Sidewalks Without Peace: An Urgency That Admits No Delay
Centuries accumulated on the sidewalks. Experiences that forged so many achievements, diverse professions, trades, and jobs, now reduced to endless lines. Weary faces, stomachs thirsty for food and water after long hours away from their homes.
An image that multiplies in front of banks and savings institutions across Cuba. Elderly people in search of their pension money — a pittance that slips through their fingers amid rising food prices, medications, and other basic needs.
An embarrassing scene that saddens the urban landscape month after month. Cuba has many urgent issues to solve, but this one, without a doubt, is a priority due to its human sensitivity. Each payday for a retiree is as if several pages were torn from the almanac of life they have left to live.
This problem has been attempted to be solved in various ways. One of them is that self-employed workers and MSMEs take over pension payments to retirees. I don’t know if that measure works in any specific place, but in banks the lines remain endless.
Arguments among the elderly increase, temperature rises, and broken hearts suffer, while blood pressure soars — common ailments in this population segment.
The situation demands special treatment and reminds us of that Cuban saying: «Swim so far only to die on the shore.» Old age requires peace, harmony, and a tranquility that is not achieved by waiting long hours on sidewalks and leaning against walls.
