Actuality

More than two weeks have passed, and that overwhelming feeling that has once again appropriated the month of May is still latent. The events at the Saratoga Hotel shocked an entire country, which was right there, where it was most needed at the time.

Between the rubble and the incessant tasks, between the imperative of being strong or clinging to being strong, even if inside you collapsed little by little or with a claw, the people of Artemis shared the uncertainty and hope of those unfortunate days.

Two brothers and a mission

Yansel and Reynaldo López Muñoz are united, beyond the strong blood ties, by the common feeling, that which emerges greatly in the most difficult circumstances, when the pain of others becomes your pain.

“I found out about what happened through social networks and, immediately, among the colleagues in the rescue group we communicated to alert ourselves,” says Yansel, who is part of the Red Cross and has several years of experience as a professional firefighter.

His brother should have left earlier. When given the indication, he along with other artemiseños he arrived at the Saratoga. “The most shocking thing was the destruction, seeing the families crying in the surroundings. They earnestly asked us to hand over their relatives alive; if not, that, please, we find their bodies, ”he recounts

.And although they prepare them for difficult moments, reality hits you again and again. “They train us for those situations, in which it is not possible for everyone to enter, to be able to do so, based on our training and, above all, with professionalism, brotherhood, humanity, voluntarily, characteristics that distinguish rescuers ”, he insists.

From the house, they were also worried. "They told us to take care of ourselves, that very complex work was being carried out." Being the older of the two, the responsibility was additional. “Between siblings, sometimes there is a lot of overprotection. Every time he was going to enter the scene, I told him: 'be careful, make sure, remember what we have always talked about, don't forget the training, don't take off your helmet or move where it hasn't been explored, always check the walls of the place where you are…'”, he manifests and grows before his 28 years.

When asked how many Artemiseños participated in the work, he answers immediately. “I would say that the town of Artemisa was in the Saratoga, in person and from the heart. We went with the certainty that we had to fulfill a mission, and we knew that the Artemiseños were awaiting the actions of the rescue and rescue group.

“We received calls from different organizations, from colleagues who told us ‘take care, we are with you!’, ‘whatever you need!’ Dissimilar people supported us; it was a strength to know that the people trusted us to do this work, and we were going to do it well”, he concludes.

Reynaldo shares the same desire to save lives. He carries it in his blood. That is why he did not hesitate to join the Red Cross, and the exercise of the activity on his own has not been a limitation. "As long as we can help someone, why not do it?" He asserts, despite noting that he had never faced a situation similar to this.

“I only told my family that they had to participate in the search efforts. At the time of leaving, my wife was not at home and I left the child with my mother to go to the capital”, affirms the young man from Artemisa.

Just two months ago he had met his little Dyland, since the pandemic surprised his wife in another country and she had to give birth there. How much would go through the mind of a father who had to be patient to hug his son for the first time?

Nevertheless, for nearly 100 hours (at intervals), he provided his services on the Saratoga. “It was very hard to see the hotel in collapse and to know that there were people trapped inside. Contributing to the development of actions represented a lot for me. More than a mission, it is our duty as Red Cross members, as human beings”.

It wasn't just any mother's day

As a child, Elianet Machado Arias was totally certain that in the future she would be a police officer. The possibility of helping out and wearing a uniform caught her attention. But it was only when she was older that she was proposed to join the Red Cross, while she worked as a gastronomist.

“In Los Laureles there was a small lifeguard movement, and they invited me to take a course. After finishing it I became a volunteer; although it was not what I dreamed, it was quite similar. My conditions allowed it, I made an effort... and the explosion in the Saratoga was my first time in salvage and rescue actions.

“I didn't know what was going on there until the phone rang. The dawn of May 6 was common: prepare the children for school, tidy up the house, pick up spills... until the order was given. In half an hour she was ready at the collection point. And I would be unable to describe the destruction when we finally arrived.

“For a few minutes I was dismayed by the crying of relatives in front of the facility, the sound of ambulance sirens and fire trucks. There was a lot of dust around, debris, voices giving orders and colleagues working with a beautiful disposition. There was hardly any time for rest, ”she assures.

But, what she experienced was not so shocking until she was informed of the next shift when she would be back: Mother's Day. She and Yamila Mederos, also a mother, "fought" together until the end to find the hope of an entire country among the rubble, and bring joy to women who had their children there.

"It was not possible. Every time she was responsible for removing a missing person, she had died. But we kept the faith of finding someone alive. It was a terrible day. I remember congratulating my mom during a short break; she asked me for caution and care, while I avoided looking at the relatives in front of the hotel.

“I confess that it was not a good mother's day. As much as I imagined being next to my family, I had to go to Havana, and I would do it again regardless of the celebration. “I was very happy to see the rescue of two puppies; instead, it destroyed me to witness the lifeless body of a child come out.

It is something that is not forgotten, it marks you and you feel angry at not being able to do more or reverse such a harsh image. I thought about a lot, starting with mine…”

Of heartbreaking seconds and long waits there would be a lot to tell. Her voices are still broken, marked by the tension of having in her hands the strength that Cuba needed in those days.It was not a simple mission, but the test of fervent love and humanism before her peers. For them, the Saratoga became a terrible page, from which they learned to deal with work and the concern of their relatives. It will be from the first second, and forever, a feat that exceeded limits, where courage made them heroes and injuries multiplied forces.

Taken from artemisadiario