Rain, A Justification for So Many Things

Rain, A Justification for So Many Things / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, 10 June 2016 –"Why did you bring
the girl if it is raining?" my friend's daughter's second grade teacher
asked when she brought her child to school on Wednesday. Although the
school year should continue, many elementary school teachers took
advantage of the precipitation this week to hasten its end. The
bureaucrats used the excuse of the bad weather to delay paperwork, while
countless medical clinics opened late due to the weather.

Many state employees behave as if they are sugar cubes, or watercolors
about to dissolve, or allergic to water when the rain comes. This
reaction is laughable given that we live in a tropical country, but
there is also a lot of drama involved in the serious damage the rains
cause to millions of people. Over and over again, public services behave
as if each rainy season was the island's first.

The banking system, dysfunctional throughout the year, collapses almost
entirely when two drops of rain fall from the sky. The Nauta email
service – operated by the state phone company – is thrown into crisis,
and urban transport outdoes itself in terms of problems. A drizzle and
schools suspend classes, retail markets barely open, and even the
emergency rooms in public health centers work at half speed.

All this without a hurricane, or 60-mile-an-hour-plus winds, or one of
those heavy snows that keep nations further north on edge. The
paralyzation of life here caused by the rains is more than a
justification, it is an alibi, one that allows many, during these days,
to do what they most desire: Nothing.

Source: Rain, A Justification for So Many Things / 14ymedio, Yoani
Sanchez – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/rain-a-justification-for-so-many-things-14ymedio-yoani-sanchez/