HAVANA (AP) 鈥� has unveiled Havana鈥檚 first two modular homes using repurposed shipping containers, a critical step in a capital where once-majestic residences are collapsing.
Government officials including President Miguel D铆az-Canel gathered this weekend in front of the homes awarded to two single mothers: one had spent more than a dozen years living in a shelter and the other dwelled in a single room with two teenage children, according to state media.
The media reported that crews built the homes in one month using surplus material from tourism investment projects, technologies developed by Cuba鈥檚 Revolutionary Armed Forces and containers previously used to import parts from China for solar panel farms.
Officials said Saturday that Cuba has a housing deficit of more than 800,000 homes. The most pressing need is in Havana.
Unable to escape a collapsing home
Yurieska Artunet Mart铆, a 29-year-old beautician who lives in the historic part of Havana, was forced to move out of her last apartment because it disintegrated. She still lives on the same floor and in the same building, but the back part of it, which is standing 鈥� for now.
鈥淓verybody here in Havana lives in fear,鈥� she said as she looked up at her rotting ceiling and disintegrating walls. They shelter Artunet Mart铆, who is four-months pregnant, and her three children, ages 7 months, 1 and 5.
Plaster from the wall falls on their bed while they sleep, she said.
Artunet Mart铆 can鈥檛 afford to live elsewhere. Two months ago, she was forced to close the beauty business she ran out of her home, where clients were forced to climb eroded steps, side-step splintered wood and avoid a gaping hole where an elevator once operated.
鈥淧eople stopped coming because of the building鈥檚 condition,鈥� she said.
The widely admired homes in Old that range in style from Spanish Colonial to Cuban Baroque are known to collapse, especially after heavy rains, sometimes killing their occupants.
Government data from 2020 found that the island of nearly 10 million people had 3.9 million homes, with nearly 40% in only fair or poor condition. Lack of maintenance, a deep and are to blame.
No one lives in the upper floors of Artunet Mart铆’s building anymore; they were all evacuated and placed in shelters for safety.
鈥淲hat are we going to do?鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know we鈥檙e in danger, but we have to accept reality.鈥�
Fear grips Havana residents
In another area of historic Havana, 60-year-old Carlos Sabl贸n recalled how a portion of his building鈥檚 third floor collapsed at night. Sabl贸n was watching TV at that moment but knew what had happened.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite damaged by time,鈥� he said of the building鈥檚 infrastructure as he looked out his second-story window and onto a tiny, crumbling courtyard.
No one was on the third floor when the collapse occurred, but firefighters evacuated everyone else. Unable to afford to live elsewhere, Sabl贸n, an engineer, returned to his apartment. It wasn鈥檛 damaged, so he hooked up power and water for himself and a handful of other residents who stayed.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e always going to be afraid,鈥� he said as he lamented that no one ensures the safety of homes in Havana.
鈥淭his is the one I fear the most,鈥� Sabl贸n said of his apartment building, which he believes will keep collapsing. 鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 not when someone is walking by.鈥�
Several blocks from Sabl贸n lives 63-year-old Magalys Caro. She is confined to a single room, a makeshift kitchen and a bathroom in the front part of her building. It used to house a company that let her move in when her home next door disintegrated during a hurricane.
But the building where she lives now poses a threat.
鈥淭he back there has collapsed,鈥� Caro said as she pointed to a spacious, open-air area behind her.
鈥淚鈥檝e been living here in these poor conditions for about 10 years,鈥� Caro said. 鈥淣othing gets resolved. The Housing Department does nothing.鈥�
A push for more modular homes
At Saturday鈥檚 event to unveil Havana鈥檚 first two modular homes, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz acknowledged that the program of converting shipping containers into homes could be sped up.
鈥淚t is not moving at the desired pace,鈥� he said, adding that the work is underway.
Delilah D铆az Fern谩ndez, housing director general at Cuba鈥檚 Ministry of Construction, said that more than 2,000 containers destined to become homes have been approved, and that some 700 are currently being converted.
鈥淭he program 鈥� holds immense potential and is here to stay,鈥� she said, adding that as new containers arrive, they will be considered for eventual housing.
D铆az Fern谩ndez said the program鈥檚 main beneficiaries will include people who lost their homes to extreme weather events or were destroyed by structural collapses.
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