Solidarity in Cuba after Hurricane Melissa
Hurricane Melissa crossed eastern Cuba Oct. 29 with sustained winds of 120 mph and torrential rains. No lives were lost, but agriculture was devastated and many thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
As the storm approached, brigades of electrical and construction workers with heavy equipment were sent from central and western Cuba, along with doctors and other health workers. They went to work as soon as the hurricane was over. TV news features interviews with residents, and with the linemen and others who have come in from different parts of the island, showing the magnitude of the losses, and also the confidence that recovery is possible.
There has been an outpouring of solidarity from other parts of Cuba. One community leader on the outskirts of Havana showed me her garage with a dozen carefully labeled boxes of clothes and shoes, medicines and tools. Havana taxi drivers have taken up a collection to send six taxis. In spite of the economic crisis and shortages, Cubans are finding ways to help those who lost their homes and livelihoods.
Matilde Zimmermann
Havana, Cuba
‘Mandela’s granddaughters’
Deeply appreciated the article, “Mandela granddaughters in Israel: ‘People killed for being Jewish.’” The Jewish News, a paper published in Britain, added that the two women rejected the slander of calling Israel an “apartheid” state. The granddaughters told the paper: “Apartheid was government-mandated racial separation. What we saw in Israel and Gaza is very different. There is no comparison. We witnessed communities — Jewish and Arab — living, working, marrying side by side. Equating the two misrepresents both histories.”
Greg McCartan
Oslo, Norway