The Cuban community in Miami and other Latin American countries has mobilized to support Dr. Yordania Villamil Hernández, originally from Las Tunas, who is fighting a legal battle alongside her young daughter in Panama.
Tens of emigrants shared the case on their networks and created a fundraising campaign on GiveSendGo with a goal of 3,500 dollars to help the young woman cover legal fees.
Yordania, daughter of the late Cuban surgeon Ramón Blas Villamil, a recognized medical figure in Las Tunas, reported this week in statements sent to CiberCuba that the Panamanian justice system is corrupt and that the Amber Alert mechanism was used abusively as a tool of pressure in a legal dispute with the child's father.
The Amber Alert in Panama was established to locate missing, abducted, or kidnapped minors, and its activation requires reasonable evidence of a real risk to the minor.
Panamanian authorities themselves consider its use inappropriate in custody conflicts where the child is under the care of their legal guardian.
Latin American feminist organizations have pointed out that the repeated use of lawsuits to financially exhaust a custodial mother can constitute vicarious violence.
In light of the situation, the Cuban Susel Pérez decided to launch the fundraising campaign. "I never imagined I would have to create a campaign like this, but today I do so with the hope of being able to help a person who everyone knows for her and her family's remarkable qualities," Pérez wrote when launching the initiative.
At the time of publication, the campaign had raised $1,725. The funds will be sent directly to Jordan to cover legal expenses and essential needs.
“All the money raised will be sent directly to Jordan and will be used to cover their essential needs while they work on recovering and getting back on their feet,” Pérez specified in the description of the campaign.
The Cuban community, both in Panama and in Honduras, Costa Rica, and even from Cuba, has joined together in large numbers to share the case on social media.
Cubans have shown in similar situations that they can raise considerable amounts in a matter of days to support fellow countrymen in distress.
The case of Yordania has also sparked a debate regarding the handling of family courts in Panama and the misuse of child protection mechanisms in disputes between ex-spouses, an issue that has raised alarms among Panamanian legal experts in recent years.
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