Madrid/The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (Cocc) confirmed this Sunday night that it is “holding useful and positive conversations with all parties” to channel, together with Cáritas, the donation worth three million dollars that the United States intends to send to the Island as humanitarian aid to alleviate the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa on October 29.
“We have received a humanitarian offer from the United States Administration, which passes through institutions of the Catholic Church in that country, to directly help the victims,” he admitted in the text.
The document has several brief points, three of them prior to the “political” content, in which it highlights the “difficulties and challenges” that the population is experiencing, aggravated in the east of the Island by the passage of the meteor, which it characterizes as “catastrophic, very painful and sad.” The religious mission of the Catholic Church, he emphasizes, is joined by the vocation of service in “charity to all, especially the poorest and most needy.”
To this he attributes his obligation to “serve” that task, in the “new circumstances that history has in store for us,” in this case, “so that this offer can become a reality.”
To this he attributes his obligation to “serve” that task, in the “new circumstances that history has in store for us”, in this case, “so that this offer can become a reality.”
The bishops’ statement once again turns to religious issues and asks for prayer and solidarity, specifically for the affected dioceses, and so that “these ongoing efforts and all the help that is being offered to our people, through various means, reach a satisfactory result and contribute to the well-being of those affected and generate the hope that Cuba longs for and needs.” The text closes with a devoted mention of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron saint of the Island and whose basilica, located in Santiago de Cuba, suffered considerable material damage last Wednesday.
Last Thursday, in a note in which the bishops asked for “international solidarity” with the victims, the Cocc already offered to channel the aid that the United States said it was willing to send as long as it was not the State that managed it. The State Department had until then mentioned the existence of the common ways to avoid the embargosuch as the granting of licenses to export medical supplies or food, but they did not represent an emergency line, so the Church’s offer was opened as an option for both parties.
He cuban regimethrough the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossíohad asked the United States for specifics regarding that aid and, while demanding the end of the embargo – which in no case could immediately alleviate the Melissa disaster –, insisted on asking for “respect for its sovereignty.”
The Church channel also satisfies the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba (Ctdc), which made its opinion public this Monday through a document in which it asks the regime to stop “monopolizing solidarity.” However, the organization claims its participation in the cooperation because it has recognized legal personality and documentation apostilled by The Hague.
“From the Council we demand, and we hope that the international community will accompany us in this demand, that the Cuban Government open a legal and operational space for civil society, undoing the fiction of pluralism represented by the so-called GONGOs (non-governmental organizations organized by the Government), which are nothing more than extensions of the state apparatus, and which could also carry out genuine humanitarian work from civil society.”
In the text, the Ctdc rejects that it is the State that manages emergencies “ensuring control and opacity in the management of funds. Meanwhile, the population does not trust these official institutions, discredited by their inefficiency, their lack of transparency and their political submission.” In addition, he accuses the regime of preventing the deployment of the United States disaster response team (Dart), which is deployed in neighboring countries, and “subordinating politics to the demands of humanism.”
In the text, the Ctdc rejects that it is the State that manages emergencies “ensuring control and opacity in the management of funds”
In the last few hours, the existence of new international aid has been known, coming from Colombia and which is estimated at 240 tons and includes food kits, hygiene kits, awnings, milk, water and fuel. The shipment should arrive on the ARC Victoria ship – departing this Monday – in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the province of Granma continues to suffer the floods from the flooding of the Cauto River. According to the latest data, the total number of rescued people amounts to more than 16,000 people. According to a television report this Sunday, firefighters and teams from the Civil Defense, Red Cross, Armed Forces and Police continue to remove people trapped in communities that were flooded by rains and landslides from the mountains.
The authorities described the situation as “very complicated” and “difficult” due to the high water level, even more so in Río Cauto and Cauto Cristowhich still remain in the alarm phase.
The eastern electrical system still not reconnecting completely to the national electrical system, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Holguín and Las Tunas began to receive service, but the coverage was, according to the ruling party, “very limited” and does not allow rotating circuits. Meanwhile, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo have microsystems to give light to the “vital structures.”
Regarding telephone service, there are two teams of forestry companies from Pinar del Río working on cutting and hauling wood for the production of electrical and telephone poles. “In total, there will be 4,500 pieces between 7.5 and 12 meters long that the province must complete before the end of the year,” he says. Granma.
