‘Inefficacious bystander’
Dear Editor:
Cuba and its people have been collectively punished for decades by the United States for freeing themselves from a dictator, Fulgencio Batista, who was collaborating with American businesses in maximally exploiting Cuba for their mutual enrichment.
More than 60 years have passed since the Cubans fought for their freedom, and the economic sanctions not only remain, but are being intensified.
Recently, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made it their mission to cause economic (or potentially physical) harm to countries that provided Cuba with oil to power their electrical grid, namely Venezuela and Mexico.
With the commercial export of oil halted, only a trickle of it can arrive in Cuba via humanitarian aid. Schools and hospitals in the country can only operate at limited capacities because of rationing. It’s a cruelty.
Canada has had good relations with Cuba despite American hostility. Many Canadians have enjoyed traveling there for tourism. But with no oil being imported, air travel services will have to either land planes in another country to refuel for the return trip, or cancel flights outright, hurting an important economic and cultural vector.
When asked about Cuba’s situation in the House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand only expressed concern for the safety of Canadian citizens on the island. Did that response seem to imply that the Canadian government would be an inefficacious bystander to anything that occurs in the future?
As Canadians, we shouldn’t be letting this carry on. Tell your member of parliament that Canada needs to be concerned about Cuba’s future. There are non-profit groups that are collecting donations for humanitarian aid shipments, such as the Canadian Network on Cuba. There are even public demonstrations in front of the American consulate in Toronto, if one has the time to go there.
And don’t listen to anyone who watches Cuba’s jeopardy with glee.
Dylan Clarke,
Centre Wellington