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A donation of sheets and towels sent from Malaysia for families affected in eastern Cuba after Hurricane Melissa arrived in Cuba this Wednesday.
Classified by the official press as "small" and "modest," the donation is intended for "families from a community in eastern Cuba that lost everything" due to the flooding associated with the meteorological phenomenon.
The Cuban ambassador Yadira Ledesma stated that the shipment reflects “support, affection, and admiration for the resistance” of the Cuban people and expressed gratitude for the participation of friends of Cuba in Malaysia, Malaysian doctors trained on the island, Cuban residents, and the collaboration of the Cuban Embassy in the Netherlands in making the humanitarian project a reality.
According to the diplomat, securing the assistance involved overcoming “countless difficulties” that she attributed to the obstacles arising from the sanctions related to the economic, financial, and trade "blockade" by the United States, which she described as “almost insurmountable.”
In that regard, he stated that “we almost had to work magic to make it happen,” while defending that the people “need and deserve it.”
The donation consists of sheets and towels and emphasizes once again that the gesture, although "modest," aims to support those affected.
The ambassador concluded with a wish: that "upon those sheets, the dreams of a better Cuba continue to be woven."
Another shipment recently arrived in Cuba: a donation from Martinique that reached Santiago de Cuba with 14.5 tons of medicine, food, clothing, and essential items, also to support the population affected by Hurricane Melissa, according to state media.
The shipment would include medicines, hygiene products, and toys for children, with statements from local authorities regarding its distribution and usefulness, especially in the healthcare sector.
However, the reality of donations is different. Multiple reports from Cubans have pointed out assistance that arrives incomplete, in poor condition, or fails to reach those who truly need it, amidst processes described as opaque.
Recently, a supposed social assistance case involving an 86-year-old man in the San Luis municipality of Santiago de Cuba sparked a wave of outrage among neighbors, family members, and social media users, highlighting once again the failed state care system and the humiliating treatment faced by people in extreme vulnerability.
The case was reported by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, who informed that Roberto Flores Baños, a resident of the Leonor community in Dos Caminos de San Luis, received a "donation" arranged by a social worker that consisted solely of a worn jacket and an old pair of pants, both with visible stains and tears.
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