Yuka, I saw a news about the massive blackout in Havana. I am worried. Were you alright?
ユカさん、ハバナで大規模な停電が長時間にわたり発生したというニュースをみました。心配しております。大丈夫でしたか？
YUKA）
Thank you for your concern! The power was finally restored yesterday morning in the area I live in. I had no electricity for about 67 hours since it was out from Friday morning. It was pretty long!!
Since we were having schedule power-cut multiple times recently in Havana, I was getting used to 2-3 hours of blackout. Thought this time, the entire Cuba was out of power and only major hospitals and hotels were using power generators. So everywhere else had not a single light on.
ご心配いただき、ありがとうございます！ 結局私の住む地区は昨日の朝、やっと復旧しました。金曜の朝からだから、約67時間の停電、長かった～！ 最近はハバナでも計画停電が繰り返されていましたので2-3時間の停電なら慣れていましたが、今回は、キューバ全土が停電、主要な病院と観光用ホテルだけが発電機を稼働させるのみで、それ以外はどこにも灯りがない状態でした！
TONY）
67 hours! That’s a really long time. First of all, why is this power shortage happening in Cuba?
67時間！ とても長い時間ですね。そもそもなのですが、なぜキューバでは電力不足が起きているのでしょうか？
YUKA）
Well, it seems that series of events finally led to this to occur.
In Cuba, Firepower is nearly 95% of the total power generation, and many of these power plants were built in the 1970s to 80s. (This alone seems pretty dangerous already…) In addition to that, lack of proper maintenance is leading those properties to become deteriorated more and more.
And there has been a chronic fuel shortage in the past few years. Long lines at the gas stations have become common even in Havana. There are even rumors that they have 12 hour blackouts in the countryside…
In such a situation, the government announced that “To save electricity, all non-essential organizations will be closed and schools will be out for the weekend!!” But shortly after that, the national power transmission system went down. This was something no one had expected. TVs, electric fans, and elevators all just stopped working.
Like you who lives in a country with basic infrastructure, it might be hard to even imagine life without electricity for three days.
Due to the fuel shortage, there are hardly any cars on the roads, and the whole town is very quiet after evening.
Even I, who am very good at being insensitive, felt depressed and sighed by the third day. But then, I heard a loud knock on our door, and heard my neighbor Marie’s voice. When I opened the door, she was standing there with a smile on her face holding something on a tray.
As soon as she saw my face, she said, “Yuka, I made some coffee for you. I know you can’t do anything since you only have an induction cooktop, right?” “Aww, thank you!” “Here’s also a chicken soup! Be careful it’s very hot! Are you eating okay?”
Her husband also appeared from the back of the door and said, “I’ll boil some water for the bath, so bring a bucket!” “That will be very helpful! I thought I had no choice but to take a cold bath today!” “You can not be catching a cold at a time like this! Is there anything else you’re worried about? Might be scared of the dark?”
Marie continued, “Don’t be hesitate!” “If you need anything, please feel free to knock on our door, doesn’t matter anytime!” As I was standing and talking with Marie and her husband in the hallway, with both of our front doors open, my cell phone rang.
It was Marta, a long-time friend. “Yuka, I know the electricity hasn’t been restored in your area yet, right? Come over to my place asap. I’ve turned on the power generator now so it’s fine here. I already cleaned and prepared your room.” … Especially at a time like this, everyone’s kindness really touches my heart. No one seems like they are “trying to be nice”, but they just do like its all normal things from their heart. That makes me feel even more grateful.
Although there are lots of stories of the bad economy and troubles in this country these days, the kindness of Cuban people is still alive, where they help you unconditionally once you get to know them. Every day in Cuba is like a slapstick comedy, where everyone laughs and cries together. I can’t help to think, “Well, a lot happens, but it’s not bad at all.”
うーん、いろいろなことが積み重なっていよいよここまで来てしまったという感じです。
キューバでは火力発電が全体の95％近くを占めているのですが、その発電所の多くが70年代から80年代にかけて建設されたもの。（これだけでも相当危ない感じ…）それに加え、十分なメンテナンスが行き届いておらず老朽化が進む一方です。
そして、ここ数年慢性化してきている燃料不足。ハバナでもガソリンスタンドでは長蛇の列が当たり前になっています。地方では毎日12時間の停電、という噂も聞こえてくるように…
そんな状況の中、政府が「今週末は節電のため、必要不可欠な機関以外業務停止、学校もお休み！」と発表したのですが、それから間も無く誰も予想していなかった全国送電システムのダウンが発生。TVも扇風機もエレベーターも止まってしまったんです。
基本的なインフラが整った国に暮らしているトニーさんには、3日間電気の使えない暮らしは、ちょっと想像が難しいかもしれませんね。
燃料不足で車もそうそう走っていないし、夕方以降は街全体がひっそりとしてしまいます。
３日目に入ると、鈍感力の強い私でさえ気が滅入って溜息なんかついてしまいます。そんな時に「ドンドン！」と我が家のドアをたたく音、続いてお向かいさんのマリーの声が。ドアを開けるとニコニコ顔のマリーがお盆に何やらのっけて立っている。
私の顔を見るなり「ユカ、コーヒー淹れたわよ、あんたんちはIHだからどうしようもないでしょ？」「うわ～、ありがと！」「鶏スープも、ほら！ 熱いから気を付けて！ ちゃんとご飯食べられてる？」
扉を開けた奥からご主人も顔を出して「風呂用にお湯をわかすからバケツ持っといで！」「助かる！ 今日は水風呂を覚悟してた！」「こんな時に風邪でもひいたらどうにもならん、他になんか困ってることないか？ 暗くて怖くないか？」
マリーが続けて「遠慮しないでよ！」「何か困った時は遠慮なくドアをノックしてよ、何時でも全然かまわないから！」お互いの家の扉を開け放したまま、マリー、ご主人と廊下で立ち話をしてると携帯が鳴る。
長いつきあいの友人、マルタからだ。「ユカ、まだユカの住んでる地区も電気復旧してないでしょ？ さっさとうちに来なさい、発電機つけたから大丈夫、もうユカの部屋はきれいに準備してあるから」．．．こんな時には特に、みんなの親切が身に沁みます。誰も「親切にしてあげる」みたいな気負いは全然なく、当然のことを普通にしてるという様子だから、なおさらありがたく感じます。
最近は景気の悪い話ばかりでトラブルも多いこの国だけど、一度打ち解けると掛け値なしで助けてくれるキューバの「ひと」の親切さはまだまだ健在。なんだかんだドタバタコメディのようにみんなで一緒に泣いたり笑ったりしながら生きていくキューバの毎日。やっぱり私には「まあいろいろあるけど、悪くないかな」と思えてしまうのです。