A Cuban state worker was arrested this week in the province of Santiago de Cuba, accused of having stolen seven pounds of rice (3.5 kilos) to take home.
The worker, identified as Ezequiel Chapman Bejerano, worked at the “Guillermón Moncada” Cargo Port in the aforementioned province, and as revealed by journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, he was caught in the act.
The 55-year-old man was detained at 11:00 am on Wednesday, April 3, and taken to the second unit of the Santiago de Cuba police, also known as “El Palacete.”
Through social networks, a video of the journalist has been spread, showing the man handcuffed to a bench at the police station.
According to the family’s testimony, Chapman Bejerano will be accused of “attack” after refusing to show the bag to a Port security agent.
“She told him to hand over the £7, but he resisted,” one of the sources said.
Mayeta stated that, after questioning the detainee’s son about the reasons why his father stole the rice, the young man responded that it was only so that they could eat.
“Out of necessity, he had nothing to give to his family,” he explained.
Chapman Bejerano has worked in Puerto Santiaguero since 2005 and yesterday they were just going to give him “a module of some food”, although he could no longer receive it.
In this regard, the detainee’s family pointed out that this module is not monthly nor does it have a fixed delivery date, but rather they give it “whenever they want.”
Mayeta indicated that the man is a veteran of the Angolan war, who despite the services he provided to the country, lives in poor conditions in the Mariana de la Torre neighborhood. Chapman Bejerano is also the sole breadwinner for his family, in which a minor also lives.
At the moment it is unknown what the penalty will be for Ezequiel, but it is feared that, if nothing else, he will lose his job and only means of support. The case has generated great indignation among the community, which recognizes that “only in Cuba is food stolen out of necessity.”
“Stopping in jail for a bag of rice, what misery is this? My God”; “So many cases of violent assaults and so many murders unsolved and they arrest this poor man”; “How many pounds of rice does the governor or the job owner pocket? Because I doubt they pay for what they swallow,” were some of the comments.
Although some recognize that robbery is ultimately a crime, and that the vast majority of the population has the same need, they also agree that the arrest itself is an exaggeration, especially given the way he was handcuffed.
Cases like this are a reflection of the intense food shortage and the strong economic crisis on the Island, where products are rationed to give only a small portion to the population, who sometimes do not even have money to access them.
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