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Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau re Covid-19 |
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Tuesday, 24 March 2020 15:36 |
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Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto
PO Box 99051 – 1245 Dupont St Toronto, Ontario M6H 4H7 Tel: 647-501-1219 Fax: 905-951-8499
Established 1977 CCFA Toronto Email:
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Website: www.ccfatoronto.ca
Member of www.CanadianNetworkonCuba.ca (CNC)
March 15, 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Ontario
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
The Canadian Cuban Friendship Association Toronto is writing to bring to your attention an aspect of the COVID-19 crisis that, because it is given little importance by our leading news media, may find its significance undervalued. This possibility looms when Cuba is the focus of concern.
We are primarily troubled by the fact that, even in the face of a UN recognized pandemic, hardly anything is being done by governments of the Western world to ease the burden imposed on the Cuban people. On the contrary, recently added sanctions and the tightening blockade (arbitrary and illegal) seem calculated to make life a living hell for Cubans, its hellish consequences being abated only by the people's developed skills of analysis and cooperative work.
We believe that countries which possess a capacity for humanitarian sensitivity--and we expect our country Canada to be one of these--should act urgently on this matter, now newly exposed, regarding Cuba and other Third World countries, by prevailing on the U.S. to cancel its relentlessly stifling measures.
Such an intervention on Canada's part has great potential and practical benefits for Canada and for humanity. Some of them will be surprising to many people. We recently witnessed how a candidate for nomination for the presidency of the United States damaged his candidacy, in a climate primed to be malicious and ignorant, by mentioning favourably just one of the many ways in which the Cuban example would be beneficial to the United States itself.
Because Cuba made the decision to develop its biotechnology, creating, for example, its antiviral Recombinant Interferon Alpha 2B (INFrec)*, and because the island has normal, friendly relations with China, the island has been able to help China quell the ferocious COVID-19 attack. China with its abundant resources is now promptly following the Cuban internationalist example, by sending teams of specialized and well-equipped health workers to curb COVID-19's cruel threat to life in other countries, such as Iran, South Korea and Italy.
Countries throughout the world are deriving benefits from the progress that Cuba has been able to make in several fields. We beseech our government to be assertive in helping Cuba to free itself of the vicious burdens of the blockade and sanctions so that it may better help itself and humanity.
*Please see: https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/02/cuban-medicine-used-in-china-to-cure-coronavirus/
Looking forward to your response
Elizabeth Hill, President
Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto |
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Wednesday, 06 February 2019 22:50 |
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CNC Cross-Canada Campaign
for Cuba Tornado Relief
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Cuba Hit by first tornado in 80-years
February 4, 2019
Dear Friends,
Out of the dark blue of the evening of January 27, a line of
electric storms approaching Cuba from the south-west was
announced by the meteorological services. The general
interpretation was that beginning late on Sunday evening
intermittent thunderstorms would begin affecting eastern
Havana, nothing severe enough to change one’s plans to visit
friends in mid-Havana that evening.
What came to be identified as an unusual meteorological
phenomenon, including a tornado with winds of more than
300 kph, tore through fragile parts of Havana beginning at
about 8 p.m. The toll on housing, intensely in Regla and
Guanabacoa, was severe. As the tornado made its way from
the Casino Deportivo to east of Alamar, it passed through the
centre of the city, with terrifying howling winds.
Demolished or damaged homes were the major grief it brought.
This, together with crippling the electricity supplies, multiplied
the ways in which people could die or suffer serious injuries
in places that suddenly became unfamiliar. Havana suffered the
high numbers of 6 fatalities and some two hundred injured
people. 5,000 people have been evacuated from their badly
damaged houses in four Havana municipalities.
Heavy construction brigades came immediately to clear up the
trees and electrical poles and wires blocking the roads. Over the
next few days Havana’s students promptly came to help; artists
and writers carried water to where none was available, even
after the electricity had been mostly restored. (See photographs
in the online articles below.)
