Posted in CubaNet on February 4, 1999
by Jacqueline Rumbaut Pous, Decoro Work Group
Havana, January, 1999 - A quiet, hard working human being seldom constitutes good material for a brilliant biography. This is why no book will ever contain the story of the life, work and misfortunes of Julia, the main character of this short story.
On this particular morning, Julia, who was desperate, had gone to a health clinic, and in between tears and sighs she explained her predicament: "I work in an elementary school cleaning floors. I earn $110 pesos a month and my salary is not enough for our bare necessities. You see, I have two small children and my husband has left me. We live in a portico. I suffer from hypertension and can't take the medications prescribed by my doctor because they cost $19 pesos a month and, look, if every month I have to spend almost $50 pesos in groceries, $17 pesos for electricity, $2.90 pesos for gas and $3 pesos for water, add all of that and you'll see that I only have $38.90 pesos left. If I spend $19 pesos for medications, I'd only have $19.90 pesos left. And if I have to choose between food and the medications, I have to choose food because my girls don't qualify for milk anymore - you see, they are 8 and 9 years old. And besides, anyway, I wouldn't have enough because who would buy their clothes and shoes? And there's not enough money for that either. No matter how hard I try, it's not enough."
It would be nice if this were just a science fiction story and I wouldn't even have to imagine the reaction of the doctor and the nurse who attended Julia. Astonished and helpless, they proceeded to explain to her that it would take the Social Security office at least one month to consider her case and then authorize it, and that in the meantime she would have to depend on the goodwill of her neighbors and any donations that the teachers at the school might be able to come up with. Now, not everyone has the necessary stamina to be a martyr, and this poor woman, prematurely aged thanks to collapsed economies, is totally unable to think of any social changes that would benefit her.
Both the doctor and nurse paid Julia a visit at home, and decided to get her the medications, at their own risk and expense, until Social Security assumes that responsibility after verifying Julia's situation, as follows: They would request a letter signed by the personnel director of the school; three witnesses will have to confirm that the husband abandoned Julia; she will have to provide a doctor's certificate, a copy of the children's I.D. cards showing that they are minors, and a letter from the FMC. Now, consider that the monthly salary of the doctor is $211 pesos and the nurse's $198, and that even though they might not have any children of their own or their husbands might not have abandoned them, their own salary doesn't cover all of their individual needs either.
According to popular lore, when it rains it pours, and Julia's misfortunes kept pouring, this time in the form of termites. She lost her bathroom door to termites and, for obvious reasons, she couldn't afford a new one. So, in lieu of anything else in the household that would serve as a door, she replaced the termite-ridden door with a bright Cuban flag.
If you happen to be anywhere in El Vedado (in the outskirts of Havana), ask for Julia, or simply use the nickname her neighbors have labeled her with – "The Patriot." They all know she lives at the portico on 6th Street.
Translated for CubaNet by Elena Treto