Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto

As you already know, Cuba has once more suffered the fierce attack of a hurricane.  This one, Gustav, is considered to be the most devastating in the last forty years.  Having caused severe flooding in its early stages in eastern Cuba, it grew in strength and size in the warm Caribbean waters and, after demolishing the special municipality of the Isle of Youth with its awful force, invaded Pinar del Río, Cuba’s most westerly province.  By this time it had achieved a diameter of some 450 kilometers with the most destructive winds and rains packed into the eastern side of the monster.  Although Pinar del Río bore the brunt of the damage, ravaged by sustained winds of  240 kph, with gusts as high as 350 kph, the area of damage extended to include the provinces of Havana, City of Havana and Matanzas. Update: Hurricane Ike also hit Cuba and travelled lengthwise across Cuba and increased the damage overall and especially in the eastern sections.

Then in November, a third category 4 hurricane "Paloma" - and that is not counting the ones that stayed as tropical storms or minor scale hurricanes.

 The damage touched all sectors of the economic and social life of the region.  In large parts of Pinar del Río and Isla de la Juventud, houses, schools, hospitals and other public buildings that weren’t demolished, lost their roofs or suffered other kinds of damage.  This means that warehouses that stored supplies and commodities such as rice, sugar, flour, tobacco, could not avoid exposing them to the elements.  Cultural and recreational facilities were damaged or destroyed.  Ferris wheels were turned into mangled metal, as were transmission towers used for electricity or communications.  Damaged high-tension power lines, roads and bridges added to the toll. The agricultural sector has suffered severely.  Hundreds of hectares of bananas fell early, as did citrus fruit.  Sugar cane was massively affected.  Sophisticated irrigation equipment was ruined.  The fishing industry based in the Isla de la Juventud was gravely hurt. 

Hurricanes will continue to batter Cuba.  The island can frustrate them only to a certain extent, chiefly through deepening scientific knowledge of their behaviour and the achievement of a social organization based on solidarity, trust, egalitarianism and fairness.  The day after Gustav passed, roads were being cleared and swept, food was being shipped to affected areas from provinces that were better supplied, linemen were arriving in Pinar del Río from Santiago to work “as long as is necessary,” and public health brigades were ensuring salutary conditions.  Building materials were being distributed to those who needed repairs to their homes.  The energy revolution has introduced technologies that have resulted in speeding up the restoration of electricity after damage to the grid.  The presidents of the Defense Councils of Pinar del Río and Isla de la Juventud, both women, are being received in the various communities they visit, with cheerful demonstrations of confidence in them and in the Revolution.  A badly damaged hospital in one of the communities in Pinar del Río was the place of birth of a boy during the hurricane.  He was named Gustavo for the hurricane and David for the Cuban people’s spirit of fighting against great odds. That fighting spirit must also be imbued with the patience of Sisyphus, because the unwanted meteorological phenomenon stubbornly recurs.  A previous CNC donation went precisely to one of the again affected Pinar del Río communities to provide roofs for some 200 houses.  We hope that these roofs have survived.  The fighting spirit must also be buttressed by financial resources.   

At this time of writing, two days after the [first] disaster, the total cost of the damage has not yet been assessed, but it will surely be billions of dollars. In September, the UN estimated up to $6 billion(USD).  After Paloma, the government is estimating over $8 billion!  

Cuba has sent help to other countries for years. Even though Cuba has not requested aid from us, the friends of Cuba - led by the constituent members of the Canadian Network on Cuba - will want, as they usually do, to do everything possible to help.  In view of the great expense, we should imaginatively seek out new additional sources of funds—from different levels of government, farmer’s associations, trade unions, cultural groups—and in general widen the circle of the friends of Cuba.  We should work to include people who are indignant at injustice, those who understand, for example, that one of the main reasons why the Bush administration let some of its citizens die rather than accept Cuban medical help at the time of Katrina was because they wanted no easing of their brutal embargo, even when Cuba was faced with terrible natural disasters.  Let us approach Canadians with some of the information included in this piece and, as José Martí would do, believing in their goodness. The need for funds to recover from hurricane Gustav is urgent. We aim to forward to Cuba an initial contribution of $100,000 as soon as possible. We hope that in this hour of Cuba's need, you will find it possible to respond in a spirit that reflects the generosity and determination of the Cuban people.  

Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund.   Then please write on the memo line of the cheque “For Cuba Hurricane Relief.”  Your  name, address and telephone number should be included if it is not already on the cheque itself so a tax receipt can be issued (or state that a tax receipt in not needed). (6-8 weeks)  Privacy:  names are not shared at all.

100% of this money received will go for Cuba Hurricane relief:  obtaining requested goods and shipping containers or sending money to Cuba.  Cuba has one of the best records of humanitarian aid getting to its people.

Envelopes should be addressed to:  

Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund,   
Att: S. Skup,Treasurer        56 Riverwood Terrace, Bolton, Ontario, L7E 1S4  

2) Make out your cheque to your local Cuba solidarity committee with your name, address and phone number, clearly stating “For Cuba Hurricane Relief”. The local committee will send one cheque together with a list of the names, addresses, phone numbers and the amount of the donation of the individual donors to the Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund. Tax receipts will then be issued to individual donors ( unless requested not needed).  
List of provincial groups are on the CNC website.   www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca

Yours in solidarity,

As of Dec 12, 2008, Canadians have raised $370,505.33 which is still a drop in the bucket, and puts the Canadian Government to shame.