5 Days in Havana, Part 2: Solidarity vs. the Blockade
Hasta la victoria siempre
Last week I traveled to Havana as part of a 44-person delegation from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). We left Havana with a shared understanding and mission:
The blockade is inhumane and evil, and we must end it.
THIS IS ONE PART IN A SERIES OF FOUR POSTS:
- Part 1 provides foundational knowledge on the blockade
- Part 2 covers some of its effects on travel and schools, but counters with how revolutionary solidarity empowers the Cuban people to withstand those challenges
- Part 3 describes the harrowing impacts it has on medicine in Cuba and worldwide
- Part 4 focuses on the beauty of Cuban resiliency and its imperfect, ongoing socialist project within the Revolution
- Part 4.5 continues what turned out to be too much for one part
- Part 5 concludes with questions left unanswered and a call for action
A quick note
In this post and the next, I’m going to be describing many hardships on life in Cuba due to the blockade.
It’s definitely NOT going to be all grim! Cuba is an amazing place and I have plenty of fun, beautiful, and inspiring things to share. I’m going to try to keep it balanced so you don’t get bummed out.
But, as mentioned, the goal of our delegation is to work towards ending the blockade, and:
In order to end the blockade, we must all come together to demand the change from those in power who are complicit in it;
In order for we the people to demand the change, we must understand the issue and the conditions created by it;
In order to help you understand the issue and the conditions, I write.
So let’s get through some tough stuff!
If you wait for the love fest in Part 4 and then go back to get fired up, that’s cool, too. But, as they say, don’t skip leg day!
How to get to Cuba
Traveling to and around Cuba isn’t particularly easy, and it’s more difficult than ever due to the blockade.
Tourism has been a lifeline for Cuba. Unable to procure international loans and combatting prohibitions that make it near impossible to generate commerce through trade, Cubans have historically relied on tourism to stimulate their economy.
Remember, while Obama worked with Raul Castro to ease restrictions, Trump unloaded 243 sanctions during his term and re-added Cuba to the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list. Biden has upheld these sanctions, save for a minor few.
Cruises are still no longer able to go to Cuba as they once were. US citizens must apply for a visa to enter the country, and if you apply for one, you must declare that you are going to Cuba for a particular purpose, each of which has its own restrictions and stipulations.
Travelers from outside of the US are punished, as well. For instance, European citizens don’t normally need visas to travel to the States. Under the current terms of the blockade, however, if they have visited Cuba after January 1, 2021, they have to apply for a visa. If you have family that is in the US or is planning to live or study in the US, would you risk traveling to Cuba and being denied a visa?
Even if you procure a visa, good luck getting a good flight, at least in the US. JetBlue has suspended all flights to Cuba. I flew United out of Newark, and three days after I returned home, United shut down those flights indefinitely. Delta recently asked the US Dept. of Transportation for permission to temporarily suspend Havana operations through next March. This week, Southwest announced that they will no longer fly to Havana out of Ft. Lauderdale.
Why are airlines abandoning Cuba? From the Miami Herald:
“Demand for travel to the island has been significantly affected by changes to the regulatory landscape and restrictions on our customers’ ability to enter Cuba,” JetBlue said in a statement.
On the way to Havana, the pilot announced over the radio that we were flying in a Brazilian plane. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Later, one of the leaders of our trip informed the group that one fun part of that “regulatory landscape” JetBlue refers to includes the fact that if your plane is made up of 10% or more US parts, it can’t land in Cuba without the airline facing harsh financial penalties.
And you can feel the effects of all these restrictions when you land in Havana. The customs area was nearly empty and took no time at all to pass through. I’ve never experienced that in an airport before, much less in a capital city.
The blockade is an onion that gets harder to handle as you peel the layers back.
No Free Refills on the Texas Tea
The blockade has created an oil shortage, making getting around the island challenging for its people. One of the first things that I saw during the bus ride from the airport to my hotel was a line at a gas station.
Remember back in 2021 when people in the US were panicking and filling plastic bags with gasoline? There is no hoarding in Cuba. When your culture is built on revolutionary solidarity as one of its defining principles rather than “rugged individualism,” scarcity doesn’t cause people to lose their minds.
Under the hood of Havana’s iconic classic cars? It’s not what you’d expect. Since Cuba can’t import US parts, what makes these cars run is a Frankensteined mix of whatever parts from other countries they can get their hands on. It’s pretty amazing that they have the ingenuity and creativity to keep their cars running despite that challenge.
Beyond daily transportation, so much more is affected by these facets of the blockade—think farming, freight, power generation, etc.
