Llerena received a Medal for Bravery during 1st class service, awarded by Presidential Order, for his outstanding work in the tragic events at the Supertanker base in Matanzas in August 2022.
Fortunately, the collapse of the building at Lamparilla 368 did not cause damage to the surrounding houses. However, the possibility of history repeating itself in a city with an aging housing infrastructure is a cause for concern, as the increase in prices and the shortage of construction materials are combined with social indiscipline.
Some families in vulnerable situations refuse to leave their homes in danger of collapse despite the government’s efforts to offer them safe shelter. At the same time, the government is struggling against the obstacles of the blockade, which prevents the island from acquiring raw materials to re vitalize the construction sector in Cuba.
Once again, All Cuba joins in the pain of the victims’ families and we feel the tragedy as if it was a member of our own family. Empathy and solidarity is once again our greatest strength in the midst of grief for the death of our heroes, often anonymous, who defy the impossible as we Cubans are known to do.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English