Helping Each Other Out

Lisduania Victorero Reinoso

HAVANA TIMES — Despite the many needs that we all face here every day, I don’t think there’s any reason for us to lose our dignity and pride or to end up like beggars.

I’m not talking about those poor people with certain disabilities — whether physical or mental — who we see in the streets begging for spare change. No, I’m referring to professionals and workers who take advantage of their situation to benefit at the expense of others.

In cases like these we’ll see doctors charging for a service that is completely free. In the views of others, these people are unethical, less than humane and are “asking for handouts with a shotgun.”

I think that despite all of the needs we face, there’s no reason to delay or deny care for those people who can’t afford to pay for what should be free.

In some cases we can hear service providers saying things like: “Hey, I’m the doctor but I haven’t had any lunch. Why don’t you bring me a snack? And boy am I thirsty!”

In themselves these things aren’t so bad; but when they become customary, it’s terrible.

We even see this in jobs where goods or services aren’t provided for free. For expediting a procedure, searching for a document, reserving a flight, etc., people will ask for additional money, on top of what’s supposed to be charged.

What we see are people constantly asking for money, only thinking about how they can take care of their own problems. But what about the other people? Don’t they have problems too?

Of course not everyone engages in these practices, and thank God we still have good human beings despite them having the same and even greater needs. There are still people here who maintain fine human qualities, often doing everything possible to help those people in need so that they come out at least halfway satisfied.

This is what this country needs, people who have not let their souls become corrupt due to shortages and adversities. We should all help each other out, because in the end we’re all the same. We’re all the same boat.