For our last dinner, we were at a nice restaurant and the power went out for a few minutes. Our group leaders were surprised we hadn’t experienced an outage up to that point. That’s just daily life in Cuba.
The Blockade vs. Schoolchildren
One of the stops I was really excited for during the trip was an elementary school.
The blockade makes it difficult for schools to get the basic supplies they need for their classrooms, so delegates were tasked with transporting new, unused supplies to give to the school if we were able. The list of supplies was extremely basic: pencils, erasers, chalk, sharpeners, construction paper, notebooks, crayons, etc.—things that many schools just have at their disposal (or, unfortunately in the US, necessitate teachers and/or parents to provide since schools are underfunded).
The delegation specifically opted not to take a picture of everything we brought because it didn’t really sit right. Obviously we wanted to capture everything we did on the trip, but some moments can feel a little too “photo op-y”. We don’t want to come across as being pictured as saviors of the kids when that isn’t at all the case.
Rather, our act of bringing supplies came from from a place of solidarity, not charity. What I mean by that:
While we may be fighting against the blockade, our tax dollars are still feeding our country’s acts of aggression towards Cuba. We’re using our own wealth and privilege to bring basic supplies to kids so that they’re able to learn and develop in the way that they should be able to. Charity is simply giving the supplies; solidarity is giving them while actively understanding and combatting the systemic conditions that require the giving in the first place.
Sowing the Seeds of Solidarity
The revolutionary solidarity of Cuban society is something that affects everyone there from birth.
For example, as we learned at the Federation of Cuban Women, women get a year of maternity leave and their job is guaranteed when their leave ends. Other caregivers—fathers and grandparents—get leave during that time, too (didn’t note how long or the specifics; that’s my bad). Further, their healthcare providers are part of the living fabric of their community; each has a polyclinic. Doctors are connected to their patients’ schools and workplaces and part of people’s everyday lives. Here we like to say “it takes a village to raise a child”—there that’s not just a phrase; it’s revolutionary practice.
All around the elementary school that we visited, there were dedications to Che Guevara, the iconic Argentinian who was a revolutionary hero and Fidel Castro’s right-hand man. Nods to Che—who is beloved for his thoughts and convictions as well as his deeds (in Cuba and worldwide, even if he’s a particularly polarizing figure in the States)—can be found all around the island, but they meant a little more there.
The principal explained to us that the members of the revolutionary vanguard themselves were involved in building schools after their victory. Che, embodying his concept of el hombre nuevo, helped build this particular school, and therefore, their garden is dedicated to him, as is their school hymn (of which each school has its own). Every child in the school spends a couple of hours a week tending the garden together as an act of solidarity.
Hymn of the School (via Google Translate)
From Argentina its fertile soil
A gentle piece bequeathed us
And he who was a citizen of the world
Our country with faith liberated
Peerless, legendary guerrilla
With his blood he watered my soil
And my people paid their courage
With deep tenderness, with immense love
Other towns demanded his courage
To rise in the fight with courage
And as Che Guevara marches firmly
The dignity of many elevated
And today when they say that you have died, I do
This song that means
Brave men never die
Because forever we see him live
As you promised
I feel
You kept me in mind when you left.Revolutionary Permaculture
Like healthcare providers, teachers are also integrated into their communities. They interact closely with their students’ parents and visit their homes (something that’s more achievable when the classrooms are only 15 kids—a national standard). Part of that interaction includes encouraging parents to be an active part of their kids’ school.
I asked about Arts education in Cuba. Aside from being part of the curriculum for every child, communities have “culture houses” and ongoing art projects. But also, alongside having representatives from art schools visit and instruct, schools lean on parents who are well-versed in the Arts to help with that education.
One goal of the schools is to keep kids who are in the same class together. There are no private schools or gifted programs that separate students. Children who we would call “gifted” get extra activities, and those gifted in the Arts get involved in special programs after school. If there is a student with behavioral issues or special needs, they may get a tutor or be sent to another type of school temporarily where they can get special attention, but the intent is always to bring those students back to learn with their classmates.
It’s worth repeating
As I’ll reiterate in every post in this series, I don’t claim to be an expert on Cuba. Reading and listening to material over the last year and a half and visiting the country once doesn’t make me an authority on anything.
I do know one thing, though: The blockade must end. The Cuban people must be allowed to live.
If you have questions, I’m happy to answer them as well as I can. Please don’t hesitate to ask.
Peace,
Greg
PS: A better world is possible—join DSA today and let’s fight for it together 🌹
PPS: Some photos are mine but others are from other comrades on the trip (who I won’t name for anonymity’s sake unless any of you reading this wants credit!).
