Milwaukee Activists Bring Aid to Cuba During Oil Blockade

Since the Trump administration imposed an oil blockade in January, the Caribbean island nation has been in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis.

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Cuba, a country with a revolutionary socialist history, is home to more than nine million people. Since the Trump administration imposed an oil blockade in January, the Caribbean island nation has been in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis. Widespread fuel shortages have led to food insecurity, compromised health care and daily blackouts. In response, volunteers across the world have mobilized to bring and distribute aid to the Cuban people, including via the Nuestra América Convoy in March, which comprised approximately 650 activists from 33 countries and 120 organizations, delivering 20 tons of aid.

While no Milwaukee activists were on board the flotilla itself, several have traveled to Cuba over the last few months to assist with their own means. Among them are Christy Breihan and Marty Horning, who arrived several days before the flotilla. Both activists have worked with the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba for years and had each traveled to the island nation previously.

Massive Rally

When the Nuestra América Convoy made it to Cuba on March 21, Breihan and Horning attended a massive rally where Cuban government leaders spoke while representatives from various organizations and nations showing solidarity including Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, Claudia De La Cruz of Pastors for Peace and Jeremy Corbyn of the British Labour Party were present. The following day involved a concert at the Plaza de la Revolucíon where Irish punk band KNEECAP performed.

“It was quick, but that’s because it’s not vacation—it’s politics and solidarity,” Horning affirms. He traveled to Cuba with comrades from Chicago’s HotHouse. “They did a really good job with getting connections and setups.” Horning remembers as he was boarding his plane to Havana, he was approached by a Customers & Border Protection agent, who asked where he was going and why. “I told him it was for humanitarian aid, and he made some snide comment.”

Upon arriving, Horning witnessed how different Cuba looked compared to when he was last there 23 years ago. “There’s no trucks. There’s no buses. You just see a lot of people walking or on bicycles or mopeds. This society is being choked to death on a daily basis.”

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Dire Situation

With his small group, Horning had helped raise money prior to the trip that was then passed along to organizations well-equipped to distribute aid. “Our focus was solar panels and needed pharmaceuticals,” he says. “The situation down there is so dire that our hostel in a nice part of Havana had electricity three or four hours a day and that was it.” The night clerk at Horning’s hostel was a resident in anesthesiology. “He talked about how he can’t complete his thesis because they don’t have a reliable source of electricity to do medical procedures.”

Breihan traveled with a group called Global Exchange. She notes having been asked a lot of questions by security at the Havana airport. “Cuba right now is honestly afraid of the U.S., and they’re afraid of people from the U.S. coming to try to overthrow their government. I don’t blame them for being suspicious.” Once she made it out of the airport, however, Breihan was delightfully greeted by her contact who immediately brought Breihan to meet her family for coffee across the street. “20 minutes later I was leaving and they were all hugging me and kissing me goodbye on the cheek.”

The woman who picked Breihan up described herself as a Fidelista who spoke highly of the Cuban revolution and what it had done for her family, even for her nephew who is now an actor living in the U.S. but studied drama in Cuba. Breihan elaborates, “There are all these flourishing arts programs. It’s awesome how much they are able to support the arts in a country going through the difficulties they have, because Cuba understands that’s an important part of culture in keeping people united and together.”

Solar-Powered Farms 

For a school for children with hearing impairment, Breihan’s group distributed items like vitamins, batteries and jars of peanut butter. They also brought solar charges to a rural sustainability organization. At an organic farm, Breihan met with folks who spoke proudly of Cuba’s agricultural breakthroughs while enlisting volunteers to work on the farm in exchange for food. “They were really proud that they were able to grow all this food in an organic and sustainable way without electricity,” she mentions. “It looked like they were doing quite well with their harvest this year.”

But she also met Cubans who were hungry and emaciated. When Breihan visited a medical facility, where power had been prioritized for when the generators kicked in, she heard heartbreaking stories about the collapse of Cuba's once-renowned healthcare system. “When the power goes out, they have to hand-pump ventilators to keep people from dying. These are well-trained medical professionals who know how to save lives but don’t have the equipment, the tools and the power they need to do what they can do. They said a lot of doctors have left because they want to practice medicine and aren’t able to use their skills there right now.”

Breihan points out, “No one was blaming us for what our government is doing.” Interestingly, the only complaints she heard about the Cuban government pertained to private enterprise and the disparity it causes between those who receive money and support from relatives in the U.S. versus those relying on the state. “It’s accomplishing what the U.S. government wants it to accomplish in that sense: trying to create divisions with the private sector and is just another way of attacking the Cuban government’s socialist intentions.”

Regarding their views on the U.S. government’s policies, Breihan found many Cubans understandably distraught by the unfathomable stress it has caused. “People said that if we can’t take care of ourselves then why is the U.S. imposing these very strict sanctions on us? If they don’t think we’ll make it on our own, why don’t they find out by lifting the blockade and see how we do?”

Milwaukee activist Jay Bridges arrived in Cuba a few weeks after the flotilla. She recalls coming across an advertisement on social media for a farming sustainability program called Regla Soul and signed up to be a volunteer. “It was something that intrigued me because I had been looking at our food justice systems in Milwaukee and being in partnership with places like Tricklebee Cafe and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges,” Bridges explains. “I was interested to learn more about what it means to be sustainable when it comes to food sovereignty and bring some of those ideas back home.” Upon arriving, Bridges quickly noticed how expensive taxis leaving the airport were. “To get to a place, if you don’t have pre-arranged transportation, it’s like $60 one way.”

Building Relationships

Although the farming program was just for a few days, Bridges connected with folks there and has built on those relationships. Much of the volunteering opportunity she now finds is through individual homes or families, or with a local organization passing out boxed meals for folks. “It’s actually kind of hard-to-find volunteer work here, but when I do find it I try to meet with them as much as possible.” Bridges is currently staying and volunteering at a bed and breakfast in central Havana and expects to return to Milwaukee mid-June.

Like Horning, Bridges has observed highways flooded with people due to lack of public transit and needing to walk everywhere. “You have people even on the furthest of highways not close to a town who are standing there trying to get a ride or walking miles just to get places whether it’s home or work. You ride past 20 to 30 people standing at a stop waiting for a bus that may take hours to come.”

Bridges has also met folks struggling to feed their children, buy diapers or access medication. She shares, “I see similarities to being back home, as being someone who grew up in a poverty-stricken area. You just kind of have to make it work because you have no choice and always being resilient as a consequence to your situation. People are just making it work here, and I see so much of that in not just myself but many parts of the world that are dealing with colonialism and imperialism.”

However, Bridges sees the Cuban people continue to find joy against all odds. “They still dance. They still have their parties. They still have a good time. That’s the way to combat politics in any way, shape or form—to continue pushing your culture.”

How to Help

For those interested in supporting the Cuban people, Breihan recommends donating to Global Health Partners, an organization getting needed supplies into the country. She and Horning also encourage folks to contact their Wisconsin legislators and ask them to demand the blockade on Cuba be lifted and not to invade. “This cannot be allowed to stand,” Horning states. “We need to hold the torch for the right of the Cuban people to make their own decisions.”

Bridges suggests that folks support Cuba by visiting. “Tourism is one of the things keeping Cuba alive and thriving, and with a lack of tourism, especially due to a lot of the propaganda put out by the U.S. telling people not to come here and the restrictions of flights and things like that is putting a stop to a lot of running systems here in Cuba. Come here and immerse yourself into what people here are experiencing day to day, but also bring things to give to people.”

While there, Breihan asked many Cubans what they thought of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “They generally said he is a stupido.”