Cubans rebuilding after Hurricane Ike but more help needed!

Relief web

Relief web
Oxfam Canada´s Executive Director Robert Fox writes of his meetings with Cuban farmers as they rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

When the winds struck, Migdalia was well prepared. A respected farmer, reknown for her knowledge and deep committment to eco-friendly farming, she and her sons had opened their home to her neighbours to wait out the storm.

Sixty-seven people – with all their electrical appliances – took shelter under her roof as Hurricane Ike tore through the coast of Guardalavaca, a popular Canadian tourist destination on Cuba´s northeastern shores. (It´s a region where Oxfam Canada supports the Cuban farmers organization ANAP to improve gender justice in its organization and projects.) Through one day and into the next, they huddled together having battened down the shutters, listening to the news from the national weather service, reassured by the authority of the meteorologists yet at the same time assaulted by the relentless howling of the wind.

With winds gusting to 300 kph, the force of the storm was devastating. Of 187 houses in the community, 165 suffered damage. Many homes lost rooves or parts of rooves. Household contents were strewn about by the winds – books and belongings soaked by the driving rain. For some people, the whirling winds took their walls and tossed them away, leaving only the floor and their memory.

Much of Migdalia´s roof withstood the pressure, but the tile rooves over her kitchen, porch and verandah were lost as were most of the farm´s outbuildings. She laughs now as she shows me the gouges in her concrete walls where shattered roof tiles left their mark but the memories of her night of terror remain fresh.

Like many in her community – and tens of thousands more families across Cuba –Migdalia and her sons have already repaired much of the damage to her home. The Cuban government has moved quickly within its means to distribute roofing materials and while there´s a huge deficit, many have pieced together a new roof, mixing salvaged materials and new. To stretch resources, many receive only half what they need but it allows them to enclose at least a couple of rooms, protecting them from the rains and the sun. Their most immediate shelter needs met, they then turn their attention to food production.

Everyone´s basic food needs are being met – rice, beans, staples ­– but food production was decimated by the storm and there´s an urgent need to head off a looming food crisis. Crops were destroyed and food stocks were lost. Poultry was blown away. Trees were stripped of their leaves and fruit, burned by the salt-laden torrent. So the second priority, after assuring everyone has a roof over their head, has been to kick-start agriculture. Green houses, dismantled before the storm, have been reassembled. Fields are being plowed and seeds sown. Priority is being given to crops that grow quickly, producing food within 45 to 60 days. Lands that had been left fallow are being put into production.

In the cooperatives around Guardalavaca, as in most provinces of Cuba, almost all of the production is organic – labour intensive but healthy and cost-effective produce destined for local consumers. Short weeks after the hurricane hit, there are fresh green shoots evident throughout the countryside. But the pressure to produce is immense.

Schools have been destroyed, hospitals have suffered damage, tree-lined streets have been left bare. It will take many months to repair all the damage but work is well underway to clear the waste and the rubble and move from recovery to reconstruction.

But having been hit by two devastating hurricanes ­– Gustav in the west and Ike in the east – Cubans are making great sacrifices in responding to the challenge. Meanwhile the response from the Northerns countries – including the Canadian government – has been very disappointing.

Given that 600,000 Canadians travel to Cuba each year, that Canadian entrepreneurs are the largest foreign investors in Cuba and that Canada has an important aid program in Cuba, the response to the situation has fallen far short.

In Migdalia´s community, thousands of palm trees have been toppled. It is perhaps the saddest part of this sorry tale. To loose a huge palm forest – one of many lost – that offered shade, food and beauty and sheltered community and biodiversity is a devastating blow to the local culture, economy and ecological heritage. This part of Cuba is not prone to hurricanes. The last serious storm was in 1963 and it was largely heavy rains.

As climate change accelerates and violent weather becomes more frequent, Migdalia and her neighbours could find themselves increasingly in the eye of a whirling storm. And yet the cruel irony is that her ecological footprint is tiny. Like too many people on this planet, those who have contributed least to climate change are most affected by it.

Because the spirit and solidarity of the Cuban people is such that they are already well on their way to recovery. And with our help, they can rebuild their homes, their lives and their livelihoods. Migdalia and her sons and neighbours embody this resilience and resolve.

I would encourage you to do your part to contribute to Oxfam´s efforts to help Cuba recover from the impact of Ike and Gustav and our ongoing program to help boost organic, sustainable, local food production while at the same time nurturing the development of dynamic women leaders like Migdalia, women producers who are playing a critical leadership role in Cuba´s development and future.

And I would also encourage you, as you cast your ballot next Tuesday, to think about climate change and social justice and consider who has demonstrated the greatest commitment to make the real changes needed to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Enlaces: Solidaridad Española con Cuba

Las Damas de Blanco

Viajes a Cuba

Vuelos baratos a Cuba

Travel to Cuba


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