Source: Xinhua News Agency
Havana, 11 Feb (Xinhua) -- After the victory of the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s, the U.S. Government adopted a hostile policy toward Cuba. On February 3, 1962, then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy signed Presidential Decree No. 3447, ordering the imposition of an economic and financial embargo and a trade embargo against Cuba from February 7 of that year.
Now, 60 years later, the United States embargo against Cuba continues. The Cuban Government issued a statement in early February stating that the United States embargo against Cuba is the most complex, protracted and inhumane act of economic war perpetrated by one Country against another in human history and a flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people.
Recently, Xinhua News Agency reporters randomly interviewed several citizens in Havana, the capital of Cuba. In their view, every Cuban, regardless of child, regardless of profession, suffers greatly from the embargo.
On August 5, 2021, hundreds of Cuban youth marched in the capital, Havana, to defend national peace and unite against the United States, demanding that the United States lift the nearly 60-year-old blockade against Cuba. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
Buy food – long lines
"You have to wait in long lines to buy a little bit of chicken, which is actually the only meat on the market," said Aimee Santistvan, a 48-year-old Havana resident.
Santistevan is a civil servant in a Cuban government office and a mother of two children. Referring to the embargo, she angrily stated that despite the Cuban Government's efforts to subsidize the "vegetable basket" of the common people, because of the embargo, what she racked most every day was whether there were enough meals on the table.
According to data released by the Cuban government recently, in 2020 and 2021, due to the escalation of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and the new crown epidemic, Cuba's gross domestic product contracted sharply by about 13 percentage points, and there was the most serious economic crisis in 30 years.
On May 27, 2020, outside the Cuban capital, Havana, 87-year-old Cuban elderly Ilyda Hernandez wore a mask she had made for her grandson at home. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
Buying medicines – it's hard
Fernando Ballestel suffers from chronic hypertension and needs to take medication every day. But because the local pharmaceutical industry has difficulty buying raw materials and the sales of drugs are unstable, the 60-year-old Cuban is suffering.
In addition to pharmaceuticals, the use of some medical equipment has also become a luxury in Cuba as the United States prohibits third-country enterprises from selling goods containing more than 10 per cent of The technical ingredients of the United States to Cuba.
The Cuban government's statement in early February condemned the United States for escalating its blockade against Cuba since 2019, using unconventional warfare to obstruct Cuba's fuel supply, and blocking other countries from donating supplies to Cuba during the COVID-19 pandemic, interfering with cuban vaccine research and development, and restricting Cuba's access to medicines and basic daily necessities.
Workbooks – not enough
"There weren't enough notebooks to take notes this year," Luis Alberto, a havana high school student, told reporters.
According to official figures, the Cuban government allocates 24 per cent of its annual budget to support free and compulsory education below the ninth grade. However, cuba's procurement of supplies remains difficult.
In the view of Abel González, a professor at the University of San Jerónimo in Havana, the U.S. embargo has affected Cubans' access to better education and innovative technology. School buses can't even run properly due to lack of oil. The United States embargo has also made it difficult for Cuban students to access the world's most advanced laboratories.
A worker labels a bottle containing antibacterial hand-washing gel at a winery in Havana, Cuba, on March 26, 2020. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
Enter the device – circle in large circles
"I was born in 1962, the same year the United States began to impose a blockade on Cuba. The United States embargo has caused many difficulties to the Cuban people. Alberto Munnar, an employee of Cuba's state-owned enterprises, told reporters that one of the major difficulties was the import of crude oil and equipment from the factory.
He recalled to reporters his experience working in a joint venture: "At that time we had to import some equipment from Mexico. Because the CEO of the equipment sales company is American, things get very complicated. We were forced to ship the equipment first to Africa, then to Europe, then to Canada, and finally to Cuba. ”
On 23 June 2021, the United Nations General Assembly voted on a draft resolution submitted by Cuba calling for the United States to end the embargo against Cuba and adopted it by an overwhelming majority. This is the 29th time since 1992 that the General Assembly has adopted the draft resolution submitted by Cuba.
"Cuba has the support of most countries, which shows that Cuba is not alone." Leonardo Rafita, a clerk at a bookstore in Havana, said he wanted more people to know about the negative impact of the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
"The U.S. government has been trying to stifle our national economy, but they have no right to do so." He said.
Planner: Xue Ying
Producer: Zhao Hui, Yan Junyan
Reporter: Lin Zhaohui, Wang Chao, Zhu Wanjun
Editing: Huang Shunda
Editors: Chen Yao, Ma Xiaoyan, Wang Fengfeng, Wang Yujue