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VETERANS FUND
Currently, many activists, dissidents, opponents, and veteran independent journalists are vulnerable. This is related to the systemic crisis in which the island finds itself, its advanced age, decapitalization, persecution, and the social stigmas to which they have been subjected for years in a totalitarian context such as the Cuban one.
In INSTAR we are aware that in order to build democracy in Cuba there can be no forgetting. It is not only a matter of rescuing historical memory or lost rights, but also of accompanying the people who have fought before us and have built paths along which activists can walk today. For this reason, we set up a Veterans Fund.
Through this Fund we want not only to vindicate the recognition of the work that our predecessors have done, but also to try to provide support that will bring them closer to a life a little more dignified and with the care they deserve after so much effort and sacrifice.
Given the conditions in Cuba, we understand that we cannot solve but only alleviate a little the precariousness in which these activists may live. With the Veterans Fund, we will systematize material assistance, not monetary, and we will give accompaniment to the specific basic needs that each case requires. In other words, we will show our respect and gratitude to those who preceded us in our struggle.
In order to carry out this project we need help from all those who can locate potential beneficiaries of the Veterans Fund or be part of the support network (either on a voluntary basis or by offering paid services as required) for veterans in Cuba. We will receive information in our mail at: veteranos@instar.org
From INSTAR we are very grateful to all those who join us!
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TORNADO JANUARY 27, 2019
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On the night of January 27, 2019, a tornado surprised the people of Havana. With significantly few historical mentions in our convulsive climatic trajectory, this natural phenomenon destroyed housing in popular neighborhoods in the capital in less than two hours. The town of Guanabacoa, where an Indigenous community had initially settled, was left desolate in its most precarious neighborhoods; the enclave of Afro-descendants linked to the port in the municipality of Regla became piles of rubble, where before there were corners and curbs, its patrimonial church sheltering desperate neighbors whose homes were fully or partially destroyed; and in Santos Suárez, even where solid walls were built during the commercial bonanza of the Republican era (1902–1959), drugstore shelves, buses, cars and even doorways of the houses were felled.
The tornado gave no warning, and state assistance only arrived after the people took action without waiting for instructions “from above.” Civil society self-organized as best it could and provided resources, as people shared whatever they had. This spontaneous solidarity, the independent initiatives of citizens, contrasted with the habitual repression. It was an inevitable tide of people who did not understand fear: the only thing that mattered was to help others. People converged in solidarity in the same spaces, asking only one question: “I am Cuban, and you?” The response: “I am also Cuban”; that was enough to ensure trust.
Given their experience coordinating humanitarian aid during Hurricane Matthew, INSTAR was able to react immediately and created a support group to connect individual solidarity and citizen groups. Without any desire for heroics and knowing that any efforts were a drop in an ocean of infinite and accumulated shortages, we distributed medicines, food, and other valuable necessities such as wheelchairs and solar battery equipment, and basic goods.
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HURRICANE MATTHEW
In October 2016, a strong hurricane swept away the village of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa, Cuba’s first settlement at the beginning of the colonization process. Although it has heritage values inherent to the nation’s cultural foundations, the residential enclave has suffered state neglect for decades. It was an important commercial area during the first half of the 20th century, but its architecture is mostly colonial, and much of it is made of wood.
When Matthew hit the area, both traditional houses and poorly situated buildings by the sea were left in ruins; and with them, its people. The government made great efforts to hide the devastation. Still, the inhabitants took photos that traveled around the world, and people’s solidarity took the form of money and supplies. Months after the hurricane, Baracoa still lacked everything. INSTAR decided to try to reach the victims with valuable goods and medicines. Director Tania Bruguera and scientist Oscar Casanella set off for eastern Cuba. Upon leaving Havana, they were intercepted, detained, and interrogated by State Security agents. Despite this frustrating attempt, INSTAR managed to deliver aid to rebuild houses. Valia Garzón was in charge of coordinating this social initiative.