CIVIL SOCIETY PROJECT PROPOSALS AND PRISONERS'

UNCLAS HAVANA 000356 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CU EAID PHUM PREL SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY PROJECT PROPOSALS AND PRISONERS' HUMANITARIAN NEEDS -------------- INTRODUCTION -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Cuban Civil Society members frequently present USINT officers with project proposals or requests for humanitarian aid. USINT officers also provide input about civil society conditions and aid requests during quarterly USAID LAC Grantee Coordination Meetings and through regular communication with the Department. In preparation for the quarterly meeting being held in late June, this cable summarizes three recent project proposals from USINT contacts, and lists humanitarian needs of prisoners, as reported to USINT officers by family members of prisoners and other prisoner advocates. Although some context is included in the humanitarian aid section in order to provide clarity, this cable should not be viewed as an endorsement, critique, or evaluation of any of the following civil society requests. USAID and DRL grantees may find this information useful when channeling their resources in current and future programs. Further information on the local counterparts for civil society projects can be provided upon request through WHA/CCA. -------------- CIVIL SOCIETY PROJECT PROPOSALS -------------- PROJECT A: CIVIL SOCIETY CONSTRUCTION IN IMPOVERISHED AREAS ¶2. (SBU) OBJECTIVE: Build/strengthen civil society structures in poor neighborhoods throughout Cuba. ¶3. (SBU) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Deliver humanitarian aid to impoverished areas of the island; organize cultural exchanges ("intercambios"),sporting events/leagues, and non-political ethics courses that will teach participants how to be "truly free and democratic." ¶4. (SBU) RESOURCES REQUESTED: Either funding to purchase the following items, OR the items themselves: medicine, food, clothing, toys, sports equipment (particularly for baseball and soccer),and literature for children, adolescents, and adults. Deliveries could be tracked by the project coordinator, and any contributors to this project would be welcome to monitor/attend any event organized through the project. PROJECT B: LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER (LGBT) COMMUNITY BUILDING VIA WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN ¶5. (SBU) OBJECTIVE: Strengthen the existing Cuban LGBT community by increasing its awareness of and connection to the global LGBT community. ¶6. (SBU) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Create, publish, and distribute a weekly Spanish-language news bulletin covering LGBT-themed issues and developments outside Cuba. (Bulletin conceived as the first step in a multi-tiered project designed to improve the LGBT community's ability to publicize conditions on the island and advocate for change in the promotion and realization of constitutional and human rights.) ¶7. (SBU) RESOURCES REQUESTED: Laptop, Printer, Toner, and Printer paper OR economic resources to buy same on-island; Internet cards for use in hotels. PROJECT C: PETITION DRIVE TO GATHER 10,000 SIGNATURES IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION GUARANTEEING RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS ¶8. (SBU) OBJECTIVE: Strengthen Christian civil society at a national and local level. Gather the minimum number of signatures necessary to mandate consideration of draft legislation establishing, in part: official recognition of all religious congregations; the right to personal private property for the practice of religion; the authorization of public spaces such as stadiums and theaters for religious use; and freedom for religious groups to provide humanitarian and other forms of aid to vulnerable populations, including prisoners. ¶9. (SBU) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Establish/support a nationwide network of 12 coordinators who will collect petition signatures and build, at the local level, independent Christian communities which would offer education in Christian ideology and human and civil rights. ¶10. (SBU) RESOURCES REQUESTED: The coordinator (an evangelical Christian pastor) has constructed a budget for the project which includes logistical needs and salaries for chief coordinators. He estimates a $595 CUC budget per month will be necessary to complete this project. The project is already underway, but the coordinator states that it has stalled due to a lack of funding to cover basic organizational costs. -------------- HUMANITARIAN AID REQUESTS FOR PRISONERS -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Political prisoner advocates (including immediate family members and former prisoners) regularly present USINT officers with requests for humanitarian aid for delivery to prisoners. (NOTE: Post would continue to discourage use of the diplomatic pouch for shipments of humanitarian aid to political prisoners and would encourage NGOs to diversify their mechanisms for getting assistance to the island. END NOTE.) The following