Today marks one month since the passing of Alicia and for her family, friends and colleagues we continue to grieve our enormous loss. We are taking the occasion to re run her last interview that took place in June of 2021 with Cuba Si. Next week the National Network on Cuba will be sending out invitations to a tribute webinar in her honor taking place on March 5. Please save the date –Bill Hackwell, editor, February 11, 2022
By Giusette León García on June 22, 2021
Alicia Jrapko is a U.S. citizen, who was born and raised in Argentina. In 1976, when she left her homeland during the military dictatorship, she already “knew there was something extraordinary about Cuba as shown by the determination of its leadership.”
“In those years Cuba was almost mystical in its struggle for a better world,” she recalls, “in Latin America there is tremendous admiration for Cuba, for Fidel, Raul, Che and so many other revolutionaries. In Argentina we wanted the same thing, but it was not achieved and a large part of my generation lost their best sons and daughters”.
With that background, Alicia arrived in the United States and found that “it was difficult to understand the level of aggression, the lies and the attacks against Cuba by the media and the government”.
When and how did you visit us for the first time?
It was in the early 1990s that I learned about a project led by the beloved and admired Reverend Lucius Walker to challenge the blockade. The project was fundamentally about the fight against the blockade, but also about friendship and solidarity. We knew that the humanitarian aid we were bringing to Cuba was symbolic, but we wanted to show that the U.S. government could not block solidarity between peoples. And we wanted to show that Cuba was not alone. Lucius was an exceptional leader. The experience of traveling to Cuba on the Pastors for Peace caravans trained me and changed my life forever, bringing me closer to Cuba and its people.
What does this island represent in your life?
Cuba represents what is possible when there is political will on the part of a government together with an informed educated population. But most of all it represents love for humanity.
As a mother I was attracted to the way Cuba educates its children. Despite the blockade and the difficulties they face on the island, one can perceive the joy, the culture, the integration of everyone. The children learn to live in a society where the human being is the main focus instead of the profits championed by neo liberal consumer societies. In my opinion Cuban society shows the best of the possibilities in a human being.
Is that why you have never given up accompanying us in the struggle against the blockade?
In the work of solidarity with Cuba in the U.S., the constant has been the struggle against the blockade. More than 60 years have passed and very little has changed. There have been some small positive advances during the Carter and Obama years, but in general the difference between the Democratic and Republican administrations have been minimal and always subject to change like the wind. Fundamentally the goal of these 2 big business parties is the same and that is to destroy the Cuban Revolution and all its social gains.
The US does not want to accept that there was a revolution in Cuba, right in its back yard, and that this small rebellious island remains firm in continuing its revolutionary project. The way the US sees it Cuba’s crime is the exemplary example it sets for struggling people everywhere. It is our responsibility as solidarity activists in this country to denounce incessantly the impact that the criminal blockade has on the Cuban people.
And what are your main arguments for this denunciation?
We have many arguments, such as the fact that Americans can travel to almost any country in the world except Cuba. It is a right that is denied to them. Another argument is that every year the United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly for Cuba against the blockade as it will do again this week. In other words, the whole world is with Cuba except for the US and one or two of its dependent allies like Israel. This is a strong argument that shows that Cuba is not alone. On June 23 it will once again become evident that the world is against the blockade and stands with Cuba.
Another argument is to publicize the work of the Henry Reeve Brigade in the fight against the current pandemic. We are promoting the Nobel Peace Prize for the Brigade. When we talk about the Latin American School of Medicine, we also explain how hundreds of young Americans from poor families have the opportunity to study medicine without paying a cent. That is a core value of Cuba and its internationalism. The US has no humanitarian project that is even close to this. Their idea is to horde covid vaccines from desperate poor countries. Many people are unaware of all that Cuba has been able to do these brigades in the midst of the blockade because Cuba doesn’t go around patting themselves on the back they just get the work done. That is why our job is to spread these types of stories and tell the truth while exposing the contradictions of the US about what this wonderful island has done and continues to do.
Cuba has offered and given solidarity to the whole world. One way of giving back to Cuba for all that it has done for other countries is to join in that solidarity. Right now groups of Cuban-Americans are organizing bike and car Caravans against the blockade and for family unification and they have been joined by many US cities and people from all over the world.
Why is international solidarity on this issue so important?
The blockade is a crime of such magnitude that if people in the U.S. were not kept in the dark about the truth about Cuba and U.S. policy towards the island, they would be truly astonished. One good example is the case of Elian Gonzalez. A boy who had lost his mother trying to reach Florida and was kidnapped by distant relatives in Miami. Day and night the media talked about Elian. And Cuban politicians who hate Cuba showed their true face. People could see it and in the end the case came down to the right of a father who wanted his son to return to home. Cuba organized a very strong campaign for Elian’s return, and the opinion of most Americans was that Elian should return. And the US government , in spite of the pressures, gave in and did what it had to do. Cuba remains grateful to the people of the US for that solidarity that was pivotal in getting that boy home.
Today, solidarity with Cuba is a priority not only in the United States but throughout the world. We are in a very difficult moment, in the midst of a pandemic. Many people thought that when Donald Trump left the presidency, we would return at least to the times of Obama. But not only did it not happen, it has gotten worse. The over 200 sanctions implemented against Cuba by Trump was criminal but leaving them intact as Biden has done is perhaps a greater crime. He has reversed absolutely nothing, such as the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, an infamous lie. But we cannot allow all this to paralyze us, on the contrary. We must continue to fight even harder for the end of the criminal U.S. blockade of Cuba, we can expect no gifts and must rely on our united struggle; we can never give up hope.
If you were asked to tell what life is like for Cuban women, what would be your story about us and the way in which the blockade also puts obstacles in our way?
It is difficult for me to give an opinion on the life of Cuban women not being one myself. But I will say that it is impressive to see the self confidence in the way Cuban women are. They are engaged and represented in a meaningful way in all sectors of society, including in all government and professional levels. I admire the independence of Cuban women and their daily struggles with everyday life, many of which are caused by the blockade which touches all aspect of their lives. Through it all they maintain their strength, sense of humor and dignity.
Much is said about human rights in Cuba. To what extent does the blockade limit those rights?
The campaign on human rights in Cuba is another big lie. The U.S. does not say a single word about governments that systematically violate human rights on wholesale that you see in Colombia or Brazil for example. The right to guaranteed health and education in Cuba are real human rights. The irony is that this human rights campaign is orchestrated by the country that is the biggest violator of human rights at home and abroad.
Alicia Jrapko is a co chair of the National Network on Cuba and editor and founder of Resumen Latinoamericano in the US.
Source: CubaSi, translation Resument Latinoamericano – English