14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 29 January 2024 — A bus travelling at full speed and persistently honking its horn crossed Carlos III Street in Central Havana on Monday morning. The vehicle, loaded with passengers at at a time of day when demand for urban transport is high, headed towards the entrance of the nearby Freyre de Andrade General Clinical Surgical Hospital, popularly known as “Emergencies.” The reason for the race against the clock? A man who was riding on the bus had fainted, which brought the bus driver’s sense of solidarity into sharp focus.
“The boy next to the man realized that he was collapsing,” reported one of the passengers as the P15 waited outside the emergency room while the driver tried to get the unconscious man to safety. “I brought him here because I am responsible while he is in my vehicle. I couldn’t let him die but now we need a doctor!” cried the employee of the Provincial Transportation Company when faced with a disinterested man cleaning the area around the gatehouse of a hospital short on physicians.
Peering out the windows, many of those waiting inside the bus became frantic, not only because the clock was ticking but also because th