Rally calls on Canada to oppose Cuba blockade

WINNIPEG — Tears streamed down Tim Gordienko’s face Saturday afternoon as he spoke about the people of Cuba.

“The people are so genuine — genuinely friendly,” he told a reporter. “We’re like the same people, like brethren. It’s not fair, what (the United States is) doing to these people.”

Holding a sign that said, “Trump: Hands off Cuba,” Gordienko was one of the approximately 60 people who gathered outside the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg, close to Portage and Main.

Organized by the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee, the event was one of several held across the country to bring awareness to Cuba’s plight and call on the Canadian government to help the Caribbean country.

Cuba is confronting the United States’ first effective blockade since the Cuban Missile Crisis, precipitating major power outages, food shortages and other disturbances to everyday life.

Experts and some leaders of other countries have warned that the island could be on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba.

“It’s important that Canada does something,” said Gordienko, who has vacationed in Cuba numerous times. “I’m so frustrated with our government that they are silent.”

The rally promoted the Canadian Network on Cuba’s parliamentary petition, which calls on the federal government to oppose U.S. measures against Cuba and deepen economic ties, trade and assistance to Cuba.

“(The U.S. is) just wanting to completely starve the Cuban people into submission, but the Cuban people will not be starved into submission,” said Diane Zack, co-ordinator of the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee.

The semi-retired teacher, who has been involved with the committee for 30 years, noted Canada’s long history with Cuba.

“We’ve had relations for 75 years and they’ve been good relations, and we want the current government to uphold that tradition and … to strengthen relations from every angle with Cuba,” Zack said.

She added that she has travelled to Cuba approximately 30 times in the last three decades and is planning to return to the country next month.

“I have a lot of friends there that I want to see and take things to them that they need,” Zack said. “But mostly (I want) to see them and give moral support.”

Like Zack, David Hosni has a personal connection to Cuba. When he was a University of Winnipeg student about 15 years ago, Hosni spent six months studying Spanish at the University of Havana.

“We have to all stand together, especially with Cuba, against (the) illegal blockade,” he said.

“Beyond politics, this is a humanitarian issue … My friends who are still there are telling me how bad it is. They have very little power. They’re having issues getting food. Many of them can’t go to work.”

Candice Bodnaruk attended the rally in her capacity as a member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, facing oncoming traffic with a sign that said, “Let Cuba live.”

“It’s really important to stand with the people in the Global South that are, like in Cuba, being attacked right now by Donald Trump,” Bodnaruk said.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from the Associated Press