The return to classes for tens of thousands of Cuban students on September 1st comes loaded with other meanings and problems that minors should not be experiencing.
Under the Cuban regime, the reality for them is different: going back to school means trying to study after entire nights without sleep due to blackouts, with food increasingly difficult to obtain, schools that have suffered years of deterioration and a lack of teachers.
In this scenario, little is said about another impact of the crisis: the mental health of children, who, according to family testimonies, are already showing signs of anxiety and accumulated stress.
For a mother in Playa, Havana, the problem begins even before her two children return to the classroom. As she explained to ADN Cuba on condition of anonymity, her neighborhood has been without electricity during bedtime for over three months, a situation she says is affecting the sleep and emotional well-being of her children and teenagers.
“I see many children and teenagers experiencing anxiety and hair loss. When my children’s friends talk to each other, it’s worrying because these are symptoms of accumulated chronic stress. The other issue is food insecurity and inflation. This is reflected in their concentration and learning,” the source emphasized.
This testimony summarizes one of the main concerns of Cuban families regarding the return to classrooms: how will their children be able to study and perform academically in the midst of a crisis that makes it difficult to even cover the most basic household needs?
Cuban families can no longer even count on the rationed bread for their children’s snacks. Source: Mario J. Pentón/ Facebook.
“Any other moms worried about the start of the school year?” wrote Gisselle Ordoñez, a Havana resident, on Facebook, in a post summarizing the concerns families face regarding the return to classrooms. “What are we going to do? How are we going to make sure the little ones get enough sleep to attend classes every day and absorb the material?” she asked.
Ordoñez also questioned how families will be able to buy “school supplies, shoes, uniforms in their size, school snacks, and lunch supplements. September is approaching, and I don’t know about you, but I, at least, already feel like closing my eyes and waking up in the future, when Cuba is free,” she concluded.
The concern is also appearing in groups of Cuban mothers on social media. In “Help for Cuban Mothers,” another user questioned, “How are they going to go (to school) when there are parents who can’t afford daily transportation if they need it? When a pair of sneakers and a backpack cost an arm and a leg?” she wrote.
From Guantánamo, opposition member and priest Miguel Ángel Herrera also told this outlet that, in the eastern city, due to so many daily problems, “there is no talk of the new school year and there are general shortages.” @ADNCuba
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