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AARON EPP \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Diane Zack, coordinator of the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee, has travelled to Cuba approximately 30 times in the last three decades.<\/p>\n
Organized by the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee, the event was one of several held across the country bringing awareness to Cuba\u2019s plight and calling on the Canadian government to help the Caribbean country.<\/p>\n
Cuba is confronting the United States\u2019 first effective blockade since the Cuban Missile Crisis, precipitating major power outages, food shortages and other disturbances to everyday life.<\/p>\n
Experts and some leaders of other countries have warned that the island could be on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that Canada does something,\u201d said Gordienko, who has vacationed in Cuba numerous times. \u201cI\u2019m so frustrated with our government that they are silent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rally promoted the Canadian Network on Cuba\u2019s parliamentary petition, which calls on the federal government to oppose U.S. measures against Cuba and deepen economic ties, trade and assistance to Cuba.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The U.S. is) just wanting to completely starve the Cuban people into submission, but the Cuban people will not be starved into submission,\u201d said Diane Zack, coordinator of the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t AARON EPP \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Approximately 60 people gathered outside the U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg to call on the Canadian government to help Cuba.<\/p>\n The semi-retired teacher, who has been involved with the committee for 30 years, noted Canada\u2019s long history with Cuba.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had relations for 75 years and they\u2019ve been good relations, and we want the current government to uphold that tradition and\u2026 to strengthen relations from every angle with Cuba,\u201d Zack said.<\/p>\n She added that she has travelled to Cuba approximately 30 times in the last three decades and is planning to return to the country next month.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of friends there that I want to see and take things to them that they need,\u201d Zack said. \u201cBut mostly (I want) to see them and give moral support.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Zack, David Hosni has a personal connection to Cuba. When he was a University of Winnipeg student about 15 years ago, Hosni spent six months studying Spanish at the University of Havana.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to all stand together, especially with Cuba, against (the) illegal blockade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cBeyond politics, this is a humanitarian issue\u2026 My friends who are still there are telling me how bad it is. They have very little power. They\u2019re having issues getting food. Many of them can\u2019t go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t AARON EPP \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Candice Bodnaruk and Tim Gordienko held their signs up to oncoming traffic. \u2018It\u2019s not fair what (the United States is) doing,\u2019 Gordienko said.<\/p>\n Candice Bodnaruk attended the rally in her capacity as a member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, facing oncoming traffic with a sign that said, \u201cLet Cuba live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important to stand with the people in the Global South that are, like in Cuba, being attacked right now by Donald Trump,\u201d Bodnaruk said.<\/p>\n \u2014 with files from the Associated Press<\/p>\n aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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