lists summarize those requests, without giving priority to any area or item. Anecdotally, advocates emphasize that water purification mechanisms, basic medical supplies, and mosquito nets are top priorities. ¶12. (SBU) Prisoners receive supplies through family visits, which are generally granted every 45-90 days, depending on the prisoner. Legally, families are allowed to deliver up to 30 pounds of goods on these visits for an individual prisoner's use; in practice, weight allowances can shift dramatically, based on any number of factors including prison guards, personal preferences. ¶13. (SBU) Advocates believe the following items could generally be delivered to inmates by their families and would not be confiscated by prison guards. (Items are categorized.) -------------- ¶14. (SBU) HYGIENE (quantities adequate for 1 prisoner, per month): - Body soap (1 bar per month, or a minimum of 3 hotel-sized) - Laundry detergent/soap - Dish soap - Razors - Shaving Cream - Sanitary Pads for females ¶15. (SBU) CONTEXT: Prisoners are generally given one small (hotel-sized) bar of body soap per month, which will disintegrate within 3-5 uses. Prisoners often eat with their own dishes and utensils, but are not given cleaning supplies, either for their dishes and eating utensils, or for their uniforms. They must wash their dishes in dirty and usually parasite-ridden water. Female prisoners do not receive tampons or sanitary pads, and those items are too expensive for many families to purchase, and/or unavailable in many areas of Cuba. -------------- ¶16. (SBU) CLOTHING/BEDDING - Sheets - Towels (Body and dish) - Shoes (preferably long-lasting boots) - Socks - Underwear - Flip-flops (for shower) - Camping Mat or other form of mattress/cover for cement beds - Mosquito Net ¶17. (SBU) CONTEXT: Although prisoners are given uniforms, family members stress that uniforms do not include footwear or underwear. Inmates need flip-flops for showers as well as shoes for daily wear, since fungal infections and other contagious skin conditions are an ongoing problem due to an overall lack of sanitation. Prisoners often sleep on cement slabs. Prisons do not supply bedding, and many families cannot afford to purchase sheets, or cannot find them on the market. Although some inmates receive mattresses, they are frequently only half an inch thick and rot easily; many mattresses are also infested with vermin. Camping mats designed to withstand heat, humidity, insects, and mold would be an ideal form of aid, so long as the mats could be transported with ease. Many families travel for a day or more (and via several types of transportation) in order to visit a prisoner. -------------- ¶18. (SBU) NUTRITION - Water purification tablets (enough for 3L of water per day) OR containers with water filters - Multi-vitamins (one per day) - Meal Replacement/High Calorie Bars - Powdered Milk (500 grams per month, preferably soluble in cold water) - Protein Powder - Fish oil tablets - Chicken soup packets (2 per day) - Seasoning packets (2 per day) ¶19. (SBU) CONTEXT: Family members repeatedly tell USINT that prisoners rely on the food they receive during visits as their primary diet. One mother states that her son has survived for four years by eating crackers with mayonnaise, which he rations according to the quantity she can bring when she visits. According to current and former prisoners, food in the prisons is often rotten or otherwise inedible, and portions are dangerously small. Inmates may receive a small piece of bread in the morning; lunch may be a small piece of meat (perhaps 2 ounces),accompanied by rice or pasta. Prisoners report uncooked or rotten rice and meat, as well as frequent servings of "bone soup" - i.e., hot water flavored only by meatless bones. -------------- ¶20. (SBU) MEDICINE - Anti-fungal powder - Antacids - Basic pain relievers - Fever-reducing pills - Anti-inflammatories - Anti-diarrheals - Antibiotic ointment - Antihistamines - Menthol - Band-aids/gauze - Clean syringes ¶21. (SBU) CONTEXT: Prisoners and family members report that medical supplies are virtually non-existent in prisons, particularly basic "over-the counter" supplies. Prisoners have requested clean syringes because prison authorities reuse needles when giving vaccinations and other shots. ¶22. (SBU) COMMENT: Outside of humanitarian aid, prisoners also constantly request Spanish-language reading material. Family members report that reading material will be confiscated if it is political or economic in nature, written in English, or obviously linked to the US or a US-based organization. Sports books, almanacs, and atlases have been particularly popular with inmates. ¶23. (SBU) COMMENT: Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez recently posted a specific description of how people off-island could provide aid to Cuban bloggers. Her posting provides additional insight into the current needs of Cuban civil society and can be found in Spanish at www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/?p=1206, or in English at www.desdecuba.com/generationy/?p=620. The posting is titled, "How to Help" ("Como Ayudar"). FARRAR