HAVANA TIMES – Home Depot stores belong to the chain of the same name. They are dedicated to selling home improvement materials.
The closest one is about 6 kilometers from where I live, here it would be a little more than 3.5 miles, a unit of measurement I am not used to but must learn.
While waiting for my work permit, I take two buses to get to that store. I arrive early, almost at dawn, and always find more than a dozen men, all Cubans, waiting for a contractor for some occasional work.
Some days are lucky, and others are not. More than half return empty-handed.
Sometimes they have to deal with an occasional police presence. Many crossed numerous borders to get here, do not have permission to work, and have been waiting for months to appear in court