Скачать или смотреть CUBA: HUMANITARIAN AID FINALLY REACHES VICTIMS AFTER HURRICANE LILI

(5 Nov 1996) Spanish/Nat
Two weeks after hurricane Lili pounded Cuba, humanitarian aid has finally reached the victims.
But around 25 percent of the aid is still stuck in Havana because the government says some boxes contained anti-government slogans.
Last week tonnes of food and clothing arrived in Havana from Miami to be distributed among thousands of people-- mostly in Central Cuba.
The relief effort was co-ordinated by Caritas International and Catholic Relief Services.
One week after delays caused by the government in Havana, tonnes of food and other humanitarian aid were finally distributed over the weekend to thousands of victims of Hurricane Lili.
Trucks loaded with rice, beans, milk other food were transported to the central provinces of Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus where they were being distributed to more than two-thousand homeless people.
The donated items will be opened and distributed at five different soup kitchens, staffed by relief workers from Caritas International and Catholic Relief Services.
Last week a U-S cargo plane from Miami arrived in Havana carrying over 70-thousand pounds of aid.
Most of the aid was donated by Cuban exiles from South Florida.
The relief effort sparked controversy within the exile community.
Some opposed the effort claiming the aid will end up in the hands of the communist government.
And it seems there was some true in their concerns.
Over 25 percent of the aid is still stuck in Havana after Cuban authorities rejected scores of boxes which they claim contain anti-government messages.
The debate over which aid was acceptable for distribution caused the week-long delay.
Donations from Spain, Mexico and the United Nations have also arrived later than expected.
Hurricane Lili hit Cuba at the end of September destroying over five-thousand homes, damaging 78-thousand others and destroying thousands of acres of crops.
Over one-thousand-800 people were left homeless and forced to live in government shelters.

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