Why Cuban Women Say the Blockade Hits Them First

Hundreds of Cuban women gathered at Mariana Grajales Park in Havana to denounce the Trump administration’s intensification of the U.S. government’s 60-year economic war on Cuba.

According to Teresa Amarelle Boue, Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC, for its acronym in Spanish), women are among the sectors of the population most directly affected by U.S. sanctions.

For women, the impact is felt both in their professional and personal lives, as many bear the primary responsibility for running households and caring for children and the sick, tasks that have become increasingly difficult under the tightened embargo. This is the case of Cecilia Valdés, a caregiver daughter who explains that her mother has been unable to access medication due to restrictions caused by the embargo.

Tuesday’s gathering also paid tribute to the 96th anniversary of Vilma Espín, the late leader of the organization, who devoted much of her life’s work to the empowerment of women within the Cuban Revolution.

TRANSCRIPT

“Cuban mothers, Cuban women, most of us running our households, we’re the ones dealing directly with the impact of this genocidal policy against our country,” said Mirthia Julia Brossard, member of the Union of Young Communists (UJC).

“We’re here at Mariana Grajales Park, supporting all women and condemning the blockade on our country,” said Celia Sánchez, logistics supervisor at Gran Comercial Company.

“Since January, it’s gotten even tougher,” said Cecilia Valdés, director of institutional communications at the Ministry of Communications.

“Especially with the fuel blockade, and it’s put Cuban families in a difficult situation,” Valdés explained.

“This is the time to give even more support to the Revolution which is under threat,” said Tamara Avale, telecommunications engineer.

“I’m here because I’m a revolutionary, because I love my country, because I want what’s best for it,” said Mayra Díaz García, specialist in prevention and social work at the Federation of Cuban Women.

“I want the blockade lifted,” Díaz added.

“It’s been imposed on us unjustly,” she continued.

“And I want Cuba removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism,” the FMC specialist said.

“I think Cuban women, mothers, daughters, all of us, we have a moral duty to join this struggle with even more energy, demanding respect for our country, for our right to receive fuel, to keep developing, to keep building the socialist society we stand for, for the good of all,” Valdés said.

“And women have shown, time and again, resilience, resistance and the ability to find ways forward even in the midst of hardship,” she added.

“Cuban mothers and women, most of them heading their households, are the ones who directly suffer the consequences of this policy against our country,” Brossard said.

“They’re the ones every single day figuring out what to make for their children, preparing snacks, dealing with school, taking care of the home along with the rest of the family,” she continued.

“[The blockade] affects transportation, food, even though we find ways to manage and make things work,” the UJC member said.

“It’s no secret that we’re facing difficulties with food, especially for older adults,” she added.

“There are children in hospitals who need medication, children with cancer who don’t have oxygen,” Sánchez said.

“People who need dialysis and don’t have the proper medicines,” she added.

“I take care of an elderly woman who is almost bedridden and has serious health limitations,” Valdés said.

“Everything I need to care for her properly is becoming very difficult to obtain,” she explained.

“The medical institutions where I get these supplies don’t always have them when I need them, and many times I rely on the solidarity of other women, other mothers, other daughters who are caregivers like me,” Valdés added.

“And when you really look into it, it’s not just the hospital you go to, it’s that the supplies aren’t even arriving because of the blockade,” she said.

“I would tell Trump that he is a murderer,” said Georgina Vázquez, retired athlete.

“That he’s putting the world through very difficult times,” she added.

“Trump is an SOB. I say that all the time,” Avale said.

“He’s a genocidal figure, a killer, a thief, a pirate, a madman who is destroying the planet,” she added.

“He should respect us,” Díaz said.

“Let us live in peace,” she added.

“Let us develop,” she continued.

“I’d tell him that no matter how hard he tries to suffocate us in every possible way, this people knows not only how to resist, but how to move forward, that we are unbreakable,” Brossard said.

“He should learn from the history between Cuba and the United States,” she added.

“He should learn from the Bay of Pigs,” Brossard continued.

“From what we’ve been able to achieve with almost no resources, with our own hands,” she said.

“Our struggle is against imperialism, against capitalism, against the blockade, because presidents change,” said Teresa Amarelle Boué, secretary general of the Federation of Cuban Women.

“But the blockade remains,” Amarelle added.

“And imperialism remains,” she continued.

“That’s why this anti-imperialist spirit will always be part of who we are,” she concluded.