Cuba and Its Struggles for Recovery and Dignity

Cuba awakens with a heart-wrenching pain. The onslaught of Hurricane Melissa is still felt, responsible for one of those seemingly endless nights. Many have lost their roofs, and even those walls that shelter the objects and memories that make a home.

But the battle of Cuba and its people is not over. While thousands are already preparing to clear debris and begin the long hours of intense work to restore the electrical grid, a battle of dignity and principles will be fought in a few hours at the United Nations headquarters.

This year, the enemy—the one that prevents Cubans from accessing fuel, credit, and necessary supplies, always, but especially at times like this—has wielded its club with particular force and abuse.

Some nations may not withstand the onslaught of this "hurricane of blackmail, pressures, and lies" led by the United States Department of State and may yield to Yankee interests when voting on the resolution demanding the end of the blockade against Cuba. However, the majority will continue to stand with Cubans in this struggle of resistance, which every day demands greater efforts and fewer errors.

Some of us had the painful experience of witnessing the intervention of the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. It was "an intervention full of lies, slander, and manipulation of reality." If the blockade is truly just an excuse, why not remove it? The answer lies beyond this policy that causes the suffering of millions of people, including children; it fills the pockets of a mafia that has hijacked the Empire's policy towards Cuba. These are characters who profit from pain and death.

They are the same ones who have pressured governments and their representatives onto the path of ignominy and injustice. To make them ignore the demands of their own people and "sell their souls to the Empire, which is not the same as selling them to the devil, but it is equal."

Today, Cuba and its heroic people face two powerful forces, but as it has learned to do, it challenges them and will emerge with its head held high. Because although some may falter, the victory at the UN will be overwhelming. And likewise, although with double the sacrifice due to the blockade, the eastern region will also recover.

Many greenbacks have been spread around to corrupt, blackmail, and buy wills. It is obvious that some must yield; they have even sold their dignity. But in this world where the right-wing stokes the fire of fascism, where genocide against an entire people is televised, and where drug cartels are invented as a pretext for political and military aggression, it is normal that not everyone is up to the task. Yet, an overwhelming majority will continue to defend what is just, what is humane, and the right to exist of a people who only work for their present and future.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque / CubaSí Translation Staff