Las Tunas electric workers are traversing the rugged terrain of the Santiago de Cuba municipality of San Luis with morale, discipline, and determination as high as the surrounding Sierra mountains, striving to restore power that Hurricane Melissa abruptly cut off.
Las Tunas, Cuba.– Jesser Ramos Santiesteban is a specialist in Occupational Safety and Health at the company and an exceptional chronicler of his colleagues' work in these almost annual battles against the damage left by hurricanes in different regions of Cuba. He tells us that the feats of rebuilding the system, severely damaged by the meteorological phenomenon that struck the eastern region of the country on October 29th, are a daily occurrence.
Formed, as is tradition, as the Vicente García Contingent, its members are defying the impact of the disaster with the same bravery as the illustrious Mambí warrior in the fight against Spanish colonialism. Now they honor the local patriot, whose legacy serves as a compass for undertaking the complex mission of restoring order to the battered network of power lines, meters, poles… that Melissa mercilessly toppled.
Ramos Santiesteban explains that the intense heat and the difficult terrain make the days more exhausting. Still, nothing changes the group's resolve: to give their best and fulfill the assigned task, because “it is very satisfying to see the joy expressed by the residents when service is restored,” he emphasizes.
That is their commitment: to create the technical conditions for electricity to return to the area that suffered the brutal onslaught of the powerful cyclone, and for that reason, they work diligently and overcome obstacles to provide for the community's well-being.
Ramos Santiesteban testifies that amidst the complex work, the collective's unity of action, teamwork, and adherence to occupational health and safety measures prevail, with an emphasis on those established for contingencies.
The contingent brings together brigades of linemen, technical personnel, and logistical support staff, including tools and cables, all driven by the spirit of solidarity instilled by the undefeated Commander-in-Chief, which the Revolution has cultivated for almost seven decades.
On the day of their departure from Las Tunas, engineer Carlos Rafael Arias Sobrino, general director of the Las Tunas Electric Company, described the difficult scenario in which they would be working and the conditions that awaited them, because “we are going to devastated communities.”
In these areas, the courage of these soldiers of light is evident as they accompany those affected and make the hope of returning to normalcy a reality with the support of all of Cuba.
