Homeless dies, remains in the street

Homeless dies, remains in the street

HAVANA, Cuba - March 8 (Jaime Leygonier / www.cubanet.org) - A homeless
man died during the night Sunday at the crossroads of Galiano and San
Rafael Streets, and his body stayed there, surrounded by the curious,
until it was picked up about four hours after he was found.

The Vea cafeteria, in front of which the man leaned the last time he
leaned anywhere, opened for business as usual.

A policeman pronounced the man dead after taking his pulse. There was no
thought of calling for a doctor.

Someone covered the body with flattened cardboard boxes. There are no
sheets for the dead in Cuba; sometimes there are no sheets for the living.

The body was surrounded by a circle of onlookers and about 10 policemen.
The coroner's wagon did not arrive until four hours later.

A fellow homeless cried loudly, holding a plastic cup containing some
liquor.

"He was my friend," he kept saying.

As in the rest of the world, the homeless in Cuba tend to be alcoholics.

Medical researchers identify two peaks in alcoholism in Cuba: the sugar
harvest of 1970 and the period of the African wars. Many of these
homeless are detritus from those wars who have long since drunk their
medals.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y06/mar06/10e1.htm