Hardly four weeks ago, the CCFA’s Amistad announced
the end to the CNC’s formal campaign for funds to help in the
recovery from Hurricane Irma. We thought that, with the end of
the hurricane season, Cuba would be spared, at least for some
months, the effects of new natural disasters; and here came this
insolent storm on the eve of José Martí’s birthday, coinciding
with the arrival of more than 1,000 people gathered from more
than 60 countries to participate with serious studies in the
central celebratory event.
The damage to Havana was on the minds of all of us.
Martí had written the aphorism:
It is noble to defend friendship, not forgetting,
in doing so, history and the idea of justice.
So a necessary campaign for funds against this malicious storm
and tornado has to be opened. We congratulate the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela on its sending aid to Cuba ahead of us.
Let us strive to catch up.
Cheques should be written to "CNC" with the following words
on the memo line: "Tornado Relief".
They should be mailed to:
CNC c/o Sharon Skup
56 Riverwood Terrace
Bolton ON L7E 1S4
E-transfers to be sent to
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,
please include in the message box "Tornado Relief"
and we recommend an easy password all lower case such as,
for example, which country the donations are going to help.
All the best,
Keith Ellis, CNC Cuba Relief Campaign Coordinator
Night of the storm:
http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2019-01-28/la-habana-estre
mecida-28-01-2019-00-01-55
The Morning after the tornado:
https://qz.com/1536611/photos-
of-the-aftermath-of-a-rare-and-deadly-tornado-in-
havana-cuba/
http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2019-01-28/30-imagenes
-de-la-habana-despues-del-tornado-28-01-2019-14-01-4
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Copyright 2019 canadiannetworkoncuba.ca. All Rights Reserved. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 February 2019 22:55 |
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Silent Auction on Jan 5th for the 60th Anniversary of the Revolution |
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Sunday, 23 December 2018 06:23 |
Silent Auction from Ad Hoc
Memorial Committee for
Tom Power (*1959 – +2018)
December 14, 2018
Dear friends and supporters:
Tom Power, a generous and active supporter of various free the Cuban Five campaigns, in Toronto and in the U.S., passed away April, 2018, but we know he would be delighted to see his framed photos/pictures of Cuba and its revolution used in support of raising funds for Cuba. His photos of Fidel, Che, Camilo and other leaders of the revolution are a historical treasure trove as well as books about Cuba that we would like to make available to persons who might be interested in them.
They will be available for silent auction at the 60th anniversary celebration of the revolution to take place at the
Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto,
on Saturday, January 5, 2019.
(See the CCFA calendar for details about the Jan. 5 event.)
For details of items that will be available contact Heide or Lisa below
For details about the event event on January 5th see the CCFA Toronto Calendar.
In addition, also available to take home with you will be cartoons done by one of the Cuban Five, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, mounted by Mike Constable, and which were part of an art exhibit in the Rotunda of Toronto’s City Hall during the first International Festival of Poetry of Resistance. There will also be CDs, 45’s, etc. all with content related to Cuba.
More than ever, we must unite in solidarity with the Cuban revolution. One hundred per cent of the money raised will be passed on to a seniors’ home that Tom and Heide visited while in Holguin and to a hospital in Havana, both contributions will be made with the help of the good offices of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). Donations in general would also be happily accepted so please bring your cash and/or your chequebooks with you as your interest in these items is sure to be piqued. All the money goes to Cuba and we are happy to make these items available for the celebrants of this momentous anniversary of the Cuban revolution! We look forward to seeing you there!
Yours in struggle, hasta la victoria siempre,
Ad Hoc Memoriam Committee for Tom Power
Brenda Ennis
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Linda Meissenheimer
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Elizabeth Hill
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Heide Trampus
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Lisa Makarchuk
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Final Report on Hurricane Irma Campaign Nov/19 |
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Saturday, 15 December 2018 21:43 |
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Final Report on CNC Hurricane Irma Fundraising
Keith Ellis, Coordinator, CNC Hurricane Relief Campaign, November, 2018
Sometimes the name of a hurricane can be deceptive with respect to its brutal strength and its malicious endurance. So, it was with Irma that hit northeastern Cuba in the very early morning of Sept. 9, 2017 as a Category 5 hurricane and maintaining winds of up to 270 km/h. Travelling slowly, with lingering cruelty, it began to select targets that it seemed to know would be devastating for the Cuban economy and its defenses, destroying or damaging severely everything from wind gauges to homes, hotels, hospitals, warehouses and factories. But it didn’t succeed in breaking the will of the Cuban people or in making them panic and forget the defensive and early recuperative measures against this strongest hurricane to ever hit Cuba. It didn’t seem stronger than the notorious 1932 Camagüey Hurricane only because of the formidable defensive and protective measures that are now in force in Cuba.
