People's Democracy

HURRICANE MICHELLE

Cuba Valiantly Overcomes Another "Invasion"

After the Revolution, it was the biggest challenge Cuba has faced in the last 42 years. The most destructive hurricane it has ever seen struck the island leaving behind a trail of destruction in 45 per cent of the country’s territory and affecting nearly six million of its 11 million people.

Hurricane Michelle, a category four storm with winds of 135 miles per hour barrelled across central Cuba on November 4 affecting eight provinces. It destroyed one million acres of sugarcane, some 20 per cent of citrus crop and damaged nearly 450,000 homes in the country before passing off into the ocean. 1500 schools were damaged, power and water supply disrupted in all the affected areas.

The human cost of this worst hurricane ever to hit Cuba – five deaths. Keeping the death toll so low - an unbelievable achievement, especially for us in India- was a testimony to the Cubans revolutionary fighting spirit in dealing with any sort of adversity. A strange coincidence that Hurricane Michelle too entered Cuba through the Bay of Pigs, where US-backed Cuban exiles tried to overthrow Fidel Castro 40 years ago. Castro said the hurricane reminded him of the 1961 invasion. And the hurricane too met with the same Cuban resilence which beat back the invaders in 1961.

As Hurricane Michelle approached, Cuban government put into force a civil defence plan. Over 700,000 people were moved from vulnerable areas - mostly coastal towns and villages, low-lying rural farmland and crumbling buildings in the heart of colonial Old Havana. They were housed in safe government-run shelters with food and medical supplies.

Over 600,000 farm animals were also moved. Tourists were flown out of remote resorts in the path of the approaching storm. State-run radio and television ran constant bulletins advising people to boil water, bring their pets in and make their homes more secure.

Neighbourhood committees cut down loose tree branches and checked on those who might be vulnerable - such as the elderly and the infirm.

A constant stream of experts, meteorologists, civil defence planners and medics were interviewed to advise and reassure the people.

Solidarity, discipline and information were the three catchwords for the civil defence campaign and they were adhered to solidly to limit the loss of life , noted Daniel Schweimler BBC correspondent in his despatch from Havana.

And just few days after the storm crossed over government began efforts to bring things back to normal. "We are a Revolution with a fighting spirit and not accustomed to bewailing our circumstances," affirmed Carlos Lage Dávila, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, during a television appearance on November 8 in which he outlined the efforts the nation is making to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Michelle.

"Reconstruction will require spending hard currency which the country will have to raise in the midst of the difficult international economic circumstances, aggravated by the war which is affecting the world and our country, and under a 42-year blockade" said the minister.

He stressed that the housing, schools, production and service centers that were destroyed will be rebuilt, something that will demand work and time, but for which the resources are available to accomplish.

He pointed out that a few days after Michelle’s destructive journey through Cuba, food production and distribution, transportation and distribution systems for gas (with a million users in the capital) are totally re-established. The health services are returning to normal.

The Cuban government has politely turned down a U S offer of disaster relief and instead challenged the U S to lift the trade embargo so that it will buy the necessary goods by paying cash. It asked the U S to allow Cuban vessels to pick up the goods it would buy.

The Cuban government stance has put Bush administration in a most uncomfortable position. While stripping it of the halo of humanitarian gesture this stance has put focus on the inhuman trade embargo maintained by the U S.

On November 7 the U S in a diplomatic note to Cuban government expressed its readiness to immediately assess the need for aid, with a view to possibly providing humanitarian assistance. It offered to send to Cuba a three-person team of disaster experts to help assess immediate emergency needs and suitable aid in the areas most affected by the disaster that could receive support from the U.S. government.

White House spokesman Fleischer stated that his country was prepared to offer aid through international organisations and other suitable intermediaries, in a way that they can be certain that the Cuban people, not the Castro regime, will benefit.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry while thanking the U.S. government for its concern regarding the damages caused by Hurricane Michelle stated that it does not require the aid as it had met the situation using its reserves. Only to replenish these reserves so as to meet any future contingency it requires some specific things from the U S which it offered to buy in cash.

This Cuban reply, delivered both in Havana and Washington, was as unprecedented as the damage caused by the Hurricane Michelle.