“I’m ready to fight. We won’t back down; surrender is not in the Cuban spirit. We decide our own destiny, no one else,” says Enma, a mother and teacher.
Cuba has now endured more than six decades under a severe US economic, commercial, and financial blockade, a reality that has transformed daily life into an obstacle course. The embargo not only impacts the economy but also the very heart of families.
In recent weeks, this pressure has intensified with new restrictive measures from Washington aimed at preventing fuel from reaching the island, causing an energy crisis that is testing, once again, the Caribbean nation’s capacity to reinvent itself. But amidst the scarcity, popular organization emerges, and above all, the strength of Cuban women.
Emma Doris Ricardo Santana, a mother and university professor, knows firsthand the weight of these restrictions. Her life took a dramatic turn when an aggressive breast cancer forced her to leave the classroom.
The blockade hindered her recovery: the shortage of cytostatic serums prevented her from receiving the complete treatment within the planned timeframe.
In addition to the lack of medication, she faced the ordeal of transportation, forcing her to travel between three different hospitals. Despite everything, Emma resurfaced thanks to the dedication of Cuban public health and an unwavering network of support.
“Medicine heals, but so does solidarity. That’s what gets you back on your feet,” she says with a recovered smile, though her eyes reveal a lingering worry.
Her 10-year-old daughter, Claudia, suffers from a growth disorder. The necessary reagents and hormones don’t reach the island due to the sanctions.
“She’s the family’s priority. The little girl requires a treatment that we can’t yet access in Cuba,” she explains. But far from giving up, Emma remains resolute: “I’m ready to fight. We won’t back down; surrender is not in the Cuban spirit. We decide our own destiny, no one else.”
At 29, Rocío Rincón has only one goal in life: to be a mother. A civilian employee at the Carlos J. Finley Hospital, she lives with a pituitary tumor that has prevented her from fulfilling her dream. In her home, a Yoruba altar and a painting of five angelic children guard her longing.
“None of those children are mine, but having a baby is my goal,” she confesses with a deep but serene sadness. Rocío is grateful that her treatment is free thanks to the Cuban healthcare system, although the instability in the supply of medications—which often depend on donations from friendly countries—is a constant shadow.
“Too many people are suffering because of this blockade. With Trump, the situation is much more aggressive; these are measures to suffocate us, but they won’t succeed,” Rocío declares, reflecting the feelings of thousands of women who, between hardship and faith, refuse to relinquish control of their future.
Manuel Isla Community: Sowing Sovereignty in the Most Remote Corner
Far from the hustle and bustle of the capital, the Manuel Isla community—named in honor of a young martyr of the Revolution—stands as a model of self-management. There, professionals, educators, and workers have built an oasis of resistance.
In this environment lives María Eva Puentes Torres, a pastry chef from Santiago de Cuba in her sixties, who works wearing an apron adorned with bunnies and battles the power outages to deliver her cakes. Each cake is a work of art and a testament to resilience.
“The power outages prevent us from working and affect my daughter’s university studies; she can’t even charge her phone to attend her classes,” she confesses indignantly.
However, her stance is unwavering: “This country is ours. We will resist with creativity. No one here surrenders.”
Ainara: The Voice of the Future That Knows No Fear
Cuban bravery knows no age. Ainara Neira Reyes, at just 11 years old, speaks with the maturity of someone who understands that her school is a bastion of values. Although the blockade limits her access to pencils, notebooks, or even the possibility of playing volleyball because there are no balls, she feels protected by her teachers.
“We pioneers always move forward,” says Ainara, who stays informed daily and understands that external hatred seeks to break her spirit.
Her message to the children of the world is one of pure solidarity: “We are going through a difficult time, but if you go through something similar, we will support you from here. Don’t let yourselves be defeated!”
The language of the “indomitable guerrilla”
As Tatiana Coll, a longtime collaborator on the island and witness to the 1970 sugar harvest, aptly recalls, Cubans have a special nature: perhaps in their daily routine they seem relaxed, but “as soon as the trumpet of defense sounds, no one can surpass them.”
They activate guerrilla mode, a characteristic that Fidel taught them and that today women—from the baker to the pioneer—embody with a dignity that knows no surrender.
In Cuba, resistance is not just a political concept; it is a mother’s hand baking a cake in the dark, a girl defending her right to study, and a community that, faced with a lack of fuel, decides to grow its own food. Solidarity and sovereignty, definitively, have a woman’s face.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
