Sign our letter to beloved educator and children’s advocate Ms. Rachel asking her to help bring attention to Cuban children living through shortages of food, medicine, electricity, and other basic necessities under the U.S. blockade.
Dear Ms. Rachel,
We are writing to you because of something we deeply admire about your work: you listen to children.
Millions of families have come to know you as an educator who speaks to children with extraordinary kindness and respect. More recently, you have used that same compassion to listen to Palestinian children, amplifying their voices with courage and helping people see their lives, dreams with greater humanity. We are deeply grateful to you for that.
Today we are asking you to extend that same courage and compassion to children whose stories are rarely heard in the United States: the children of Cuba.
Across Cuba, families are being pushed to the limit. Parents spend their days searching for medicine, food and other basics their children need. Hospitals are forced to care for young patients without enough supplies or functioning equipment. Blackouts stretch for hours on end–sometimes days. Food is increasingly difficult to afford or find and medicines are becoming impossible to obtain. Behind every shortage and every blackout is a family trying to make it though another day and a child living the consequences they had no part in creating. A baby in a hospital or a child going hungry knows nothing about blockades or "maximum pressure campaigns."
But decisions made in Washington reach all the way into their lives.
For more than six decades, the United States has maintained a sweeping economic blockade against Cuba. Today, sanctions and financial restrictions make it harder for Cuba to conduct international transactions, purchase and transport goods, access financing and obtain essential products and equipment from abroad. The consequences are felt far beyond government offices. They reach hospitals, pharmacies, schools and homes. They can be measured in the most dramatic statistic: the recent doubling of Cuba’s infant mortality rate.
Children should never be collateral damage in Washington's attempts to force political change in another country.
Ms Rachel, you have shown tremendous courage in standing up for children, even when speaking from your heart has come at a personal cost.
This is why we are asking you to include the children of Cuba in your work and advocacy for children around the world.
We encourage you to travel to Cuba and listen to Cuban children and their families for yourself.
Just last month, U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan, Teresa Leger Fernández, Maxine Dexter and Delia Ramirez returned from a four-day fact-finding trip to the island, where they learnedhow U.S. policies are affecting everyday life. By traveling there, you coulc listen directly to the children and families and bring the quality that has made your work so meaningful: your willingness to listen to children with an open heart.
If you are unable to travel, you can still be in contact with Cuban children and their parents online.
Their stories deserve to be heard. Their struggles deserve attention. And their lives should not be forgotten. We would be honored to connect you with Cuban children, families, educators, doctors and others on the island who can share their experiences directly, so that their voices can become part of the work you have already done so powerfully: listening to children with an open heart and helping their voices be heard.
Ms Rachel, please include Cuba’s children in your work. Listen to their voices and help America hear what they have to say.