Special Updates From Cuba - Caring Response To Pandemic
Brigade of Cuban doctors and nurses arriving in Milan. Photo from Cubadebate
Dear friends and colleagues,
Last week we circulated a message with the practices and visions - gleaned from our last year of convenings - that are guiding us during these difficult times.
This week, we continue to reflect on the questions: what does a caring response to pandemic look like? and can we come out of this crisis better human beings and societies? In this message we share updates on the situation in Cuba and messages from the island.
Situation in Cuba: As of March 27, there are 80 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cuba and 1,851 patients under observation. As in many countries, schools and many offices have closed. On March 20, the country closed its borders to non-residents.
Economic Impact: Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the country was already experiencing an economic crisis and material shortage. The coronavirus adds an extra layer of precarity by interrupting tourism as well as agricultural and industrial chains of production.
International Solidarity: Last week, the government of Cuba allowed a British cruise ship with confirmed cases of COVID-19 to dock and evacuate at the Port of Mariel. Various other Caribbean countries and the United States had previously refused to allow the ship to dock and disembark. Passengers were escorted to the airport to board charter flights home. Cuba’s foreign minister said: “These are times of solidarity, of understanding health as a human right, of reinforcing international cooperation to face our common challenges…”
Medical Internationalism: On March 21, Cuba sent a brigade of healthcare workers to assist in Italy. One member was quoted as saying “We are all afraid, but we have a revolutionary duty to fulfill, so we take our fear and put it aside.”
Caregiving During Crisis: Not long before the pandemic hit, the first national workshop on systems of care was held in Cuba to discuss issues of caregiving, analyze its impact on gender equity, and assess the need for research. OXFAM Cuba and partners are now pointing out how the novel coronavirus and quarantines intensify these issues and are working to shine light on this issue.
Community Response: Many community organizations in Cuba are elaborating plans to support vulnerable citizens, including developing literature and cleaning products for those who need better access; providing increased access to help for victims of domestic violence; and coordinating volunteer support for elderly people (see box on “citizen responses.”)
These acts of individual, community, institutional, and national care and solidarity provide inspiration during this complex time. Whether you are in Cuba, the US, or other parts of the world in our international community, we’d like to invite you to share reflections, comments and/or observations on additional ways to build a caring and equitable response to COVID-19, for inclusion in our next newsletter. Please reach out with your thoughts!
As always, we are available by email, zoom, and phone. We will continue to send updates.
Wishing you good health and well-being,
The Cuba Platform
Citizens and organizations around the world speak out against US sanctions against Cuba.
U.S. organizations call for suspension of sanctions amidst COVID-19 crisis
Cuban residents in Europe call on European leaders to urge the U.S. government to end the embargo against Cuba
The Cuba Platform supports an end to all U.S. sanctions against Cuba
COVID-19 and US: A Message from our friend Emilia Fernandez (translated into English by CP)
Alarms are everywhere. States of emergency, border closures.. the list of negatives goes on. At the same time, there are free concerts from balconies in Madrid and Roma and collectives acts to recognize the healthcare workers who are assisting those in need. Here, on the island, I already know of two retired women who are anonymously making facemasks for those in need without receiving any compensation other than the satisfaction of having joined the ranks of those who help during times of crisis. And the icing on the cake: a ship that more than one country has avoided like the plague will be allowed to dock in Havana so that a group of sick people can be helped.
It is impossible for me to hear the word crisis without thinking about a phrase that I have carried with me since childhood: “Crises bring out the best and the worst in each of us.” We are left naked, because when existence itself is at stake, the instincts that otherwise remain hidden are revealed. In my family, I learned that when there is tragedy, you must go to the people at the center of it, help, and console, so that it may pass quickly.
With this sentiment, I am urging all of my colleagues to spread messages of optimism and love and to take daily actions – in the domestic and work environments – that serve others. Imagine: if from each one of us comes an idea or action that helps to minimize the feeling of helplessness, or re-energizes the spirits of someone so that they, in turn, are able to help others, then there will be no space for the impacts of the tragedy to multiple beyond what is inevitable. There is much that can be done. Let us be an active part of it, because, in addition, being busy thinking and doing good will also heed off laziness and discouragement.
Like all crises this must pass. When we look back and remember ourselves as standing on the side of those who helped, we will undoubtedly feel a deep sense of satisfaction; a healthy, empowering feeling that helps us to become even better human beings
Hugs and warm greetings to all – Emilia, Havana, March 17, 2020
Citizen-based efforts in response to COVID-19 #Cuba Started by Cuban researcher Ailynn Torres Santana, the following list has been circulating on Facebook to document and share the many citizen-based efforts taking place in Cuba to demonstrate social solidarity in the face of crisis. It is continuing to grow!
1. The AfroAthenas community project in the Matanzas province began to make cleaning products and literature to distribute among people in vulnerable situations.
2. The Church of the metropolitan community of Cuba organizes work teams to accompany older adults.
3. The Akokan project (Havana neighborhood of Los Pocitos) developed an action plan for the coronavirus contingency.
4. Young people from different parts of the country are organizing through Instagram and WhatsApp to create a support and “sponsorship” network for elderly men and women who live alone (to join, write to coronavoluntarioscuba@gmail.com)
5. Legal and psychological counseling by phone or online for victims of gender violence while quarantine lasts (it is possible to write to the following emails and leave a phone number and they will be called: consejeriaoar@gmail.com / ivon.et@oar. co.cu)
6. Doctors are offering advice on their FB profiles.
7. Women sewing facemasks for the neighborhood (Deisy María in Camagüey, Evangelina Nabalón and Yordy Morejón in Havana, Mayra Valdés in Pinar del Río). In addition, a neighbor in Marianao told us that she gave the two best sheets she had to another neighbor who sews, to make the facemasks for the neighborhood; And, I quote: "woe to whoever doesn't have it on!"
7. Accompaniment and orientation initiatives for self-employed persons to process the temporary suspension of their licenses (AUGE, for example)
8. The Cafe Crystal Restaurant, in El Cotorro, is preparing meals to feed the elderly in their neighborhood, at no cost, to encourage them to stay at home. On March 24 they announced that they will temporarily close the premises and that a small team will continue working to continue cooking only for the elderly until supplies run out. They invite all people who want to collaborate with supplies to ensure the continuity of the initiative, to do so.
9. The online platform YoSíTeCreo in Cuba continues its work to support women victims of gender violence. They can reach out and ask for advice and support through their Fb page. (YoSíTeCreo in Cuba)