Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of WNC worries for family, Cuban people amid unrest

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Widespread unrest is unfolding in Cuba, as people take to the streets, protesting the communist regime and lack of vital resources. It's the largest protests the country has seen in decades.

The island's struggle is now center stage in the U.S., too, with demonstrations happening across the country in solidarity with the people of Cuba.

Bishop Jose Antonio McLoughlin, of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, said he's always praying for the people of Cuba -- especially now. His ties to the troubled country run deep.

"My first and middle name is named after my grandparents. My grandfather was a senator in Cuba during the time of the revolution," McLoughlin said. "It's a large part of who I am, and Spanish was my first language."

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He still has some family in Cuba, and they're weighing heavy on his mind amid the anti-government protests. He said he fears for their lives.

"No food, no medicine. I have family standing in line for hours, hopefully, just to get a half loaf of bread," he said. "Electricity is being turned off at random times. Any communication out, what internet they have, is being shut down. They're trying to control whatever's getting off the island."

His concerns for his people are growing as COVID-19 cases surge and people beg for access to vaccines.

"In the community where my family lives, primarily, they are now averaging over 400 new cases a day," McLoughlin said.

He said the protests are a sign of desperation, because citizens know it can lead to deadly consequences under the communist regime.

"The level of protests throughout Cuba should be an indication to people in this country and throughout the world of how severe it is," McLoughlin said. "This is a nation of people who cannot own weapons, and they know the risk by going to the streets. They know the violence. They know they may be taken away and never seen again."

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McLoughlin said the issues of violence and scarcity of food and medicine aren't new in the country. But, he said, they're certainly reaching a breaking point now, with the pandemic, a collapsing economy and repression creating what he calls a perfect storm.

"Finally, people have said, 'enough is enough,' and they're willing to risk their lives because, I use the word desperate, they're desperate. They really are desperate," McLoughlin said.

Lucy Lawrence, a professor of social work at Warren Wilson College, said the pandemic is exacerbating issues that have persisted in Cuba for decades.

"Much like there is social reckoning happening in our country that I think the pandemic has highlighted, the pandemic in Cuba is highlighting decades of human rights abuses that have been perpetrated by the government," Lawrence said.

Lawrence said U.S. policies toward Cuba could also be playing a role in the country's plight and lack of access to aid. She's taken several trips to the country with her students. She said the economy was booming when she visited under the Obama administration, which reopened diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"A booming economy based on tourism. There were cruises coming, there were tour groups coming in. Cubans were able to reap the benefit of having this stream of income," Lawrence said.

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But when she visited in January 2020, she said things had taken a turn under the Trump administration's tightened sanctions.

"When we went in 2020, it was a stark difference. The number of tourists were negligible," Lawrence said, also noting empty stores.

McLoughlin is calling on American leaders to lend a hand to Cuba and ease some of the financial sanctions against the country so residents can get the help they need.

"The lack of access to necessary things and items for the Cuban people is killing them," McLoughlin said. "I'm hoping and praying and I'm urging leaders to come to a way in which to allow some restrictions to be lifted so that some necessary assistance can be done."

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McLoughlin said everyone should care about what's happening in Cuba because of our common tie: humanity.

"Right now, we're getting a tremendous shout from the island of Cuba, and so I think we need to be very well aware of how we can provide. But we should care because whenever a community suffers, we suffer," he said.

McLoughlin is urging leaders to put politics aside and to think of their fellow men and women.

"My plea for us as a country is to remember the Cuban people," he said.