|
HAVANA, August 21 (José Antonio Fornaris, Cuba-Verdad /
www.cubanet.org) - Twelve families who had been given until today to vacate a
condemned building said they would not in spite of the risk that the three-story
structure could collapse. They say they have nowhere to go.
The families, comprising 44 people of which 16 are minors, have been
squatting in the building for the last three years. They occupied the building
when the original occupants were relocated after the building was condemned.
Officials at the Municipal Housing Authority in Arroyo Naranjo, one of the
15 municipalities comprising the city of Havana, say the families must go back
to wherever they came from, because their lives are in danger, and because they
are occupying the structure illegally. All housing transfers in Cuba must be
approved by the appropriate housing authority.
Five of the families came from other provinces; the others were Havana
residents before moving into the building.
Fully 42 percent of the housing in Havana is officially catalogued as being
in fair or poor condition. According to figures published in Trabajadores, the
Cuban workers’ daily, 24,000 structures were in imminent danger of collapse
in 2000.
The government plans to take a housing census starting September 6.
Versión
original en español
CubaNet does not require sole rights from its
contributors. We authorize the reproduction and distribution of this article as
long as the source is credited.
| 
