As the Garbage Piles Up in Alamar

As the Garbage Piles Up in Alamar
September 25, 2014
Ernesto Carralero

HAVANA TIMES — Every step you take in Alamar in East Havana invites you
to reflect upon your surroundings. It seems that the city is becoming
one big garbage dump.

Fumigation services turn up randomly, but what difference does it make?

An overflowing dumpster can be seen on every corner and more than once
I've even seen a rat or two rummaging about the trash.

You might think it was just for a few days, that for some reason or
another, the garbage couldn't be collected but what you see in the
photos is our daily reality.

These huge heaps of waste are a hotbed for all kinds of pests, not to
mention that they also severely affect our neighborhood's esthetics.

Nevertheless, the majority of Alamar's inhabitants don't seem to be too
bothered by the problem or at least they don't seem to think they can do
anything to fix it.

But, is this really true?

It's sad to think that so many things don't happen just because the
majority don't want them to. When will we get beyond only sweeping the
corner of our homes?

In a recent visit to Matanzas, I was able to verify the fact that this
phenomenon appears to be unique to Havana.

Other provinces have managed to organize a more efficient garbage
collection service. Usually, waste is picked up on certain days, once a
week, where residents leave the rubbish on their doorstep in the early
morning.

Wouldn't this same system be a viable option for Alamar?

Even to answer this question, we need to do something first, we need to
act. After all, we're the ones that are being affected.

If everyone just took out 10 minutes from their spare time and called
the local public services office to complain.

If for only ten minutes, every citizen of Alamar demanded that an answer
be found to the situation.

If once a week, a letter was sent to the board of the public services…

I'm certain the day will come when, even if it's just down to outright
tiredness, they'll try to sort things out.

Cubans need to learn to complain more seriously than they are accustomed to.

Source: As the Garbage Piles Up in Alamar - Havana Times.org -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=106338