The noble work of a group of solidarity activists inside the United States brought to Cuba a donation of specialized medicines to treat cancer in the Juan Manuel Márquez pediatric hospital in Havana and the José Luis Miranda hospital in Santa Clara, according to what was announced on Monday, May 20, at the headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).
The initiative was sponsored by the Hatuey group, which stands for Health Advocates in Truth, Unity and Empathy. The Interfaith Foundation for Community Organizing, IFCO-Pastors for Peace, and other organizations working for solidarity with Cuba in the U.S. also took part.
The coordinator of Hatuey, Gloria La Riva, assured that this is the beginning of other future shipments, because the American people are against the criminal blockade and the inclusion of Cuba in the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
She explained that in order to obtain each of the products in the shipment they requested a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, and despite having it, many companies refused to sell, because they are afraid of being sanctioned
"Those of us who work on these solidarity issues are punished, and it becomes evident, when we return from Cuba, that the Immigration officers detain us for several hours, for no reason," said the solidarity activist.
In thanking this humanitarian gesture, the president of ICAP, Fernando González Llort, described the group as "the best representation of the United States, it is the real thing and the future of that country".
He characterized them as people who work anonymously, who are never made visible by the media and whose images are never multiplied, but who make a great effort to gather their scarce resources so that the supplies reach their destination, in this case, children hospitalized in the oncohematology wards.
He pointed out that the time will come when efforts like this will no longer be necessary, because there will be normal relations between the two countries, when the sanctions against Cuba are repealed.
