In the ancient world they called it a siege. In the modern world we call it an embargo. But the results are the same: starvation and death until the besieged city, or country, surrenders, allowing the occupiers to have full control. Jerusalem, built on Mount Moriah, could hold off armies, but not a siege cutting off its food supplies.
Cuba at least grows its own food, but the embargo of oil to the island is beginning to have many of the same effects. Without oil to power its electric grid, the island is not only suffering an inconvenience; it is now causing deaths. Doctors now operate on patients under what are akin to battlefield conditions, and people who rely on electricity to sustain life will now die.
But, do you think that Marco Rubio or the old guard of Cubans who now bask in the Miami sunshine care? All they can think about is revenge for their 60 years of not being able to be rich in Cuba while the poor served them. Siege or embargo, whatever you call it, is unconscionable. It was in Jesus’ time. It is now.
Prayer for the Day
Save us, O Lord, people cry, save us from death and destruction,
As the armies of Sennacherib came down the plain;
Save us, O God, people cry, as they struggle to live,
As cities and towns, hospitals and schools face the dark.
Grant that we behave not like the tyrants of old,
But extend mercy and reconciliation in this time
In the name of the One who opened his hands to all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
This is not subtle, this is extreme, You’re already seeing hospitals changing how they are operating. The magnitude and who will be affected will depend on these horrible decisions they have to make.
Paul Spiegel, Johns Hopkins University, with experience in Afghanistan, Ukraine
and Gaza.
We are receiving much more severe cases, especially in recent weeks — extreme prematurity has hit us hard [due to a lack of antibiotics, three died in February alone].
Dr. Lilliam Delgado Peruyera. Cuban OB-GYN
How lonely sits the city that was once full of people!
How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.
Lamentations of Jeremiah 1:1