How best to support the Cuban people

The Sunday, July 30, Cuba op-ed failed to even mention the 60plus years of the United States’ embargo/blockade of Cuba and its focus on destroying the Cuban Revolution (“Ten years of watching Cuba change — and stay the same,” Ideas, July 20). As stated in an April 6, 1960, Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom), “Subject: The Decline and Fall of Castro,” the policy of the United States is to “bring hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.”

Throughout the decades, the United States has, in fact, increased its efforts to destroy the Cuban government, including legislation such as the Torricelli and Helms-Burton acts that not only deny Cuba the ability to purchase needed food and medicine, but also punish third countries for engaging in normal trade with Cuba. The meritless inclusion of Cuba on the US unilateral “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list further deprives Cuba of the ability to engage in international commercial activities. Each year for over 30 years, the United Nations General Assembly nearly unanimously votes to condemn US policy toward Cuba and demand an end to the blockade. While this demonstrates how out of touch the United States is with the rest of the global community, the United States rejects even modest efforts to respect Cuban sovereignty.

The op-ed highlights two young people and their dissatisfaction with their economic situation. What it fails to highlight is that both highly educated individuals were able to study in their fields of interest completely free, as education is a guaranteed right in Cuba. Miriam, the physician, notes her lack of economic opportunity as a doctor, but doesn’t note that not only has she received a superior education, but that neither she nor anyone else in Cuba is denied medical care, as health care is a basic human right. And despite the lack of medicines and supplies, life expectancy and other health indicators in Cuba are superior to many first-world countries including the United States.

The op-ed urges continued “Support for the Cuban People” category of travel. The best way to support the Cuban people is for every US citizen to contact their elected member of Congress and demand a lifting of the embargo and removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

NALDA VIGEZZI Brighton

The writer has been traveling to Cuba since the 1980s and served as cochair of the National Network on Cuba for nearly 20 years.