A Blockade on Cuba: Persistent and Pervasive
Campaign News | Tuesday, 1 October 2024 | Click here for original article
In a declassified government file from 1960, Lestor Mallory proposes the idea of a blockade on Cuba. He argues that this would be achieved through “denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of the government.” The ultimate goal would be to “weaken the economic life of Cuba” by any means necessary.
More than six decades later, the blockade has cost Cuba trillions of dollars. Despite 31 consecutive years of overwhelming U.N. General Assembly votes in favor of lifting the blockade – opposed only by the U.S. and Israel – the blockade stubbornly remains in place. This blockade, denying the Cuban people essential supplies such as medical and agricultural equipment, stands as the most formidable barrier to Cuba’s sustainable development goals.
Impact
An Oxfam report from 2021 notes that due to the tendency to hinging the debate within U.S. power circles on the political benefits of regime change within Cuba, the scope and severity of the blockade’s impact on the daily lives of the island’s people and the rights of its most vulnerable are seldom discussed. Women, children, older adults and people with disabilities have suffered the brunt of the harm in the last 60 years.
In the U.K., the Cuban Solidarity Campaign (CSC) works across the country to campaign against the blockade and for Cuba’s sovereignty and its right to determine its future free from foreign aggression. The Borgen Project spoke to the Director of the CSC, Rob Miller, who reiterated the damaging effects of the blockade, which he describes as “a vicious set of economic sanctions,” and underscored the campaign’s ongoing efforts, which have been vital since the early ’60s. Its main priorities are the British government and fostering stronger U.K.-Cuba relations by encouraging trade and cultural and scientific exchange.
The Toll on Health Care
Cuba boasts the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world, with 8.5 doctors per 1,000 people and a world-class healthcare system that trains doctors from around the globe, including more than 240 young Palestinians, free of charge. However, during the pandemic, the U.S. and international corporations refused to supply vaccines to Cuba under any circumstances. In response, Cuba successfully researched and developed its vaccine. Despite having some of the best-trained medical staff in the world, the country’s health infrastructure is deteriorating and essential resources are often lacking, hindering their ability to perform duties effectively.
The blockade has prevented medical centers from accessing life-saving equipment. It has led to regular shortages of basic medications like paracetamol and essential supplies such as bandages and masks. The impact of these shortages is evident in Cuba’s health statistics. The infant mortality rate, for example, has risen from five per 1,000 to 7.5 in just three years. Miller points out that this worrying trend is mirrored across other health metrics in Cuba. “As the statistics come in,” he explains, “you can see that the blockade is directly starting to kill Cubans.”
In response, the CSC has launched the Cuba Vive fundraising appeal to send a shipping container filled with medicines, surgical supplies and medical equipment, as requested by the Cuban Health Workers’ Union (SNTS) and the Ministry of Health. Having raised approximately £117,000 so far, Miller is optimistic that they will meet their target of £130,000 by the end of the year.
“At Every Twist, at Every Turn”
Miller explains that the CSC has built a close relationship with schools in Cuba for blind and visually impaired children and many of its delegations visit two schools, one in Havana and the other in Pinar Del Rio. The CSC provided the schools with braille machines manufactured by the U.S. company Perkins, making them otherwise inaccessible to Cubans. “It’s empowering,” he says, “because obviously then they can write and they can express themselves.”
Although Cuba spends more of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education than many other nations, the blockade means that many items are either inaccessible or more expensive due to increased transportation costs. During his last visit to Cuba, Miller learned from school staff that there was insufficient paper to use the braille machines. “You don’t realize the difficulties it presents Cubans daily,” he asserts, ‘they are blocked in so many ways from doing their jobs…At every twist and every turn, they’re blocked and and in a life-threatening situation.”
Agriculture: “Stretched to the Limit”
Agriculture is among the sectors most severely impacted by the blockade, directly affecting national food security and the economy. In addition to facing internal challenges and excessive bureaucracy, restrictive U.S. policies have resulted in insufficient domestic food production, increased import costs to meet food demands and a lack of advanced technology needed to boost productivity.
Miller explains that the entire sector is “really stretched to the limit and falling apart.” Every part of society needs “utter overhaul and modernization.” However, the lack of resources makes this nearly impossible. Accessibility to resources such as tractors, fuels, fertilizer, transport for workers and irrigation systems are all heavily limited due to the blockade. In 2020, only 28% of all cultivated land could be fertilized.
The Path Forward
Alongside material aid initiatives like Cuba Vive and Viva La Educacion (a fundraiser for educational resources), the CSC regularly dispatches solidarity brigades and engages in political campaigning in the U.K. This includes a letter-writing campaign urging the U.S. ambassador in the U.K. to advocate for Cuba’s removal from the U.S. “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list.
Through various strategies, the CSC is committed to solidarity with the Cuban people, ensuring their efforts reach multiple sectors of Cuban society. While Miller acknowledges that only the U.S. has the power to end the blockade, he remains convinced that “every country could do more and we would like Britain to do more.” With this belief, the CSC continues to lobby the new British government just as it did with the previous Conservative government. “It’s a difficult path, but we’ll continue to do our best,” he promises.
The impact of the CSC’s work is profound because of the tangible change it has made in the lives of children, patients, doctors and so many Cubans. Its efforts ensure that Cuba is not forgotten in the U.K, that it is not isolated and that people can stand up against this blockade, which has been so harmful to what Miller describes as “a small country with a very big heart.”