To help in the recuperative effort, Canadians from all parts of the country sent in to the fund established by the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) a total of $89,542,00. The main fundraising drive against Irma has now ended, but the deficit faced by Cuba because of the damage caused by Irma and previous hurricanes is great, so Sharon remains available to provide her generous and efficient work of receiving, acknowledging and sending on to Cuba any further donations (Sharon Skup, 56 Riverwood Terrace, Bolton, ON L5E 2S4, Canada).
Every penny of the $89,542.00 went to Cuba, to a fund set up by the Cuban Ministry of State, specifically to receive contributions destined to help Cuba recover from the damage caused by Irma. All incidental expenses such as banking and transfer fees, postal costs, thank you cards/receipts sent to donors,etc., were paid by the CNC.
Our campaign was supported by a deeply felt spirit of solidarity, for which we thank everybody who contributed, for whatever they contributed, and especially the Cuban diplomatic corps for their guidance and their significant material contribution. We hope that Cuba, which suffers much more than enough from plotted malice, will be spared in the future such brutal natural blows as were unleashed by Irma.
Our Heartfelt Thanks to all who donated |
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Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign |
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Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign
-Isaac Saney, CNC National Spokesperson, September 10, 2017 -
Hurricane Irma menaced and devastated the eastern and northern Caribbean, striking Cuba from September 8-10, resulting in significant and widespread damage. Accompanied by massive flooding, its sweeping destruction encompassed housing, communications, infrastructure, agricultural equipment, crops, and community buildings.
While, we are confident that the Cuban people will overcome any challenges posed by Hurricane Irma, Cuba will, nevertheless, have to expend considerable resources, both immediate and long term, in order to overcome the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Irma.
To assist Cuba in its immense efforts of recovery and reconstruction, the Canadian Network On Cuba (CNC) is launching the Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign.
Donations to the Hurricane Irma Relief & Reconstruction for Cuba Campaign can be made by mailing cheques made out to the Canadian Network On Cuba to: CNC Hurricane Relief, 56 Riverwood Terrace Bolton, ON L7E 1S4. Please write "CNC Hurricane Irma Relief Fund" on your cheque's memo line.
All donations will be forwarded 100% directly to Cuba.
In recent years, the CNC has had a series of successful Hurricane Relief Campaigns. The most recent was in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew struck eastern Cuba, devastating Baracoa, Cuba’s oldest city. In 2008, the CNC’s most extensive campaign was launched when a series of hurricanes caused damage in excess of $10-billion. The CNC not only raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also directly participated in the construction of a new social and cultural centre on La Isla de La Juventud (Isle of Youth).
In 2017, as Cuba faces this latest challenge, we are confident that Canadians - as they have repeatedly done - will once again demonstrate their friendship and solidarity with Cuba by supporting the island as it recovers from the ravages of Hurricane Irma.
Our experience with regard to Cuba's response to natural disasters is that it knows how to multiply the value of any donations it receives. We feel confident, based on the island's unsurpassed humanitarian work - both within Cuba and in other countries - that it has the skills, the organization and the ethical and moral values to put whatever assistance it receives to the best possible use.
Even at this difficult time, in the midst of Hurricane Irma’s havoc, Cuba’s deep internationalist spirit has once again been profoundly demonstrated by the sending of more than 750 Cuban health workers to Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and the Bahamas.
As in past campaigns, we hope that solidarity organizations and individuals will generously support Cuba in its efforts to rebuild after this devastating hurricane.
Send Donations to: CNC Hurricane Relief, 56 Riverwood Terrace Bolton, ON L7E 1S4. Please make cheques out to the Canadian Network On Cuba and write "CNC Hurricane Irma Relief Fund" on your cheque's memo line.
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