U.S., Cuba bicker like schoolchildren over hurricane aid

The petulance of both the Castro administration and the White House has prevented Cubans to receive much needed hurricane assistance.

On the one hand, Cuba’s government has twice refused direct aid from the U.S. “The dignity of a people has no price,” wrote former leader Fidel Castro in a column published on Wednesday as the island’s government turned down a $5 million aid package.

Instead of accepting the aid, the Castro administration proposed a six-month suspension of the U.S. trade embargo on the island. (Due to the embargo aid organizations must get licensed to send money or goods and that process is often difficult). The U.S. government responded by nixing the idea:

Cuba's talk of the embargo "obviously seems to have the ring of politics overriding the needs of the people" and "has nothing to do with humanitarian aid," (U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos) Gutierrez told Reuters in a telephone interview from Washington.

"We believe we could be of great help to the Cuban people, but the offer was rejected, and it's very frustrating because we want to help," he said.

No Secretary Gutierrez, what is truly “frustrating” is observing how Havana and Washington are entrenched in their Cold War mindsets and treating hurricane assistance as a diplomatic hot potato. Petty political differences are nothing compared to those Cubans whose lives have been affected by the recent hurricanes. Too bad leaders in the U.S. and Cuba don’t see it that way.

Image- BBC News

Sources- Los Angeles Times, miamiherald.com, Guardian UK, Reuters, Al Jazeera English